Consume less

Continuous consumption widens the gap between our outer selves and inner selves. By constantly being exposed to things like movies, tv-series, trending music, fashion, make-up, friends and social media, we leave no time to talk to ourselves, to understand who we really are by deriving lessons from the past or realizing the patterns. By consuming less both in terms of material goods and social stuff, we can feel lighter inside, clearer in mind and have more headspace to focus on things that really matter to us.

Write more

It is not easy to find what inspires you or floats your boat, but when you do, make sure you stick to it. Luckily, I have realized that I like writing back when I was in college. So, after graduation I started this blog to write periodically again.

By the way, when I say “Write more” I mean both things like “morning pages” to clear your mind and know yourself better; and things like this blog which quenches one’s thirst to do research, write, edit and share. I believe there is something in everyone’s life which puts you on “Flow Mode”, so find that out and do it more.

Spend less time on social media

Since we are not living off the grid and we have social media personas, we spend a lot of time on the internet. The sad thing is that probably when we get old or feel that we are left with easily countable days on earth, we will regret having spent so much time on social media and not actually living in our own terms. So, in order to avoid that regret in the future, we must do conscious choices every day to connect with people and places in our real life and purposefully be more absent on virtual profiles.

Be more open and honest online

I have always been honest in my real life but it is sometimes hard to share personal details or feelings online because then you have no control over them, however, sharing openly is what drives you to write and people to listen to or read. So, even if you have doubts sometimes, being honest and open might be the better route to take.

Be more present

Many times during the day we think about what we will do in the future, “Am I in the right career?”, “Have I made the right choice about school/partner?”, or we think about the past, regretting or reimagining what could have happened if we did something differently.

But, as cliché as it sounds, all we have is now. Overthinking about what will come our way or what already has, will in the end make us feel like we did not wholly live the day. It would be unfortunate if one day you wake up and realize that you’ve put too much pressure on yourself and that everything has turned out okay. So, taking a deep breath and minding the happening moment will lift the weight off of your shoulders.

Do not compare yourself with others

The other day I was talking with a colleague about our choice of town regarding the variety of the work we see. I asked her if we made a mistake since the people in Istanbul seemed to be learning more and she said “I think we are good, I am satisfied with the work I do here. Besides, the ones in Istanbul are actually wasting a lot of their time on the traffic. Also, if you compare yourself with others, there will always be someone who is better than you.” I think she had a good point, like the sayings goes “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”. Thus, it is of no good use to compare yourself with others. Be more conscious of this point when talking to yourself.

Produce less waste

This is about leaving very little carbon footprint, and living conscious of our temporariness. Right now, I envy the zero-wasters but I am guessing that one cannot become like that in one day. So, take time and slowly change your habits. We will not be here for very long, but our plastic waste will last maybe 20 generations to come . Being aware of the plastic covers and the end products when shopping; home-making the things we can (e.g. cleaning products) and clicking on “I want to save the planet” when ordering from outside might help as little steps for the bigger goal.

Be aware that you are “Good enough” and the “Best version of yourself” doesn’t exist

We are bombarded with the idea that there is this super duper version of our selves and we owe it to ourselves to become that version, otherwise we will be disrespectful and it makes us less deserving. Unfortunately, the industry of wellness which is supposed to make us better, sometimes, makes us feel worse about ourselves. However, the sentence in itself is dysfunctional, so do not fall into that trap.

Featured image by: @kadh