This blog will discuss the importance of taking time to reflect. Reflection can be several things. This can relate to looking at your past week and analyzing the good and the bad that came with it. Or it can even be every day or each year. The reason this is important is to help not bottle emotions up. With reflection comes growth and stress relief. It’s sometimes hard to come up with all the good and bad aspects of your life. It’s important due use reflection as a time to decompress and let loose. I have seen many people bottle up emotions and this leads you to stray. It will most likely end up with you exploding to either yourself or worse, a close friend. Reflection doesn’t always need to be negative or hard. A simple sense of self-gratitude can be just as helpful. Lastly, don’t be afraid of failure, be afraid of not trying and using the greatest gift you have received, Life. 

This Blog is all about loving the good people in your life. Throughout life people will come and go. There is always those special people who stay by your side. This could be a parent, sibling, or even a friend. It’s important to tell these people you love them. We don’t know how long we have on this earth so tell everyone you love how much you appreciate them. A small gesture like this can make someone’s whole day. I am among those who do not tell the people I love, that they mean a lot to me. You won’t find hundreds of truly special people in your life. Cherish those who love you. Make sure to take that extra step to make them feel special. There has been people in my life I wish I could’ve told how much I appreciated them. From now on I will make it a goal to tell those I love how much they mean to me at least once a month or so,

Asking for help is sometimes the hardest thing you can do. Many people like myself try and solve everything by myself. For most things, this may work out. For mental health, this is not always the case. The strongest people in life still need help sometimes. Asking for help when in a mental crisis is the furthest thing from being so called “soft”. I see too often people don’t seek help and they just dig their hole even deeper. There are many ways you can reach. If you don’t feel comfortable with your family, then you can get therapy. For example, the University offers free services to students. I know a few people that have used this and found great success. According to Men’s health org: Men are-

• Three times as many men as women die by suicide.
• Men aged 40-49 have the highest suicide rates in the UK.
• Men report lower levels of life satisfaction than women according to the Government’s national wellbeing survey.

Men are prone to bear more from depression and have much higher suicide rates than women. Men in society are supposed to be strong and not depend on anyone for help. More services need to be provided for Males with these high of suicide rates.

Throughout our life, we meet thousands of people. The first is your family, then school, work, and life events. Understanding what kind of people are good in your life may not always be a crystal clear answer. Many people I thought were good in my life we a burden. Every person you meet is there for a reason. They are either a lesson or a blessing. Some people will want you to do well and be a great person for you in life. Then there are other that do the opposite and teaches you what not to look for. To distinguish this in a person will be hard at first. Many may treat you as amazing in the beginning but backstab you in the future. Being patient will establish relationships with people. Having a handful of friends is most of the time better than having 100 fake ones. Cherish the people that are good to you. We don’t tell the ones who love us thank you enough. Each day is a blessing! It’s also important to forgive the ones who have done you wrong. As cutting them off is most of the time the best choice, forgiving them will only let your mind at ease. This also means it’s important to not forget their actions as well. These are the most important lessons I learned from this process. Take these with you, and understand what it means to not only have someone good in your life but to be good in others’ lives as well. 

This Blog directly relates to accepting the things in life you cannot control. Often we will be faced with situations that are out of our control. Instead of trying to fight it or forget it, just accept it. If you cannot control the situation, there is no point in fighting it. It’s almost like trying to light a fire with water, it won’t work. It’s almost impossible at times, but the stress endured is simply not worth it. I’m not saying putting in effort with situations will always leave you stray but worrying about something out of your control will almost always negatively affect you. The next portion of this blog will be letting life flow. Everything in life happens for a reason, the good and the bad. You may not understand it when it happens to you, but long term everything will make sense. I’ve established this mindset in my life over the last few years. I cannot be more thankful for this mindset. I have never felt freer and more content with life regardless of what happens with the day. Live life every day like it’s the last. I heard this quote that will help a lot of people’s mindsets. It reads, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called present.” This quote is from the Disney movie: Kung Fu Panda. Every day is truly a gift. Some people who went to sleep last night expected to wake up this morning and didn’t. Do not take anything for granted in life. 

This Blog post is not just finding what makes you happy, but the actual reason why it makes you happy. So often, people see others’ approval to tend to their source of happiness. This often results in a short-term sense of happiness but is flooded with an empty hole. Society puts a lot of pressure on us to not act differently or stray away from the pack so to speak. I think society wouldn’t even be a thing without the different ones. Whether you are one with the herd, or the one leading the herd, don’t let anyone dictate what you enjoy. There is a fine line if someone were to enjoy something dangerous or harmful, but the summarization of everyone’s moments of happiness should always be acceptable. When you are growing up, whether you are in high school or middle school, don’t always walk in the line that was made for you. In other words, explore different hobbies and mindsets. Someone else’s dream is most likely not aligned with yours. Separate yourself if needed and find what you think will make life just a little bit better. 

Having peace in your life helps stabilize everything. This may be relationships, school, or work. Peace helps you make sound decisions. They say when you are at peace with life, that’s when you start living. Too many people live with fear and anxiety. Although some are born with conditions that cause anxiety, anyone can find peace. I found peace when I started to count my blessing and self-reflect on how far I have come in life. Although I am still quite young, I have experienced a lot and have gained wisdom from those experiences. I’d like to believe I think differently than most. Especially for my age, I feel this way. I tend not to stress about something for too long. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed at times, but getting back up will create a beautiful reward. In today’s society, the world is in a fragile state. With Covid, we were forced to change a lot about our life. This wasn’t easy to do for most but understanding that everything happens for a reason will help you find that inner peace. 

       This my first blog was examining how to get in the pursuit of happiness. This blog will measure to what extent you strive to be happy. Do you give up on things when they are hard or do you power through life and never give up? These types of questions are important to see what kind of person you truly are. Measuring the extent, you go to provide happiness will teach you a lot about yourself. How much do you prioritize your happiness? Each person’s measure of happiness will be different. It’s up to you to decide how important it is. You can’t let someone else tell you what makes you happy and what doesn’t. Another valuable lesson is to understand your happiness doesn’t need the approval of anyone. Too often we look to our neighbors seeking their approval like they put our shoes on in the morning. It’s okay to have others bring you happiness, but if you can’t bring it upon yourself you will never be truly happy. According to Psychology Today: By far the most common way that researchers assess happiness is through self-reports. Using multiple-item scales or a single question, we simply ask people about their level of happiness. People think about their happiness, and it is a subjective state, so it makes sense to ask them about it. Reflection is key to progressing your life. After each day or even week, it’s important to reflect on how the day went and how it could have been better or worse!

Measuring Happiness: How Can We Measure It? | Psychology Today

This Blog will directly relate to understanding what true happiness is. Being happy is one of the strongest components of life. So why is it so hard for many to experience full happiness? The answer will vary for each individual, but digging deeper into these issues will help teach someone the value of being happy. Each blog post will describe different methods to feel happy and free. As I stated earlier, happiness varies through each person. There will never be an exact formula that will make everyone happy. These blogs will take a new approach each week to tailor to all types of individuals.