Tag: mental health

Check in With Yourself Before You Check in With the World

I’ve been doing an experiment of sorts lately where I check to see how I’m doing before I start scrolling through my phone. It’s a tip I heard from a Matthew McConaughey interview. In it, he said one of his life advice tips is to check in with yourself before you check in with the world. Spend ten or fifteen minutes in your own head before you start interacting with the online world.

Some people don’t need to do this. Their phone seems to have no negative impact on their morning. For me, there’s a marked difference in my overall sense of well-being when I take some time to drink my coffee and just sit before I start scrolling through endless tweets with bleary eyes.

Now that I’m attempting to become more mindful in general I’ve noticed that I can almost watch the gas tank of my mental well-being start to plummet if I start the day checking social media.

Along with ice baths, breathing, exercise, and a host of other simple remedies I’m starting to lift the fog as to what materials it takes to build myself a happier day.

Checking in with myself before I check in with the world is just another brick.

I’ve noticed that my good days or bad days aren’t dependent on what goes on outside my body and mind. Outside stimulus, in most cases, has virtually zero effect on whether or not I’ll have a pleasant day.

Maybe this brick isn’t useful for you. But give it a try. If you usually check your phone first thing in the morning try spending the first few minutes without it. Check-in with yourself first and see what that does to your overall mood.

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The Daily Struggle for Happiness

Staying Mentally and Physically Fit During Social Isolation

Why Your Phone is Making You Kind of Sad

The Daily Struggle for Happiness

“Happiness comes with a struggle.”-famous thinker

I’m sure that’s a quote from someone important. I think a lot of us are feeling a general sense of melancholy lately. Picking a few areas to purposefully struggle in has really helped me to avoid that feeling of I’m worthless, I didn’t do anything today. Maybe viewing productivity through this structure will help you. Continue reading “The Daily Struggle for Happiness”

Why Your Phone is Making You Kind of Sad

I have bad news. Your phone is making you sad. On the surface phones are great. They allow us to escape any moment at the drop of a hat, but they come at a steep price. That price is sadness.

Whenever we feel even the slightest twinge of boredom we can instantly run inside the tiny black mirror of our own personal computer. Thirty second Elevator ride? Phone. Waiting in line for five minutes? Phone. Watching a show with lots of small details and subtle hints that you’ll for sure miss if you don’t pay close attention? Phone.

Initially smart phones were a way to increase our happiness. We’d pull them out as a way to escape the boring parts of regular life. Now, over a decade after the release of the iPhone, we’re helplessly addicted. We get sucked in to the constant scroll and end up skipping not only the mundane moments, but the important ones too. We’re all guilty of this to some degree. Our phones don’t just come out out when we’re waiting in line by ourselves, they come out when we’re waiting in lines with friends. We pull our phones out when we’re having dinner with family, when we’re at concerts, and when we’re on scenic hikes. We pull our phones out and look down, while life right in front of us passes by. Don’t worry, we can do something to curb all this phone sadness. Continue reading “Why Your Phone is Making You Kind of Sad”

How to Be Proud of Yourself and Why It’s Important

Are You Proud of Yourself? 

Just in general.  If you’re not right now, I hope you will be by the end of this article.  Being proud of myself has always been a little bit of a struggle.  I wanted to celebrate my accomplishments, but I didn’t want to come across as boastful.  

It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I am proud of myself and I feel good about it.  I used to feel a slight twinge of guilt start to creep in when I would contemplate self-pride.  I was raised to not be boastful.  The phrase “Pride cometh before a fall,” was etched into my subconscious from an early age.  Because of this I always had a knee jerk reaction against being overly proud of myself.   Continue reading “How to Be Proud of Yourself and Why It’s Important”