How To Get Back "In Your Moment"

The weather is finally defrosting a bit and springtime has started to bloom into the start of a new chapter. It is time to leave the dark winter days in the past and unlock our full potentials this season. Spring has always been my favorite time of year and nothing beats that feeling of the sun touching your skin for the first time in months, so today I want to share some tips on how to get out of a rut or start feeling more productive and more like yourself. Some of these are very cliche and I think that is alright because they are said so often for a reason and you may need to hear them again as a little reminder to yourself.

• cleanse your space

The first step to moving on is always letting go. This is also perfect timing to do so as we did just have a full moon and that renewing energy is still present. Cleansing can be deep cleaning your room, meditating to rinse your mind, burning incense or sage of some sort, or anything that makes your slate feel clean (even if it is just taking a shower or a bath).

• practice gratitude & affirmations

Now that you have sort of emptied out all of the clutter, refilling your mind with positive thoughts for this new period and expressing gratitude for the current moment is so crucial in order to get off on the right foot. This timeframe is when you want to ground yourself and set the tone and your intentions for what you are trying to accomplish. Repeating I am affirmations or listening to gratitude meditations are great ways to do this.

• do something that makes you happy

Feelings (and their vibrations) are what attract things into our life so if you are looking for a new period of happiness, do things that make you happy. Obviously, that easier said than done but it can be as simple as picking up a book or doing things that you used to love and some reason stopped. For me, I started writing poetry and journalling a lot more frequently and I am feeling more like myself than I have in a while.

• go outside

Being forced to stay inside over the winter, for weather and lockdown reasons, took a major toll on a lot of people's mental health. At least now the weather is warming up and the sun is shining so go on a walk or do your homework at a park instead of your bedroom. Since I am doing school virtually there are certain classes I do not have to log on to, so I always go on walks, or sometimes I just bring a blanket and read a book. Right now this time I have with myself in nature is the best part of my life so I highly recommend getting some fresh air and you too might start to see noticeable results.

• meditate

I know I have mentioned meditating in some of these tips already, but it is way too powerful not to give its own bullet point. Maybe challenge yourself to meditate every day for 5-10 minutes for an entire week, or whatever time frame and length you are feeling up to. In March I was doing a 21-day meditation challenge and it was hard to find time for it every day. Since then I have started using an app called "Insight Timer" and falling asleep to a meditation every night to put less pressure on myself and it has been really helping me have a safe place to go to every night.

• surround yourself with things you love

One of the most important tips in this whole post is probably just to find things you love and surround yourself with those things. This can mean setting up an area in your room that inspires you (I just put up a wall collage in mine) or picking flowers or getting cute decorations. Having a space that fuels your creativity is going to be crucial for leaning towards more productive habits instead of scrolling endlessly through social media (which we are all victim to so feel no shame).

I feel like self-care can never be talked about enough, especially in a time where we all need it more than ever. I hope this post gave you some inspiration to go do what you love and remember who you are and that it is time to unlock your full potential. As always thank you for taking a few minutes out of your day to read my blog.

-Emma Claire