It’s starting to be that time of year – the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder, and suddenly it feels like academic deadlines are flying at us. It’s the point in the semester where school is picking up, and it is getting harder and harder to find time to take care of yourself and your mental health. So, in this post, we are going to share five simple mindset shifts that will hopefully improve your overall mental health. I know some of these might should like cliches, trust me, I thought the same when I first heard them. But just try and implement some of these mindset shifts into your life, and I promise you will feel more positive.
1. Focus on opportunity rather than failure
This can be hard to do, but when I started getting into this mindset, my whole outlook shifted. As humans, we can be very hard on ourselves, and when we fail at one thing, we feel like total failures in general. The truth is, failure helps you gain perspective, and it lets you focus on preparing for the next opportunity. So, say you did badly on the most recent assignment you submitted. I understand it’s discouraging but try to think of it as an opportunity to improve going forward – maybe meet with the prof, or the TA to see how you could improve for the next assignment. By being able to find the opportunities in failure, you will be able to learn how to improve yourself, while taking care of your mental health by not being too hard on yourself.
2. Focus on what you have instead of what you don’t
This one can be challenging, but once you learn how to do this mindset shift, you will have an overall better outlook on life. Unfortunately, we all are constantly comparing ourselves to others, which can lead us to focus more on what we don’t have instead of what we do. This can get dangerous as it can oftentimes lead to thinking you’re not good enough. When you learn how to focus on what you actually have, you will be able to appreciate it all more, which will lead to an overall more positive outlook on life. So, say, someone has a boyfriend, and you really want one. Instead of getting down on yourself for being single, try to remind yourself of all the great friends, and how they make your life so much better.
3. Reward yourself for progress, not only completion
I have to admit, this mindset switch is one that I have not perfected yet. As humans, a lot of us are conditioned to only feel accomplished when a task is complete. Every day, I write out a to-do list with tasks I want to have completed by the end of the day, and if I fail to complete it, I tend to feel very frustrated and disappointed with myself. When this happens, I fail to recognize my accomplishments in making progress in some of the tasks. But I am trying to learn how to feel proud of myself for completing part of the task. In order to try and shift my mindset when I am feeling like this, I try to remind myself that quality is generally more important than quantity. In other words, I remind myself that even though I failed to complete every single task, I completed as much as I could to the best of my ability.
4. Practice positive affirmations
I used to always hear people talk about affirmations, and I would always think to myself that they sounded pointless. But, when I started to incorporate this into my routine, my outlook on everyday life shifted. Everyone has stuff they’re good at, whether it’s being a good friend, a good sister, a good girlfriend, a good listener etc. Similarly, everyone has accomplishments that they should be proud of, no matter how big or small. By reminded yourself of these, you will feel more confident and empowered. I find that the best way to practice positive affirmations is by saying it out loud while looking in the mirror, to really allow yourself to absorb it all.
5. Be okay with doing nothing
For a lot of people, it is very difficult to switch your mindset to believe that it is okay to do nothing. As university students, a lot of us are very scheduled, and we have relatively set routines. Although it is important to be productive, it is equally as important to take the time to just do nothing. Personally, sometimes when I allow myself to do nothing, I feel stressed because I feel like I am wasting my time and like I should be doing something productive. But the truth is, allowing yourself to have that time to sit there and do nothing is so important for your mental health. Ultimately, in order to be productive, you have to give your body the time it needs to recharge.
Well, there you go! Here are 5 mindset shifts that will likely improve your overall mental health as well as your productivity. Obviously, these mindset shifts don’t happen overnight, so be patient with yourself and try some of the tactics provided throughout this post!
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