Am I 🥳 today?

Not every day, I wake up with happy feelings..excited for the day (I wish though!!!) Some days, I go to bed again if I don't feel good after waking up 👀 For me, I come first. My mental health is always my 🔝 priority I believe..if I'm taking care of myself, I can take care of everything else. For that, keeping myself motivated is a big task.

But.. I love over-thinking and over-analyzing situations. I have the power to think about the worst possible thing that could happen 😕 Occasional meltdowns. Embarrassing moments. CRYing 😿 In last 3 years, I've had many instances where I lost my cool. And you know what - its okay!

"It's okay to cry. It helps clean your eyes and removes dirty water from your body." - my Dad 😂

What's more important is how I get my life together after that. 🥳 I'm sharing some things that I do, to stay positive, to keep myself motivated, to stop myself from quitting. It's not easy every day. 🙂 It doesn't work every day. So what? It works some times, and that's what matters. I hope this will help you too! 😇

Note: This is in no particular order. It works for me, might not work for you.

1. Take proper rest 🛌

Sleep. Sometimes when you don't feel right about something, take a damn nap. 💤 It helps. Then when you wake up, you'll be fresh and be able to start again with a new perspective. 😀

2. Believe in new 🆕 beginnings

It's okay to start over and over again 🔁. You don't have to wait until January 1 to start something new 🤗 Every day is a brand new, with new possibilities, with new opportunities. Start fresh every day 🤠

3. Talk to friends & family or your close ones 🤝

Sometimes, just having someone you can talk to, someone who will listen👂 to you, helps a lot. Whenever I get frustrated, I 📞 my Dad and rants about everything. In that, he will provide me comfort and cheer me up. Text your friends. Talk to your mentor. Find a therapist 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️
PS: I'll be happy to lend an ear whenever you need one. :)

4. Take ① day at a time 😌

Sometimes, things aren't easy, and you might feel like nothing is working; nothing is going right or as planned. When I was moving places in May, I was very much overwhelmed with everything going on in life. I knew San Francisco 🌉 is where I want to be but made no plans. I panicked 😨 when I got the job and realized I'd have to move in 2 weeks. Stepping outside comfort zone 😵 The best advice I got from my mentor was to take a deep breath 😌 and take 1 day at a time. Every day I woke up and planned for that exact day. That helped me for the next 3 months until I felt comfortable again 💫

5. Read inspirational books/quotes 📖

I tried reading books like "The subtle art of not giving a fck," and "Everything is fked, but there's still hope."🤞 God knows, I only read 50ish pages of both the books before I stopped again. 🤦‍♀️ I can't read books whatsoever. 🤷‍♀️ But I read quotes in the morning every day until I find the one which makes me ready for the day. 😎
PS: I've started sharing that one quote every day on Twitter. Follow the hashtag #RiyasThoughts or me @ReeyahSDasoriya if you're looking for some inspiration.

6. Surround yourself with people 👻 who motivate you.

If you are on any social media, follow (don't ⛔️ stalk/harass please) people who inspire you. I read stories on twitter about people doing fantastic 🤩 in their fields, which excites 😲 me to do good things. On Instagram, I've been following a few accounts who post inspirational quotes now and then. Every 🌞 I open Insta just to read good quotes to start my day. I'd highly recommend this.

7. Find a hobby which makes you smile.

I sometimes bake desserts or go to 💃🏻 classes. Cooking disasters always brings a smile on my face. And if the baked item turns out good, then OHMYDESSERTS 🎂🥮🍰🧁🍥! Dancing helps me forget everything going on in life, and be myself. If you are interested in 🎨, 🎙, 🎹🎸, 🌳, or any other activities - do it. Do whatever helps to get through the day.

8. Spend some quality me-time 😇

Stay quiet for a while. Take a 🏝. I've realized that sometimes I need some me-time to recharge myself. Block off everything and DO NOTHING 🙅‍♀️

PS: No, not everytime you’ve stay silent. Sometimes venting out anger/frustration, sobbing, screaming helps you calm down. Don’t be afraid to do it.

9. Take a break before/when burn-down happens.

Knowing when-to is not easy 😑 Sometimes you might not realize it early, but as soon as you do, leave. It affects your mental health. Learn when to let things go. I give multiple chances to people, to situations - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Find the limit.

10. You don't have to share opinions on everything.

NO, seriously. You don't have to reply to every tweet. You ❌ have to say aloud whatever is on your mind. Please give it some ⏰ to resolve on its own. Last week, I over-analyzed a situation and created a problem in my head which never existed in the first place 🤦‍♀️

11. SEEK WHATEVER SETS YOUR SOUL ON FIRE 🔥

Wanna watch cute 🐶 and 😸 videos? Please do it. Not in a mood to code 💻 -> don't. Don't wanna wake up? Sleep again 😴. Hungry? EAT.

Final thoughts

BE KIND TO YOURSELF! BE KIND TO OTHERS! BE YOU! Take pride in whatever you do. Honor you. Do it all for you. Appreciate yourself ☝🏻
These are the things that help me. They might or might not work for you 🙂 I'm sharing this with the hope that at least one person will be inspired and feel good about themselves today or later, now or forever. As you start planning for 2020 goals, remember 2020 is very personal, and you owe yourself a lot.

Please share in comments what works for you and what doesn't. I'm sure that will help me and everyone else. 😃

Ending this post with some of my favorite quotes I recently read -