What can we do to get back into our normal routine and avoid feeling like this? I’d like to bring you 10 tips right from the Dalai Lama, so we can figure out what’s causing us to feel drained and find solutions to help us bounce back to our former self.
1. Stay with toxic people
This one is self-explanatory, but so many people have trouble identifying those who are toxic, and those who are not. Whether it’s a friend or a family member, there comes a time when you have to cut them loose. You have your own problems to deal with; adding more stress to your life will only bring you down that much more. It’s going to hurt cutting ties with the people you care about, but your mental health will thank you for it. It’ll give you time to rejuvenate! Surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself. Remember: “If you light a lamp for someone else, your own path will also brighten.” A famous quote to live by from the Buddha.
2. Grudge but not forgive
Learning how to forgive people who wrong you is such an important step towards self-growth. If you carry the weight of hate around on your shoulders forever, you’ll start to suffer. Whether they deserve forgiveness or not doesn’t matter. You’re not doing it for them – you’re doing it for you! If you learn to forgive someone for the actions and pain they’ve caused in your life, you’ll know what to look out for next time. Forgive, but never forget.
3. Make promises but fail to keep them
If you’re the type of person that pinky swears you won’t tell a secret, keep that promise. Not only does breaking a promise hurt your friends and family, it gives you a bad name. No one will want be around you if they think you’re untrustworthy. Keep promises and don’t be afraid to open up and tell somebody a secret of your own. Trust is a two-way street. It takes forever to build, but can break in a matter of seconds.
4. Not pay your bills on time
No one wants to walk around knowing they owe money to someone else, whether it’s $10 or $10,000. If you borrow money from your friends or family, come up with a date that you will pay them back by. You’d be surprised at how many people would be okay with a “payment plan”. Paying back something as small as $1 will show them that you’re trying to pay them back for all they’ve done. A good motto you should follow is “Don’t owe anyone anything”. Treat others the way you wish to be treated, and the world will be a much better place.
5. Try to control of everything in life
We are constantly looking for the next big thing to happen. Whether that means buying a home, getting married, having children or becoming the next big CEO of a corporation. If you can’t stop to smell the coffee every now and again, your life is going to fly by faster than you’d like. Take each day with a grain of salt. Work towards your goals, but take time to enjoy each improvement you make. Accept your life, your choices and the people in it. Everyone is working towards a better future and everyone deserves to take a break to see just how far they’ve come. Remember this: you navigate your own ship. Go with the waves and avoid going “full steam ahead” all the time.
6. Keep pleasing everyone but not yourself
Too many people worry about what someone else thinks of them. If you spend your life trying to please everyone else, you’ll never please the most important person: you. Don’t worry about following the crowd. Do things for you and you alone. If you love knitting, find a unique pattern and knit your day away. If you love pottery, create beautiful handmade pieces that you can give as gifts. Show off what you love! Chances are, more and more people will follow in your example.
7. Forget the importance of being healthy
Your body and mind rely on your good health. Work towards becoming a better version of you every day. If you’re overweight, start doing small exercises to get you back on track. If you’re addicted to smoking, try to limit yourself to a few cigarettes a day until you can go a full day without any. If you don’t pay attention to how your body is feeling, it will shut down. Mental, physical and emotional health should be worked on each and every day. Start small and work your way up.
8. Keep clutter with you
If you feel like your life is cluttered all the time, rearrange everything! Go through your home and move furniture around. Go through your computer and delete files you no longer need. Use space-saving techniques to make more room in your home. Work on decluttering your life at least two or three times every month. If you want to declutter your mind, you must first declutter your life. That’s so powerful I’ll say it again: If you want to declutter your mind, you must first declutter your life.
9. Not do the right things at the right time
Throughout your life you will learn that there is a time and place for everything. There are times where you should act immediately. These times include (but are certainly not limited to) going shopping when you run out of food, continuing your education (even if you believe you know everything there is to know) and getting to work on time. There are also times where you need to rest. These times include (but again are not limited to) after a long day at work, after exercising and after a hard day. So many people believe that working harder and pushing yourself will keep you from becoming lazy. The truth is, you need a lazy day every now and again. Your brain will turn into mush if you work it too hard! Give yourself (and your brain) a rest.
10. Trapped by your fears
This is something that everybody struggles with. Facing your fears is harder than it looks on your favorite TV show. It takes a lot of courage, guts, and knowledge to do. If someone is hurting you, confront them. If they refuse to listen to you, cut them out of your life. Do not allow a bully to rule your mind. Don’t wait for the answers to fall into your lap. Be an adult and stand up for yourself (and others) when you need to. You have the ability and strength to fight your demons, you just need to look around. What do you think you need to do in order to stop feeling so drained? Have you tried anything from the list above? Did it work? Let me know in the comments below!
