Embrace Yourself: Finding Peace and Tranquility

This New Year one of my goals is to live more simply. Live more in the now. I tend to over schedule, overthink and then I tend to spend more time doing things that simply do not benefit me. While I do love a good Netflix binge, I know that it's really not a good use of my time. I have always had the goal of reading more, journaling more, practice yoga daily, meditate and pay more attention to self care.

So, over the course of the next few months, I am going to be working on a series that encompasses all of these goals. "Embrace Yourself" is what I'm going to be calling this series in hopes that these posts will help you embrace yourself in a way that you find your ultimate goals and find peace and happiness in your life. One of my personal goals at the end of this series is to be able to affectively manage my time to where I have the time to spend the end of my day taking care of my self such as, reading, journaling, meditating, practicing yoga and taking some time for self care.

When you're in college, or really at any point in your life, you have a lot to think about. For college students you have school, tests, homework, studying, possibly a job, friends, your family to keep up with, self care, clubs, and much more. If you have a family that is just multiplied because you have to think about all of those things for every member. But how do you set aside time to find peace and tranquility for yourself. 

Self care is really something I want to work on for myself this year. I tend to think about everyone else in the world other than myself first. Has Koda been fed? Where's Kayla? Does she have an appointment today? When is Koda's next shot? Has she been out recently? When does my best friend get off? Does she want to hang out today? But I realize that needs to stop. Not completely, but I d need to think about myself, my wants and my needs first and then think about everyone else too. But it's hard. 

Peace is a Priority

Spending time for yourself to just be reflective (and meditative if that's your goal) is important. It can serve as an escape from work, school, and at the risk of sounding rude, your family. As much as we love our friends and family, we do need breaks from them, possibly a lot of them. If we just step back from the roles we play - student, friend, girlfriend, wife, husband, boyfriend, mother, child - and truly think about what we are to our core, we will be able to find peace and (at the risk of this going over your head) our deeper selves. Take the time to make peace, tranquility, serenity, etc a priority in your life. Write it in your planner and schedule it if you have to. 

Tranquility Without Solitude

For some of us with roommates and family we're constantly surrounded by, it's nearly impossible to get some alone time to find peace and tranquility. However, there are ways you can sneak in some wonderful peaceful time for yourself. 

• Use your commute to listen to a meditation sequence (there are many apps online like "Headspace")
• Take a walk or go exercise
• Sit out on your back porch and read the book you've been meaning to get to
• Tell the people around you that you want 15 minutes alone, most of the time they will respect that request
• Lock yourself in the bathroom for even 5 minutes alone (Hopefully you won't need this drastic measure. However, it is effective due to no one wanting to disturb someone in the bathroom.)

Play into Your Interests

Our hobbies and interests really help make us who we are. These are the things we truly enjoy. While I do love playing video games from time to time, Kayla really happens to love them. She plays video games when she wants some time to herself and stop thinking for a little while. I love to practice yoga, read and work on some blog tasks. These things are what we individually like to do. We love to watch movies and go on walks with Koda together. While those are mindless tasks that do feel peaceful, there are benefits to playing to your own interests for some alone time. 

Is Silence the Key?

For some, you may never really truly feel peace unless there is silence. However, for me I don't necessarily need silence. If I'm practicing, I like to have the "soothing and relaxation" station playing on Pandora. I also listen to this while I'm reading. It provides some background noise while not being to distract me from what I'm doing. Choose the best method of quiet for you. 

I hope you've enjoyed the first post in my "Embrace Yourself" series. I will be back on Wednesday with "Embrace Yourself: Stop the Over-scheduling". 

What would you like to see from this series? Leave a comment!

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