I’m going to take a moment of your time to spread a little bit of wisdom. Since arriving here in the UK I have found it a bit difficult sometimes to really feel at home, mainly based on the incredible distance I am from my actual home. This sometimes becomes very true when I am in the classroom. Classes can go really well for me at times and others can go quite disastrous. Mind you it is usually just a handful of students who cause these situations but I sometimes long for those classrooms that I enjoyed as a high school student myself. Classrooms where students stopped talking immediately when a teacher asked, when we got to work right away when directed, and we learned, asked questions, and were generally non-disruptive. Schools in the UK are just different: they operate differently, students respond to things differently, and they all snicker a bit when they listen to me talk because it is vastly different from the way they talk. Needless to say, it can feel lonely sometimes and this loneliness and turn one to sadness if I’m not careful. Therefore, I have devised a nice little list of ten things that I try to accomplish in my day to add a little happiness and keep me going through some of the more trying times. I share this with you all in the hopes that if you are having a bad day yourself (or want to start a day in a positive way) you can turn to this and it might help you on your way back to happiness. So, here’s my list of ways to brighten your day, enjoy!
1. Acknowledge or say a pleasantry to a complete stranger. I try to acknowledge somebody I don’t know every day. Whether it is on the tube, walking, or on a bus. It could be a “Good Morning” or just a simple head nod, but doing so raises my spirits a little bit. I can’t explain why but it’s nice to be nice I guess. Hopefully it brightens their own day too which becomes a win-win.
2. SMILE! Generally I can seem like a slightly morose person when I’m walking down the street. It’s not that I’m angry or anything but I just don’t have any expression on my face. I find that just by putting a smile (just a slight smile) on my face while walking it just lifts me up a bit and puts me in a good mood. It almost feels like I’m untouchable, which is helpful in the classroom when things get seriously out of hand. I always make an effort to walk into a school grounds with a smile on my face to set the tone for my day.
3. Wake up early. Okay, I’m a teacher and need to be at school early so this is a given. But, on the week-ends I still try to make the effort to wake up as early as possible. I’m at the point in my life where excessive sleeping in makes me feel like I’ve wasted a good portion of the day. There’s a whole world happening out there, why spend it in a dreamland? Plus, there’s something magical about being up when the sun both rises and sets, you feel like that day was truly fulfilling.
4. Maintain a clean living environment. I occasionally let this one slip but I always make the effort to correct it ASAP. When one becomes stressed their living areas tend to become more cluttered because there’s always a distinct lack of caring to put things away. I find that if your living space becomes cluttered and disorganized so can your mind. A nice clean space makes for a nice clean attitude. A little corny but I think it’s true.
5. EAT! And I don’t mean eat to numb the pain. I mean eat properly and often. Too many times in the past have I sacrificed food for time. Nothing helps you get on with your day than eating breakfast, snacking appropriately, having a lunch, and cooking a dinner to enjoy. Food equals energy that will give you the will to press on with your day. If you’re low on energy you’re bound to become sluggish and depressed and that’s just going to make matters worse.
6. Vent when you need to people close to you. I find that when I have my hardest days if I come home and vent it a bit to one of my flatmates I put it more into perspective and it doesn’t feel too bad. It’s insane to try and keep these extreme emotions bottled up and it’s unhealthy too. Just let it all out and you’ll realize that it’s just one day and most of all, that it’s over and you can look forward to a new one.
7. Set weekly goals for yourself. I try my best not to look too far into the future while I’m here. I understand that Christmas break is coming up soon but if all I do is spend my time thinking that far ahead every day will seem so much longer. I try my best just to look towards Friday and the week-end as much as possible. I suggest filling a couple of days with some sort of event. It could be as big as a trip to the theatre or a match (for me anyways) or as simple as a walk. If you work towards those things it breaks your week down into little attainable chunks and makes it a lot easier to get through.
8. Find something you enjoy doing and do it every day. This one sort of ties into the whole weekly goals thing but it’s definitely distinct. During the week for me it gets a bit routine because I really only have a few hours to myself once I get home before I need to get to sleep and start up all over again in the morning. In those few hours though I try to do a bit of writing (blog or otherwise), reading, or just enjoy a cuppa and watch some t.v. By doing these things every day I look forward to them and work towards them, plus they help to sharpen my mind and allow me to express my thoughts in a constructive way.
9. Although this is a cliché, no matter how trying, annoying, stressful, or downright awful you think your day has gone please always remember that there are people in this world who have it a lot worse than you. I hate it when people (myself included) go off about small inconveniences to their days when there are people who would do anything to have them. There’s a lot of injustice in our world and it becomes important not to take them for granted. Sure I have rough days sometimes when I can’t stand some of the kids in my classroom, but at the end of the day it’s putting up with a few brats for a few hours. I have a job, a place to live, and food in my fridge. It’s important not to forget that my days are not so bad when compared to what some people in this world are going through. I try to give back as much as possible to reconcile this as well.
10. No matter what always…ALWAYS remember that tomorrow is a brand new day. Every morning becomes a new chance, a fresh start filled with brand new opportunities, experiences, and people. How cool is that? Take advantage of those opportunities because you never know what they might lead to.
I hope you can take the time to try some of these points, you never know what it could do!
Cheers and Love Always,
Erik
this made me smile :) miss you erik!
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