The self-improvement/life advice list
- Get a subscription to 2 newspapers/news magazines. Maybe scan twitter/tumblr/news sites for additional bits every now and then, but stop with the “read 2 lines of news” thing.
- Don’t do the thing. Don’t revert automatically to internet time. Relish time. Read. Write. Read academia, poetry, novels. Make art. Make music. Learn new words. Learn a language. Go for a walk. How much free time would you have if you didn’t spend so much time on the internet? Fight the urge. Learn something new. Be remarkable.
- Do the work.
- Find the time to travel. Don’t put off the trip if you have the chance to go. It won’t always be here. (Neither will you).
- Learn to cherish sleep. Make your bed a cloud of comfort, with all your favorite feels. Rediscover your sense of touch. A few jersey sheets & a down comforter are worth more than many other things that cost as much.
- If your favorite band is coming to town, make it happen.
- Be present. Don’t take so many pictures. Make real-time memories. Or don’t. But don’t miss the experience, just so that you can prove it happened and looked good later. The best things can’t be captured that way anyway.
- Listen to that little voice. The one that tells you you’re smart and rare and beautiful. The one that tells you which is the right thing, and which is the wrong one.
- Go on facebook once a day. Maybe twice, because of the time-zone thing. But stop checking it all the time!
- Every time you think you want more things, think again. Is it just the advertising getting to you? Do you really need more things? Think of being airy and unweighed down. Fill your life up with learning and friends and good conversations over tea instead.
- Embrace change. Try to think of curiosity, excitement, and the joy of getting to do another new thing. This is what living is, don’t break your spirit trying to fight it. It can feel good. It is meant to feel good. It will all work as it should.
- Be gentle, with others and also yourself. So something bad happened. Could you have prevented it? Think about how to do better in the future. Start now. No? Well then don’t let it get to you. Somethings are just things that happen. It is okay.
- Take the time to write the thank you note. Write the teachers/professors who changed your life. Call your mom. Go get lunch with your best friend from high school, who you never see anymore.
- Say no when you really don’t want to, even if you feel pressure. Say yes when you really want to, even if you feel scared.
- Cherish every beautiful day. The ugly ones too. (Write it out.)
- Get outside more.
