Maintaining Perspective

Life is never an easy line from point A to point B. But how do you cope with these challenges? How do you maintain a positive perspective that helps you stay on your personal goal? Once you find your ways of dealing with the lemons in life, you will suddenly realize that life is actually not too bad at all (at least I did)! We all need some challenges to make us feel alive and motivated.

Here are 4 tips that I use to maintain a positive perspective as a UCLA Honors student. Feel free to try them yourselves, and do not be afraid to try different methods as well!

1. Set a Daily Goal

It is important to have some goals in mind to start off the day. The goals can be anything regardless how big or small they are. Since I am a student, my goals are typically like, finish chemistry and math homework before I go to bed, or like, limit myself to only one episode of The Walking Dead today. Small goals like these will often allow you to wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose. This is also an fantastic way of practicing time management and avoiding procrastination if you are a procrastinator like me! I have started doing this for the past few months, and honestly I have been a lot less stressed and my productivity has gone way up. If you have already been setting daily goals, kudos to you. I wish I had started this much earlier. If you have not, it is never too late to start. It only takes 5 minutes each night to plan and set goals for the next day. Trust me, you will be shocked by how life changing this method is.

2. Take Healthy Naps

It is true that naps are not for everyone. Many of my friends and family cannot take naps because if they do, they will have a difficult time falling asleep at night. A good alternative to naps is just taking breaks from whatever you are engaged in doing. Working nonstop is really harsh on your body and mind. The longer you work without a break the less productive you are going to become. Think of naps or breaks as gas stations for your car, but in this case mental health. Our brain needs to refuel after a period of time in order for it to continue to function smoothly. However there is a trick to nap taking. Have you ever wake up from a nap and feel less productive and sluggish? There is a solution to that. Naps should be taken between 1-3 pm. There are three types of naps: The 30 minute nap, the 60 minute nap, and the 90 minute nap. The 30 minute nap is great to clear your mind, and you will often feel more refreshed after waking up. The 60 minute nap however, may result in high risk of sleep inertia, which is a sluggish feeling that lasts for around 30 minutes after waking up. Despite the risks of sleep inertia, this nap is often useful for remembering facts and names. Lastly, the 90 minute nap is known as the "perfect nap" because it goes through the balance of stages of our sleep. This type of nap can actually help you sleep better at night, and increase memory recall as well as restore lost sleep. Try out different types of naps and see which one fits the best for your body. Just remember to rest accordingly to avoid burning out. Even if it's only closing your eyes for 20 minutes! That is how to maintain a healthy and productive mindset.

3. Have a Day to Yourself

After a productive week, we all deserve a day to ourselves. This is like a cheat day for body builders. Enjoy yourself with the things you love to do. This can be from hiking with friends to shopping at your favorite stores. You can even be as relaxed as sitting on a couch watching movies with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn. The idea is to just have a day to yourself and do things that you enjoy without having to worry about the consequences. Some people might think this is a waste of time, but many people do not realize how much their body and mind needed this day. I understand how busy everyone can be, but it is that busy lifestyle that makes us forget about keeping a positive perspective, and forces us to only think about "work", "work", "work". It is such a bad mindset to have, and if we are not careful and accidentally let this lifestyle consumes us, we will suddenly began to think our life is boring and pointless. I cannot stress the importance to have a day to yourself. Think of it as your reward for all the things you have accomplished. It is totally fine to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your hard work. If you love hiking like me and live in Los Angeles, here are some of the trails to explore!

4. Confide in Someone You Trust

This is one of the most important tips to help you maintain a positive perspective. It is crucial to have someone you can trust to support and lean on during times of hardships. This person can be a family member, a friend, or a mentor. I understand that sometimes we tend to keep problems to ourselves because we fear that if we share our issues, others might get affected by our negativity. It is great to have this thoughtful mindset, but keeping in all these negativity without an outlet for them can lead to terrible consequences, such as clouded judgments and unhealthy lifestyle. Therefore, we need to have confidence in the people we trust. We need to have confidence that they are here for us and we are here for them. This mutual understanding creates a positive outlet for these negative and stressful energy building inside us. As a college student away from home, friends became the people I see more than my family. I learned to build a trustworthy social circle that all of us are willing to be there for one other. It is better to share a burden among many people than letting one person be crushed by his/her own struggles. Having someone trustworthy to talk to or to even just enjoy some favorite moments together can promote a healthy perspective in the long run.