On Cutting My Hair Off... And Keeping My Head On

Today I took the giant leap of chopping off my hair. I felt the timing was just right - marking a new phase in my life. But this post isn't about my new hair do - it's about taking action. I have found that when you are unhappy in your life there are two ways of dealing with it:

1. Change the situation 
2. Change your attitude

For me I have massively changed my situation - gone solo, headed down to Brighton for a change of scenery, a change of work, and now a change of hair! Although many things around me are changing, one thing I want to keep the same is my mindset, and I want to share with you some things I have learned about leading a happy life:

Challenge yourself
Having a dramatic haircut is a big step, but having an adventure is much greater. It has become quite a habit of mine that when I am feeling low or bored, I decide to make life 10x harder for myself just so I have the challenge of digging myself back out and feeling proud afterwards. Sometimes it takes a shock for you to take some pride in yourself, and show yourself what you are capable of. I don't consider it running away - I think of it as personal development, being daring and showing tenacity! For me setting up a tent by the sea, having never camped before, and living there for 2 months was the kick I needed to get out of an 8 month fatigue.

Appreciate
This one is kind of difficult to explain and equally hard to see the value of until you feel it. Being thankful for what you have and taking note of the joy in silly everyday things is essential for happiness. Don't wait until the moment's gone to show your appreciation or tell someone how much you value them. Genuine compliments go far.

Help Others Not Self-help
I'm being somewhat controversial by saying this - I have found that when you feel low you tend to be quite insular and wallow in your own self pity. Yes, only you can sort your head out, but if you only ever look inwards you're going to miss the bigger picture. If you stop thinking about your own sadness and help other people then you are going to feel more purpose, and seeing that you are making other people happy will make you happy too.

Good enough
I hate the phrase 'your best is good enough' because no, if you try your best at everything you will run yourself down. You need to be realistic and remember that you don't have to be the best version of yourself all of the time. An interview question 'What is your worst trait?' is often answered with 'I am too much of a perfectionist'. Although there are benefits to trying your best all the time (and therefore why its a good interview answer), the question says it all... ultimately being a perfectionist is a really unhealthy quality.

Routine
Finally I want to emphasize the value of routine - be it food, exercise or sleep. My next blog post will be 'keep fit with me' to give you some ideas of how to get into routine exercise. The benefit of routine is that it frees your mind from making decisions. If you have planned to do something, you can go on automatic pilot and just do it. As a student I know loads of people with sleeping problems and I truly believe for the most-part a strict regime would make them happier.

This has been quite a personal post today. Hope you liked it. Any advice on day-to-day happiness?

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