Solution to Jealousy

Another short blog post.

Sometimes we look at other people and notice that they have something(s) that we may not have.
Sometimes, even, we may fall into feeling jealous of those people.
This is something that I do when I start comparing myself to other people. It's really simple.

I take a piece of paper, write her name, and something that I can learn from her.
This way, when I think of this person, I focus on the good she has to offer and what I can learn from her.

I know that this sounds strange- focusing on someone's good attributes to stop yourself from feeling jealousy.

However, jealousy of somebody often leads us to dislike that person. By focusing on something that you can learn from that person, you instead focus on the good and come to think of that person more positively.

It really works. Give it a try.
You will come to notice that you see the person for the good that they have to offer, and not for the good that they possess.

And even if this doesn't work for you right away, constantly remind yourself of what you can learn from this person. Eventually, you will come to view this person more positively.

This helps you in 2 ways:

1. You don't focus on the fact that you don't have something, but rather you focus on how you can grow.

2. You save yourself from having to suffer the consequences of jealousy and anger towards somebody (which can be worse than you think).

Good luck!

Lessons From My Internship

This is a short article I submitted to my internship, so that they can share it on their Facebook or wherever else they want to. Melabev is a daycare center for elderly who have Alzheimer's and Dementia.

This Week's Focus: Mindfulness

Heads up- this is a short post! 

I am back and writing from another country!

I have had an amazing opportunity to travel with 48 other college students, and multiple mentors, to the holiest place on earth, Jerusalem, where I am taking seminars on personal growth and development. Seminars range from building lasting relationships to character development. 

Two topics that we discussed last week are judging others favorably/ giving others the benefit of the doubt, and going out of one's way to help another person. 

These two seminars really spoke to me. 

A lot of times, I tend to make conclusions about different situations very quickly- especially situations that make me unhappy. I am so quick to jump to conclusions, that I will even conclude that I know someone's intentions when I feel that they have done me wrong. If somebody does or says something I am not fond of, I almost automatically judge that person negatively. 

For the rest of the week, after sitting through this seminar, I started looking at situations and people from a different perspective. The woman leading this seminar said something very wise, something I have never thought before: maybe the person who did something wrong lost an internal battle. Maybe this person did blank, but s/he tried to fight the urge to do or say it. It is very hard to have this mindset. Giving others the benefit of the doubt? No way! But we all have situations in which we know we shouldn't do or say something, and we do it anyway. This is not to say that this internal battle is an excuse! It is just that we all have this internal battle, and while it is our job to make sure we win these battles, we all have situations in which we don't. 

Try this: Step back from the situation for a moment. Where is this person coming from? Is there a problem this person has that you may or may not be aware of? Is it possible that this person's behavior may be coming from a place of pain, fear, self-defense, or desperation? 

As for the second topic, going out of one's way to help another person, I really have not been in this mindset lately. There was a time when I was more mindful of others, but somewhere along the way I got selfish, honestly. I was more sensitive to others feelings, speaking and doing only after thinking about how my words and actions might affect those around me. I think I got lazy and careless, not putting as much effort as I probably should be. All of these seminars that I have been taking have reminded me to not let go of the drive to be better, to grow towards being the best person I can be (in this sense), and to not give up on this challenge. Changing one's character is one of the hardest things for a person to do. It takes a lot of willpower, in certain situations.

"I should probably not make this comment because it may hurt someone's feelings."
"I probably should try to not roll my eyes every time I think about how tired I am because the guide is talking and trying to explain the significance of this ancient tree." (I've noticed that I do roll my eyes a lot. It's really rude to do this, especially while someone is speaking. Body language speaks just as loudly as words do).

With this goal, as for me, I think the best way to work on this is to just think more about how you act on a regular bases. What vibe do you give off? Do you give off positive energy?
My best tip is this: THINK before you do. 
Really, really think.
Many times I talk myself out of acting proper and doing the right thing.
So really think about your actions and what you're going to say/do.
When you make the right decision, acknowledge the fact that you did, and feel proud!

On the Idea of Happiness

Note: This post actually took me a long time to finish because it took a lot of thought. Hopefully it makes sense to you :)

What is your goal in life?
What is it that you are working towards?

Maybe you aren't in the position to say that you are currently working towards a specific goal.
Maybe right now you are looking for what exactly you want to be working for.

Many people, however, would respond to this question by simply saying "happiness".
"I want to be happy."

My response to that would be, "Wait, you're not happy right now? What do you mean by happiness? Do you not have everything you want? Do you feel that there is something important missing in your life?"

All too often people focus on the idea of happiness, failing to notice everything that comes in-between.

This, though, is the wrong way to look at life.
Why?

First off, life is a journey and its about the journey. I have so much more to say about this and if you want to read more about it, you can read an older blog post of mine, Enjoying the Journey (it will open in a new window.)
This is a broad topic, but all I will say is that two of some of the greatest joys in life are building yourself and working for something you love. These also fall under the category of some of the scariest things we people have to face because they go hand in hand with the painstaking feeling of uncertainty.
I once heard a man by the name of Aaron David Miller say, "Nobody offers truth on a silver platter. It's a search and its hard." There aren't always clear signs telling us what we should do or who/how we should be. We have to figure that stuff out.
And that's what life is all about, ain't it?

But think about how great it is. There are so many options in this world. There are so many things that we can do, so many things that we can experience- and those of us who are blessed to have the freedom to do what we want to do, should take advantage of all that life has to offer.

This is not to say that the end results don't matter!
After all, those what we are working for.
What I'm saying is that it is during the journey that you will experience some of the best times of your life, and it is when you will feel most inspired. At least for me. I attain a goal, revel in my success, and then am ready to work towards my next goal.

How does this connect to happiness?
Happiness is not an end result, it is a way of life- just as life is about the journey.

This leads me to my second point- too often people define happiness as things. We need something to feel happy for or happy about.

I used to do this all the time! I had an unhealthy mentality.
I was always searching for something to feel happy off of.
The best example I could give you is school.
I would always set my happiness on my grades. If I didn't get the grade that made me feel good about myself, I was unhappy.

It really wasn't until this year- my first year of college- that I realized something very simple:

I have done well on many exams during my lifetime. I feel good about the fact that I do well, but sooner or later, there is another exam. And every time, I act and feel as if the grade I get determines my self-worth, and wether or not I will have a happy life. 

Rubbish. 

I might feel great about the fact that I did well on my bio exam, but life doesn't stop there. Then I have a chemistry exam that I need to do well on. I might not do well on it. Then I won't be happy. But then I will have another chemistry exam and do well. Then I will be happy. 

I really thought about it. I may have done well in Chemistry I last semester, but might not do as well in Chemistry II this semester. But then I might do well in Physics next semester. Then I will be happy. (?)

The point is that good times come and go. Things change. So DON'T SET HAPPINESS ON SHORT-TERM VARIABLES. 

I was just bouncing back and forth between satisfaction and disappointment. 

I had to work on changing my mentality from that way of thinking, to understanding that life should be thought of as the entirety of your past successes and your future goals- rather than thinking of it as the little aspect of your life (ex: upcoming exam) that you are focusing on at the current moment. 

This leads me to my third and final point- happiness is about how you go about life.

When people say that they want to be happy, they have the opportunity to be happy right at that very moment. 

What are they waiting for?

Money? Love? A new car?

They will get whatever it is that they want, but sooner or later, there needs to be more to it than just that thing. That so-called happiness will fade. 

They will get something new?

Is that really happiness?

Here are some things you can do to feel true (notice I am not using the ward "attain") happiness:

• Make a list of what you should be happy for every day. This will serve as a good reminder when you're feeling unhappy about something.
• Make a list of all your past accomplishments- this reminds you that even when life gets hard, its not always going to be hard. In the same way- life may be good, but it won't always be good. Life comes with hardships and challenges. And thats not completely bad. How can we feel happy if we never feel sad. We need to appreciate the happiness- and the only reason we do is because we know how it feel to not feel happy. 
• Understand that life isn't always about feeling happy- it's ok to be unhappy sometimes. The most important thing is that you are finding your way to be the best person you can be. 
• Keep it on your mind that your goal is to be the best that you can be- even though life is rough at times, you're not letting it get to you. You are continuing along your path, and knowing that will be a great source of pride and encouragement for you. 
• Realize that sometimes the smallest things in life can make a huge difference- doing something nice for somebody else, or walking to class instead of taking the bus on a beautiful day. 

(Why You Should Want to) Be Busy and Stay Busy

Wow, I haven't written a blog post in a little bit over a month.
And being that writing for this blog is one of my most important weekly goals, that really tells you guys about just how busy I have been.

From getting onto student government, to attending a policy conference as a student delegate in Washington D.C., to writing for the community newspaper, to keeping up with my other extracurricular activities, to applying for and having interviews for internships, to organizing a major event at my college campus, to keeping up with my workout routine, and to staying up late hours getting school work done- it is an extremely hectic time for me.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm not going to give off the idea that I'm always motivated and excited to be busy.
I had grappled with this aspect of my life for some time.

Some nights (more like mornings), I quietly walk into my room and get ready for bed. My roommate is sleeping. She has been sleeping for the past hour or so. The whole floor is sleeping. I am the only one up. It's a sour feeling being the last one to go to bed. What makes the feeling all the more sour is being the last one to go to bed every night.

Other nights, as I sit and study, I could hear my friends in the other room laughing about something stupid that I would totally laugh about if I were with them, and playing music that tempts me to jump out of my chair and sing along with them.

Sometimes I think to myself: Oh, why do I have to want everything so very strongly?
I want to be active in my community and on campus. I also want to get back the almost-six pack stomach I had before starting college (this requires not eating late at night) and fit all of my scheduled goals into one day (this requires staying up late at night). I also want to get straight A's and work on Youtube videos and finish the weight loss workshop I started in the summer and work on my music (it's crazy how ideas just come to me. I had a dream the other night about a beautiful song. I woke up in the middle of it, remembered the tune, and made sure to record it on my phone. I now have 4 recordings on my cellphone, of songs that I need to finish writing.) and . . . I'm at a loss.

I know that these expectations are unrealistic, but I can't let these desires go. I want each and every one of them equally. Each is just as important as the next. I do so much, yet when I am missing one of these aspects- either I haven't made a Youtube video in 2 weeks, or I haven't picked up my guitar in a month, or I haven't gone to the gym all week- I feel that I am missing something.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but sometimes I think to myself that maybe I would be better off as not being so goal-oriented and motivated to do so many things. I say motivated because, honestly, motivation is my strongest asset.

One prime aspect of my life that motivation pulls me through, is school. I have always had to work hard for my grades. Having an auditory processing problem has definitely been a contributing factor to the fact that everything takes me so much damn time. Everybody I know tells me that I spend too much time studying. People ask me how I sit for so long and tell me that if I am still studying for the same exam that I  was studying for 5 hours ago, then I will break the class average. I don't usually tell people that my brain takes more time to process information. What an average student can get done in an hour, it will take me two. My brain processes things slower, I need to read over instructions multiple times (I have always been that kid in class to ask question after question. My lab TA must think I'm crazy), and I need to write down notes during lectures if there are no slides because otherwise the information goes into one ear and out the other (literally). Technically, I'm not even supposed to take notes and listen to a lecture at the same time. With my "disability", I am supposed to have notes given to me.

However, despite this setback, my motivation had gotten me to the top of my graduating 8th grade class, and I had received the most prestigious award. This motivation allowed me to graduate from high school with honors. It had allowed me to overcome my anxiety, which ultimately allowed me to switch from a small private school to a big public school junior year. I didn't die. And, it is the driving force behind everything that I am currently doing. My motivation has been ignoring this disability for the past 5 years, during which my workload has increased tremendously. All I can think to myself is that I don't have the time for this "disability". There is too much that I want and need to do.

But this is where I get down to it. 
On the left side of my blog, there is a note that says:

 . . . I'm combing my love for learning and my passion for the beauty that is existence... In an attempt to live the most remarkable and exciting life that I can bestow upon myself . . . As far as an end ... I used to think that there was only one... but then I learned that our lives are comprised of many beginnings and ends... and that the more there are, the better.

One of my emails is Live4life@.
I came up with this email when I was in 7th grade. I just wanted an email that sounded "cute". At that time in my life, I was still in that anxious- everything has to be stable- no going to bed past 10pm or else you're going to fail your life-  getting all A's because otherwise, the world is ending- phase of my life. Now you know what I mean when I say that I used to have anxiety. It wasn't only social- it was life. I feared things that weren't realistic. I imagined the worst-case scenarios. I didn't take chances because I was afraid they would mess up my constant state of stability and security. I was blinded by my fears and built myself a fortress. 

So I guess this normally-insignificant spark in my mind-this creative email address- was a foreshadow. My current life is full of instabilities and I'm merely floating the currents. I'm building my foundation, but who says it won't collapse? Nobody. And that's college. And that's life. And I was afraid of it because I was afraid of failure because failure would lead me to instability, which would lead to me to losing my security blanket.

I eventually had to come to terms with life. It taught me to be tough and how to tread through rough waters. And it prepared me for this life that I lead now- one of getting many things done, and ultimately making changes in this world and in other people's lives (hopefully).

So now I'm actually living for life. 
And isn't that what life is all about?
Grasping opportunities. Giving yourself a wide range of experiences. Being active and vocal about the movements and ideas that you are passionate about. Feeling accomplished.
This is what life is. And I want to take advantage of all that it has to offer. 

I had a (short) phase during which I cut down my average hours of sleep. I wanted to do more. I wanted to accomplish more. I just wanted to do everything! Why sleep when there is so much I can do with that time?

I quickly learned that wasn't the right mind-set. Something about falling asleep during classes and processing information even slower than usual told me that the plan was a no-go.

I eventually came to the realization and conclusion (and I have written about this before in another post) that life is a journey (sometimes rough and painful, but wonderful nonetheless). The greatest parts of life are attaining our goals. On my Youtube page, I have written:

"Devote yourself to an idea. Go make it happen. Struggle on it. Overcome your fears. Smile. Don't you forget: this is your dream." - Unknown 

If you want to learn more about this topic, read my blog post Enjoying the Journey, here!

So, (finally) in conclusion, why be busy and stay busy?

• Life is all about getting things done. This includes family and free time of course. What I am referring to is not wasting time on my laptop or phone. I feel dull when I do this for long periods of time.
• You get more done when you have more things to do. 
• It feels . . . so so so good. "Good" is a flat word, but it is the right one. 
• You have potential. Be active. Be vocal. Get in. Get involved. 
• The most important point for you to take away from this post: Appreciation. It skyrockets. You begin to appreciate your bed and pillow-like never before. You begin to appreciate time with your friends and family. You know what it means to work hard, and everything is like a gift in return for your being active. I eat fewer sweets now. I limit sugar intake to special occasions. I enjoy sweets SO much more now. I appreciate sweets so much more! At times, my brain functionality is so slow, that I feel ecstatic- ECSTATIC-when I finally process the concept. It's an accomplishment. When I get that A- I feel on top of the world. I feel this happiness so often, I don't even know if it's healthy. I undergo stress and happiness so often, I feel like I really know what it means to feel happy. 
• Self-fulfillment. Satisfaction. 

I cannot stress enough how wonderful it feels to have a full schedule. 

Don't be afraid t step out of your comfort zone. Try new things. Sign up for a few stuff, try them out, drop them if they don't satisfy you. 

I have applied for 2 internships. Both require me to put in some time during the summer. I'm hoping they don't overlap so that I can do both. For the past 3 summers, I stayed home and did whatever I wanted with my time. It was nice to have that phase where I had nothing scheduled- a complete break. I can say that I know how it feels to have nothing to do. It's nice, for a bit. Then I feel like DOING something. My friends often encourage me to give myself a break and do nothing for a bit. But the truth is that I don't enjoy doing nothing. I don't enjoy watching TV for longer than 30 minutes, unless its a movie or show that I feel is worth my time. I don't want to watch other people create things and do cool stuff. I want to create and do cool stuff. 

Don't get me wrong. You can find me hanging out with my friends during the weekends and watching movies on Saturday nights every once in a while. But for the most part, I just want to do what makes me feel good at the end of the day.  

And you can have your breaks too. For the past 5 days, I haven't done much school work. I have been taking naps (I can't randomly fall asleep wherever I want when I'm at school, so this was a special treat). I haven't even worked on a Youtube video. Just totally chilled :) 

So there you go. 

Now go live for life!

Brain Overdrive

My phone.

I hate it sometimes.

The anticipation of a Facebook notification or a new Instagram like... Sometimes I wish I could just
throw it all away.

It's like there is a constant unnecessary inflow of crap into my brain. What she wore, what he did today, what she thinks about... Because I don't care and I don't need to. These insignificant facts don't change my world for the better or improve my life in any way.

I have deleted certain apps from my cell phone before- multiple times, actually. I would look down too often, even when I had not received a text or a notification. I would look at my phone while eating, on the bus while on my way to classes, and even when I was with friends (who I enjoy being with). I would do this because it was so natural. 

I don't want that to be natural or normal for me.

I said "multiple times" because I get these apps back when I realize how much easier it is to just have them on my phone. However, I know that having them on my phone isn't necessarily good for me.

This is not my diary.

I write about things that affect others as well as myself, and I know that I'm not the only one with this headache.

So I'm not going to make this long because this is a simple statement: sometimes it's important to give ourselves a break- our egos, (at times) unrealistic expectations, and the constant thrill that we naturally desire.

It's unhealthy and exhausting, and our time and lives are worth more.

It is 1:30 am and I am exhausted, but I can't help but write this down while lying in my bed, head on 
pillow, phone light setting on low, and my phone on silent so that my roommate won't wake up.

I'm a college student with back to back classes tomorrow and I can't sleep because this is more 
exhausting.

I don't want this anymore.
It's not what life is all about. I only have one chance to make the best of it and since this isn't the best... changes are going to be made

Some tips:

• This is hard at times. Only use your apps when you have a notification or want to post something. It's like binging on food. you're not really hungry, but eat anyway because you have the time or are bored. 
• Put all of the distracting apps into one section (I know you can do this on an iPhone, though I am not sure about other phones). This way, these apps stand out less on your screen and you are less likely to give in to viewing them. 
• GET BUSY!!! Whenever I spend time on Facebook or Instagram just scrolling through, I honestly feel horrible about myself. It is a known fact that social media makes people feel unhappy. This makes sense because we are constantly focusing on other people. We have our own lives. Don't waste it away by comparing it to others'. Why do you have so much free time on your hands anyway. Or maybe you don't- you just really don't want to write that paper or study for that test... but the way that I think about it is that I will feel more accomplished and happier in the long run if I do what I need to get done. This is not easy, but is worth the time that it saves and the feeling of accomplishing more. 
• Make a list of things you want and need to get done, so that you are more aware of the fact that you can use your time in a more productive way. Plan something to do in your free time that is rewarding- I usually like to practice guitar in between my study sessions. I feel happier doign this over scrolling through my newsfeed. 

If you have better tips, implement them. 

Write yourself notes if you need to. Make your home screen picture a positive quote of staying offline if you need to. 

As time goes on, it gets easier and you feel happier overall. 

Good luck!

(How To) Stop Stealing Time From Yourself!

Time is of the essence. 

I have been thinking a lot about this lately. 

With making a decision between medical school and Physician Assisting, and with trying to balance building BetterMe and doing well in school, I many times come to ponder about what is most important to me. 

I fear that time will fly by and that before I know it, I will be stuck with a feeling of loss because I had "missed my opportunity" and the right time to do what I needed to do in order to reach my goals. 

I NEVER want to one day look back on my life and feel that I did not take a chance I should have taken or that I did not use my time wisely. This is one of my biggest fears. 

I used to often say things like, "Oh my goodness, how did the week go by so quickly?!" Or the month. I CAN'T be the only one who says the year.

It was recently that I realized that I need to stop doing this. 

I lived the week. Remember how you stayed up late studying for that bio exam? Remember how awesome the weekend was when you got to hang out with all of your friends and didn't have to work all of Saturday?

I lived the month. My first month of college, I met so many new people. I started living in a new town. I started a new life, in a sense. Everything was so different. Everything IS different. 

In a sense, I felt like I was stealing these memories from myself because I was acting like they didn't happen. Like I was disregarding them. 

It was about three weeks ago when I last asked myself out loud how the month had passed by so quickly. I stopped myself.  I just stood in front of my calendar (making the moment a little too dramatic, though it was dramatic nonetheless), and thought about how much it really sucks to diminish the wonderfulness (yes, I am making up a word here because I want to!!!!) of the past month. Yes, there was a lot of studying involved, but I just freaking love college. I love living with my friends and meeting nice people and having the freedom to make decisions for myself all the time! 

By questioning where the month had gone, I felt like I was taking that time and the memories away form myself, as if they had never happened, as if I had never experienced them, as if I didn't live through the month. 

So, I stood there for another five minute and looked through each week and said to myself out loud, "I remember meeting this friend on this day and feeling so happy that I had made a new friend. I remember how we hung out and how happy I was with that day." I moved on to a few other days, reminding myself of what I did and how good it was. I looked over the month, summarizing its events in my head. 

From that moment on, I decided to stop saying things like, "how did the month pass by?" or "where did the week go?" or "I can't even remember what happened on Monday."

Then I made this picture: 

I have been thinking with this mindset now for three weeks and I feel like I'm living a fuller life. I know this sounds strange. Fuller life? Because of this small insignificant idea? 

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Let me tell you how I have changed (maybe you will try it out and see what I mean):

(note: I naturally do these things. They may not work for everybody. Even if you don't think these would be things that yo would be interested I trying, I still recommend giving them try. You never know what may make a change in your life. Sometimes its good to try out new ways of thinking and finding what works best for you). 

• Three days before starting my senior year of high school, I sat on the phone for about two hours talking with my best friend. We discussed the previous school year and how the next school year would pass by quickly, and how we would have to enjoy our last year of being in school together. I realized that I have to take every moment into consideration. I need to appreciate and be mindful of every soon-to-be memory, every I-will-look-back-at-this-one-day-and-feel-nostalgic type of moment. Try to think about where you are in time. I like to do this because I become conscious of who exactly I am at a specific time of my life. I am becoming aware of the moment. Just the other day, as I was sitting in the library at 1:00 am studying, I looked up from my textbook and spaced out for a second. I then noticed my friend sitting a few tables down from me. As I looked at her, I thought to myself how interesting it is that we had known each other for 7 years prior to living in the same college dorm. Even though I would see her almost every weekend at prayer services, I had never spoken to her. Ever. And now we are friends in college and next time when we go to  services, we will actually sit next to each other for the first time ever. Time changes things. It's interesting. Notice how time changes certain aspects of your life. Take note of them. 
• I literally did when I pulled out my handy dandy notebook (a composition notebook that I carry around). Whenever I feel like writing (when I'm deep in thought or have an idea, or feel anxiety creeping up on me), I just pull it out. Doesn't matter what I'm doing. I write because I know I need to. I highly recommend carrying around a notebook in which you can write your thoughts. Be cognizant of where you are (place and time), and write about whatever it is you're feeling. Allow your time to stop for a moment, giving yourself an opportunity to take in the moment, and to appreciate it. I wrote about how crazy it is that this girl and I are now friends. Behind her, I could see my dorm building through the window. I wrote about how crazy it is that I now live across the library. I went from never going to the library (because the one in my town is creepy and smells) and living in the quiet suburb where one sees trees when looking out the window, to living across the library and right next door to the gym. Now when I look out my window, I see busses, cars, and people passing by. Life changes so much. I want to remember these defining moments because they are what make up our stories. I want to make sure to really live these moments, making sure that I realize in the moment how much I appreciate them, so that I won't one day look back and feel like I never actually noticed what I had. 
• I love to think. I am always thinking about how much my life and I are changing. Although this gets annoying at times because I just want to live in the moment, I realized (after taking time off from doing this and testing out what it's like to not think so much) that it helps me pull my life together. What I mean by this: By thinking about how my life has changed in the past couple of weeks, there is a smooth flow from high school to college. Like I said before, this allows me to pull together my life's defining moments (the change, the new people in my life, my personal success. And like I said before, I won't one day look back and question how I got to where I am or "where the time went?" because I am making myself aware of it beforehand. Do the thinking in moderation though. LIVE LIFE IN THE MOMENT. Stop constant planning ahead and dwelling on the past. You are living now. Today. Take a little bit of time out of your day to think. Try before you go to sleep, or when you get back home from school.
• The last thing that I try to do ALWAYS, is to just simply make the best out of every moment. When you get upset about something, think to yourself, "I can be upset because it is important to care, but don't forget to remember all of the good things that are going on." Despite the negative, there is still positive. Try not to waste your time dwelling. Live the moment to its fullest-at least as much as you can. 

So there you go! 

• Think about where you are in time
• Take note of things that are changing in your life. Be cognizant of the effect that time has had on your life and who you are today as opposed to who you were before 
• Take in the moment by noting it to yourself or writing it down in a journal. Journals help with many things, such as relieving anxiety and stress, getting yourself to stop dwelling on something (upset about your bad test grade? Write about it. Move on), and jotting down ideas (when I think of a blog post idea, I start writing the beginning of the post so that I can conserve some of the inspiration that I feel at that moment so that I can continue the post when I have time to finish writing it). 
• Think (in moderation please)!
• Live in the moment!
• Stop dwelling on the past and constantly thinking about the future. Everything in moderation!
• Make the best out of every moment. 

And one more picture!