Dose of Prose
Hello Style Prose readers,
The end of the year is a time where I find I do the most reflecting. I think about the experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met and the memories that I’ve made from each. One major takeaway that I’ve learned from this year is the power of your environment. The people you surround yourself with and the places you stay truly impact your mentality and overall well being. Your environment (ie. friends, finances, living space, relationships, job, etc.) matters!
When you’re in relationships (whether romantic, platonic or familial), it’s common to start adopting their lifestyle and comparing yourself to others. You may find yourself subconsciously picking up mannerisms, knowledge, habits, etc. from the people you are around. This is not necessarily a bad thing, unless the person’s lifestyle is not synergistic to yours. If the latter is the case, the key is to keep your social circle with those who add value to your life and support you unconditionally, while also challenging you to be the best version of yourself.
As some of you may or may not know, I’m currently in graduate school studying Finance, where the topic of investing is pretty common. I’ll go ahead and do a shameless plug here and refer you to my tips on investing in startups if you haven’t read that blog post already. Today’s post, however, is about investing in the most important asset in your life: yourself. If you become more intentional with your time, you’ll be able to find that balance between being happy with where you are and pushing to your next level. This begins by taking control of your environment. Here are my tips on how to invest in yourself by manifesting the right environment:
Set your priorities
I’m a big believer in writing things down, but if journals, planners or vision boards aren’t your thing, then you can always listen to music and take mental notes on your morning commute to work or school. Basically, think of this tip as a to-do list: mental health edition. You can approach this list in two ways:
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Take some time out of your day to think about all of the things that bring negativity into your life. On this list, prioritize everything that you want to change that would take away that negativity.
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Think about everything in your life that brings you happiness. Prioritize this list by deciding what you need to do to either maintain this happiness or what you should change to add more happiness into your life.
This list may sound trivial, but I think it’s an essential step that will help you to take control and manifest exactly what you want in life!
Feed what you wish to grow
The more you feed into negative thoughts, negative people, negative energies, negative environments, the more it grows. Don’t feed it? It dies. A negative environment can leave you trapped in a pity party and stuck in the mind of victim, without leaving any space for resolution. Find and feed what feels good to you and let it grow.
Move Forward
Sometimes you just have to move on without certain people. If they’re meant to be in your life, they’ll catch up. I’ve seen so many people (including myself) who stay in miserable situations thinking it’ll change or that they can fix it, when in reality, the best thing to do is walk away. If you are at a job you hate, in a toxic relationship, have bad roommate(s) or are involved in any other environment that is taking a toll on your life, get out of it. Sometimes the top of a hill is the bottom of another, but in order to climb the hill in the first place, you have to put one foot in front of the other, right? I didn’t realize how bad some people and places were in my life until I distanced myself from those environments. At the same time, those bad days and bad people also made me become more appreciative and thankful for the amazing people and parts of my life. Move on and move forward, you’ll be glad that you did.
I am neither a psychologist nor therapist and I’m certain that everything I’ve said in this post is basic information that everyone knows…but sometimes we all need a friendly reminder that no matter how crazy life gets, at the end of the day, there is only one you in this world, so live your life in a way that’s best for you. It’s also important to remember that nobody is perfect and bad things happen to all of us. But what separates most people is how they deal with the inevitable pitfalls of life. Bad days truly serve as a test of your patience, faith and gratitude. It’s in the darkest moments that one’s true character shines.
Overall, it’s okay to not be okay…and it’s okay to be a little selfish in order to make yourself be okay because better days are coming. I know that you can’t always choose your environment, in the sense that you can’t help what you’re born into…but if you are in a toxic environment and have the opportunity to leave that environment, do not become complacent and do not be afraid of change. Don’t break – bloom.
Bloom where you are planted.
With love,
Kaamilah
