Do you invest in yourself?

Diana

LOOK HOW CALM SHE IS
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Time to get real, minions! Ò,Ó

We live in a world of strife and mayhem. Millions and millions of people are suffering from depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, disease, and other afflictions that systematically break us down into a pile of useless good. It really sucks. That is why now, more than ever, it's important to take time to invest in yourself. Take care of your body and your mind so you can live a more satisfying life.

A lot of people here on Iwaku are dealing with one of all of the above issues, and I know that many of us are unable to get access to therapy or medical care so we have to find alternative methods to cope with existence. Even if your biggest problem is just dealing with a little insecurity, taking care of yourself is very important. We're going to talk about those in this thread! ⊙◇⊙

Do you invest in yourself? What are you doing to help yourself be a functioning human being and ultimately feel better about your life?

Myself, I am a "baby step" person. If I try to do big changes all at once, I fall on my face and I get discouraged and feel like a failure. Ç◇Ç (Which is not true! If you keep on trying, you're learning!) Still, I found out I can build better habits easier if I start with small things and work my way up.

Right now, I'm basically trying to build back all my good habits from scratch. I wash my face in the morning and at night with some fancy sample-stuff I get from sephora & ipsy because it makes me feel pretty again! I've been trying to post here on the Iwaku forums everyday, either by posting a topic or replying to topics because I turned into a feral owl and I need to be socialized again. Ò,ú I'm trying to do one chore everyday in my house so everything isn't covered in cat fur and pee.

They seem like small things, but little things build up to better things!

My next step goal is creating a new work schedule for myself, so I can get back to running my sites properly again. And introducing a daily exercise routine, like walkies during lunch or jumping jacks everytime I have to go pee.

HOW ABOUT YOU? YOUR THINGS MIGHT BE USEFUL ADVICE FOR OTHERS!
 
Physically, I'm incorporating strength training to my routine of "just running like wild". Have hated weights for the longest time, but sometimes those muscles need maintenance mang.

My biceps are smol but also currently the biggest theyve ever been.

Also doing regular library trips to enrich my breadth of knowledge, whether it be from nonfiction (mythology!) or literary fiction.
 
I'm a disorganized wreck when left to my own devices, but I started getting myself together by buying a cute planner from Target, and I write my assignments as checkboxes because it's really motivating for me to check boxes! It's also really nice to have my events in my planner and not accidentally double book myself, or completely flake out on an event I was looking forward to. I recently also got the Momentum extension for Firefox and have been putting my daily todo's in that, too.

I'm trying to incorporate exercise, but I DDR as my workout, and my school schedule makes it impossible without annoying the shit out of my downstairs neighbours. XD I did do 30 days of yoga at the beginning of the year, though! And I've been learning to cook and making dinner once or twice a week. I'm trying to be the best I can be without being completely exhausted. ^^;
 
Together with my physiotherapist I have been building on a small routine to control my breath and gain more energy and upper-body strength. I'm still looking for something that I actually like doing, but so far yoga and helping out with renovating the (back)house have been very good for me.

Other than that I'm also learning to shift my thought patterns, which mainly means trying to enjoy the path and see the building stones (and take pride in them!) rather than focus on the goal and put extra strain and pressure on myself and talk myself down because I haven't reached said goal yet. Kinda like your small things building into greater things.
 
Well this is definitely where the rubber hits the road.

I have enrolled myself in a few online writing courses in an attempt to gain a bit of polish and dedication to improving my writing. I've been telling myself to finish things I've started and have the courage to let people read them for decades, so this is my first step to enabling that to all become a part of my life in a confident manner.

Also, I've been slowly (very slowly) decreasing my sugar intake. I'm actually starting to feel the up side of it so yay! I'm not planning to eliminate it (God forbid!! because chocolate!!!) but I am planning to cut way back.

also, in that same vein I have been eating cleaner in general. I'm privileged to be home all day with my grandkids, so i've got the time to make things from scratch, like bone broth and others that are far more healthy. Again I am feeling the added energy and clarity this provides.

Since I'm finally feeling well again after a year of horrible health problems and three surgeries, I am back here and able to post regularly as I used to. I'm still determined to post on every INSPIRING MUSES prompt, I'll get there hoping before the end of summer. Keep me accountable in that please!! Poke my PM If you don't see any posts there for a week, which you hopefully won't.

@Nemopedia LOVE your thought shifting!! I'm the eternal optimist, but I need to make goals and keep them in sight at an attainable distance instead of up in the wild blue yonder where my heart is as a rule.
 
At risk of being 'that trans person' who only talks about transitioning, my current major 'investment' is in my medical transition, both literally and figuratively (shit costs money, yo!). Things might seem like they are moving very quickly to someone on the outside looking in, and I suppose they are, but I'm 27. I've been waiting for this since I hit puberty. I'm not going to take things slow. I have a consultation for top surgery at the end of this month, and if all goes well, I will hopefully have a surgery date 3-6 months from now. Hormones are slowly doing their thing, and I couldn't be happier for it. With every day I feel more and more comfortable in my skin (hormonal acne be damned).

Otherwise, I am planning on going back to school in the fall. I am looking into a 2 year graphic design diploma, to give me a relatively stable creative job while I work on being able to freelance.

I continue to work on changing my thought patterns, and learning to love and be kind to myself. I allow myself to feel all of my emotions, good and bad, instead of trying to stifle them. It's made me a happier, more well balanced person over all.

I should be drinking less caffeine and working on a stable work-out routine... but one thing at a time. :^D
 
Yep. I've been studying Japanese over the past couple of months and setting goals for myself so I don't get tempted to quit. In December, I'm going to be taking an exam, and I really want to pass it. That's been enough motivation for me (plus studying can actually be kind of fun).

Other than that, I've been doing art a lot. I might go back to school for it (once I have enough money, of course).

I'm also in the process of starting my own website where I talk about my experiences as a transgender living in Japan. Japan has extremely strict laws concerning transgender people, and it's something that's been bothering me for a while (and the main thing that caused my depression last year). Obviously it's not a problem that can be fixed overnight, but at least I'll have an outlet and I can sleep better at night knowing I'm not just 'sitting back and accepting things as they come'--which is (was?) a trait my therapist noticed about me.

Speaking of therapy--I 100% recommend it to anyone who can afford it. Mental health is super important. Just as important as physical health. It can be expensive, but it pays off in the long run.

The one thing I desperately need to work on is my physical health. I'm too skinny and I feel self-conscious about it. I should be working out. D: I'll do it after the whole stress about my big move blows over. I really want to get in shape.
 
I've been working on eating better this past month. I don't just mean cutting back on the carbs and eating out less, but eating more probiotics, and foods that'll better help me manage my messed up immune system. To that end, I've started exercising, which is also to help lift my mood and get me out of the house more and put more focus on improving the quality of my sleep. It's crazy how much of a difference going from 6 hours of rest to 9 hours makes in your day! I'm definitely noticing an improvement in my health, physically, mentally and emotionally :) and I hope to keep seeing them!

I took up drawing too! I'm not particularly good, but I'm not focused on becoming the next Picasso or anything! I just do a bit every day, sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes for 30. There's no set goal, I don't want to make it stressful, or more than what it is meant to be; a hobby. It's quite funny to see how some of my projects turn out, and I've even learned to take joy in the fact that they don't come out right! See the forest for the trees, ya know? That's the kind of thinking I want to have, to get back.