Sweet Serenity

In today's society, as we are constantly being bombarded by what the world thinks we should look like, be, do, or say, the struggle to find sweet serenity can seem almost impossible at times. Every morning, I wake up and look down at the quote on my lock screen, repeating it over and over to myself just to be able to get out of bed. This simple quote "Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath, smile, and start again." is a powerful mindset to have. It is somewhat comforting to know that no matter what happened yesterday, how stressed, depressed, defeated, or weary I felt, that each day is a fresh start, a new opportunity to have a better day.

As much as I try to be positive, negative thoughts somehow always take over my mind. I am in a constant battle with my inner self. As I scroll through Instagram and see all the posts that make me feel inadequate, less than beautiful, subpar, as I go down my Facebook feed and read all the negative stories, posts of awful thing happening in the world today, not a sign of good things to be found most days, I begin to let fear and anxiety creep in and take over.

Social anxiety can feel all-consuming at times, eating me up inside and out. Every classmate who passes me by without a simple hello or good morning must hate me, every time I sit alone at lunch must mean I am not likeable, every day I find myself alone in my room without a single text or call must mean I have no one. These are the things I struggle with, my daily cross I carry.

I feel that I am at a critical turning point in my life where I can either choose to give into all of the toxic thoughts that pollute my mind, fall into the pit of despair and loneliness I constantly feel sucked into, or I can fight back, push myself more, reach deeper down than I ever have before, pull out every ounce of positivity and drag the little self-love I have to the surface. I can will myself to be better, do better, feel better. The mind is a powerful instrument. Thoughts have the ability to destroy and derail or nourish and encourage us. I want so badly to feel better, to feel wanted, noticed, important to someone, but I am beginning to realize the flaw in that statement is "someone". I need to learn to love myself and be okay with being alone.

 

The only one in this world who you can truly count on is yourself. This is why it is so important to be your own biggest motivator, supporter, lover, go-getter. I need to be okay studying alone in a coffee shop, be alright eating by myself in the cafeteria, be amazed at how beautiful God made me, be proactive when I feel alone and unwanted, do something for me to make myself feel gorgeous inside and out. I am lovable, I am beautiful, I am special, I am capable. These are the thoughts I need to ingrain into my mind in order to become the woman I know God intended me to be. The struggle to find sweet serenity is a daily battle, but with God by my side, I know that nothing is impossible (Philippians 4:13), no challenge too great, no problem too minuscule. Instead of investing in others who don't invest in me, I need to invest in something everlasting, ever present, ever powerful. I believe that the thing I am lacking is the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) that only God can offer. And I want so badly to feel better, so I know it is time to reach out above for the fruits of the spirit that only He can provide.

 

In a world designed for instant gratification, greed, guilt, sugar-coated wrong decisions, and questionable morality, it is so easy to get sucked in and take the easy road. But I want more out of life than this world has to offer and this is why I want to embark on my spiritual journey toward a better being, a happier existence, a sweeter serenity, and a more lovable me.

Carpe diem,
Marian

Crazy Calm

Sometimes getting rid of Stress and Anxiety can literally be as simple as just going with the flow. Oftentimes, when our lives get hectic, we make them even more crazy by jumping to conclusions in our heads, blowing small scenarios out of proportion, replaying bad memories in our minds, expecting too much from people, or simply driving ourselves insane with the what-ifs of life. 

Relax. Chill. Breathe. Although these commands can often make us more angry when we hear them from others, they are possibly some of the best pieces of advice ever. When we get angry, our heartbeat gets faster, our blood pressure gets higher, our mouth gets louder. If we simply just take a minute to stop and think and breathe, we can enter the realm of calmness, and perhaps avoid saying things we cannot take back, or doing things we will later regret.

"Right now I am trying to be in a place of calm, a place where I can chill out and then handle the chaos of life better. You don't just get it overnight; you have to work at it. It's a daily struggle."   
     
Jackee Harry

This quote describes perfectly my daily struggle, the struggle between Crazy and Calm. I know I have definitely found myself victim to Crazy's silly antics, causing me to rant on and on about things I thought were going to shatter my world, making me angry at the people I care the most about. But when I stopped and let Calm hold me in his gentle arms, I felt all my worries slowly melting away, my grievances suddenly didn't seem so great. 

Calm enables me to keep on living, to put all my hurt, my anger, my pain, my resentment in a tiny box, even if only for a day. The struggle starts over daily, for Crazy is never more than two steps behind Calm, trailing and wreaking havoc in Calm's peaceful wake. But, when I successfully stay away from Crazy for at least one day, I feel so much more alive. I can function. I can breathe. I can laugh. I can enjoy my day. I can smile at the simple things in life. I can really start to live again. 

Summertime Sadness always settles in quicker than I remember it to, and mixing it with Crazy only makes an open invitation for Depression, Stress, and Anger. But Calm can overcome all of these demons, and make way for Happiness, Love, and Sweet Relief. We only have one life to live, so why waste our time and energy being angry? Why give in to the mind torture that Crazy brings, when we can escape the replaying cycle of distressing thoughts, regretful words, unacceptable actions, missed moments? 

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner 
peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."

Saint Francis de Sales

This is the key to allowing Calm to overcome Crazy. We need to keep our cool, stay grounded, not allow others to steal our inner peace, our mental sanity, our deepest calm. People are always in a rush, which allows Crazy to take root. If we just take a moment to slow down, to stop and smell the proverbial roses, we could achieve a state of tranquility. 

In this state of tranquility, is where we can be the most productive versions of ourselves, where we can unlock our full potential, overcome challenges we never thought we could face, help our deepest doubts fade away. So I leave you today with the following series of quotes on Peace and Calm, in the hopes that you too can win the daily battle between Calm and Crazy, and reach heights you never even dreamed you could touch.

Carpe Diem,
Marian

Quotes: 

"Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health."

Dalai Lama

"To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him."

Buddha

"Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along."

Paramahansa Yogananda

"Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy."

Dada Vaswani

"Getting stress out of your life takes more than prayer alone. You must take action to make changes and stop doing whatever is causing the stress. You can learn to calm down in the way you handle things."

Joyce Meyer

"When adversity strikes, that's when you have to be the most calm. Take a step back, stay strong, stay grounded and press on."

LL Cool J

"Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive. When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again. When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"In the scriptures, 'peace' means either freedom from strife, contention, conflict, or war, or an inner calm and comfort born of the Spirit that is a gift of God to all of his children, an assurance and serenity within a person's heart."

Joseph B. Wirthlin

"The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence, to be always calm to let each wave of life wash us a little farther up the shore."

Cyril Connolly

"Fear cannot be banished, but it can be calm and without panic; it can be mitigated by reason and evaluation."

Vannevar Bush

"Doubt is an uneasy and dissatisfied state from which we struggle to free ourselves and pass into the state of belief; while the latter is a calm and satisfactory state which we do not wish to avoid, or to change to a belief in anything else."

Charles Sanders Peirce

"Be calm in arguing; for fierceness makes error a fault, and truth discourtesy."

George Herbert

"The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one's life."

Peace Pilgrim

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

C. S. Lewis

"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."

John F. Kennedy

"We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God."

Thomas Merton

"The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned."

Dag Hammarskjold

"Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means."

Ronald Reagan

*Read more at Brainy Quote:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/calm.html#eAb2LfrDBH9qCUlY.99 
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_peace.html 

Forgiving Freedom

Sometimes letting go means saying sorry, even if you're not the one in the wrong. Even if the other person is incapable of comprehending how or what they did to wrong you. When someone hurts you deeply, your first reaction is to get angry and want to hurt them back, but the truth is, this only ends up hurting you in the end. 

In order to truly move on and get rid of the bitterness boiling over inside you, it is necessary to forgive and forget. It may take time, but once you learn to forgive those who have wronged you, you're free. And the freedom that comes when you finally let go of Anger, Resentment, Hurt, Disappointment, and Pain, is the best feeling in the world. It is a sweet release that allows you to start living again.

When you forgive, you're free to live your life without carrying the baggage of the past. Free to be happy again. Free to take on the world. Free to do what you need to do to get by. Free to move on. Free to find love again. Free to forget the bitter and remember the sweet. Free to make better choices. Free to forge new memories. Free to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. Because it's never too late to let go and start writing a new chapter in the book of your life. 

No matter how badly you think you screwed up, or how insurmountable your problems may seem, we are not defined by our past mistakes. It's never too late to change your life. It's never too late to give and receive the gift of forgiveness. 

When you walk around with the pang of guilt, the pain of neglect, or the brokenness of countless disappointments, these negative feelings churn inside, making you feel sick to your very core. Eventually, if you succumb to these feelings, they can slowly begin to pull you under, deeper into the sinking sand. If you don't have a true friend by your side to come and save you, it is so easy to silently slip away before you know it.

So don't let your life get past that point of no return. Take charge of your feelings, your emotions, your mindset, before it's too late. Change the way you look at life. Start finding joy in the little things life has to offer. A clear blue sky, a rainy day, a breath of fresh air, a glass of clean water, a butterfly that flits by, a simple smile, sounds of laughter, the freedom to speak your mind, the privilege of receiving an education. 

People have become so self-absorbed, self-centered, egocentric, wrapped in themselves, they often take their life forgranted along with everything and everyone in it. If we all took a moment to appreciate others and build eachother up, instead of judging and breaking eachother down, the world would be a much brighter place. We could start to slowly eradicate some of the darkness so prevalent today. 

I want to end this post, by challenging each of you to compliment at least one person every day this week, because oftentimes, what people really need is a simple affirmation, a kind word, a sincere smile, to know that they're not invisible. So I challenge you to be that person for someone else today. Until next time...

Carpe Diem,
Marian Rosado 



*All photos in blog were taken from Google Images

Daily Decisions

As much as I would like, things in my life are almost never black and white. When I think I am sure of something, or I know what I need to do, life throws me a giant gray curveball.

Making choices has to be one of the most complicated things for me right now. Each and every decision comes with its own repercussions, sometimes good and sometimes bad. So, I find myself ever reflecting on my summer, my life, and the choices I have been making as of late.

It doesn't help either when different people give you polar opposite advice about the same situation, creating an even wider gap between the sides of black and white. So I stay in the gray, perhaps out of fear of making the wrong decision, or perhaps because when I'm in the middle, at least I still have places to go, and room to change my mind. 

Sometimes the gray isn't necessarily the best place to be, though. This middle zone can be detrimental if one resides there too long, for it dulls one's capability of making firm decisions, and blurs the lines between black and white, wrong and right. 

Everyone has their own opinion about the situations life throws us into, and I have begun to figure out that my own opinion should be the only one that matters. I need to stand firm and take that leap out of the middle zone, the comfort zone, the place where I don't have to think too hard or make the tough calls. I need to pick a side, black or white, and stop living in the shady shadows. 

Now, knowing that I need to do this and actually doing it are two completely different things. It all comes down to my daily decisions, the little things I choose to do everyday. Study or sleep? Homework or Netflix? Fast food or healthy meal? Hang out with friends or catch up on schoolwork? Allow others' actions to affect my mood, or rise above it and keep my focus? Let negative thoughts and emotions in, or persevere with positivity? Walk away from a dead-end situation, or linger longer because it's comfortable at the time? Live for long-term satisfaction, or for temporary gratification? 

Lately, I've been lacking greatly in the motivation and will-power department, which I am sure some of you can relate to. Oftentimes, we lose sight of the long-term goal, what is really best for us, the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. When it comes to that fork in the road to success, we need to make a choice, to do what is right for us, and our future. We need to let go of our fears and take the the path less traveled, the winding, twisting, rocky road, even though the easy way, the wide, green, grassy, road may seem so much more appealing. 

So many of us live for the moment and forget about the future. This may feel good at the time, but that feeling doesn't last. If you want to find true happiness, you need to train yourself to live your life in a way that pushes you to unlock your full potential. 
 Don't settle for less when you know you are capable of more. Don't shortchange yourself out of fear of the unknown. Don't fall into the trap that you can't be happy unless you have someone else to complete you. YOU alone are in control of your life, your happiness, your daily decisions. 

 

I find myself all too often, making my decisions based on what will make others happy, and putting my own needs on hold. This is something I have been struggling with for a while now, and I am beginning to realize that in order to achieve true happiness, I need to do what is best for me. I need to not rely on others to make me happy, and find joy from within myself. Only then can true happiness be obtained. 

Just Another Life Lesson:

#1: Something I have come to realize over the last few months, is that one of the only ways to avoid disappointment, is to stop expecting so much from people. Then, when someone does follow through with that they said they would, you can enjoy it all the more.

 

#2: Never make assumptions about what others are thinking, without confronting them first. Talking to others instead of that person directly only causes miscommunication and conflict when there may not have been any in the first place.

 

So until next time, I want to challenge you to think about some of the daily decisions you make that cause you to be unhappy, and some ways you can start relying on yourself for your happiness instead of looking for it in others. 

Carpe Diem,

Marian  

Tempestuous Times

Emotions have a way of affecting how we think, feel, act, and live. They can empower us or break us down. Bring us great confusion or unexpected clarity. Instill in us a sense of conflict or a moment of peace. 

As of late, my emotions have been quite a bit more uncontrollable than usual. My mood swings have gotten more frequent, and more severe. It feels like my mind is trying to tell my body something, sending out some secret message, but I don't know what it says. 

My visits from Stress and Anxiety have made a full blown comeback, as a result, leaving me down and dejected. I wish I could pinpoint the exact cause of these feelings, but in reality, I'm too busy with my crazy summer to actually take the time to sit down and analyze my feelings, my fears, my thoughts, my desires. Or maybe it is that, like some of you I'm sure, we are afraid to explore our true emotions and find out what it is that we really desire, deep down inside. 

It is a scary thing, when you come to realize that what you want may not necessarily be the best thing for you. This is especially so, if what we want could even end up hurting us in the end. But, I believe it is part of our human nature to follow our heart's desires, even when those desires are sometimes not the best idea. But life has a way of teaching us the things we need to learn in the end, even if sometimes those lessons may come at a high price. Everyone wants someone to catch us when we fall, but the sad truth is, we need to learn to pick ourselves up off the ground, because many times, NO one else will.

Life Lesson #1:
Dont' put your trust in other people. The only person you can truly trust 100% is yourself. I have learned time and time again that others will let you down and disappoint you, even if they seem to care. 

Life Lesson #2:
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Don't lead people on. Don't let them believe something that isn't true, no matter what the circumstances may be.

Life Lesson #3:
If people don't make time for you, they're not worth your time. If someone truly wants you to be a part of their life, they will find the time to spend with you. 

Life Lesson #4:
Don't take everything so seriously. Sometimes, we need to just let loose and have fun. Step out of our comfort zones and try something new. Stop worrying about how others will perceive you or what they will think of you.

Life Lesson #5:
The only opinion that truly matters is your own. At the end of the day, you should only pay attention to if YOU are okay with your actions, how you live, and what you think of yourself. Do not listen to the negative criticisms of others, because they will only torment you and affect your self-efficacy and crush your spirits.

Life Lesson #6:
Stop overthinking, overcompensating, overanalyzing, and replaying every word, action, situation, text message, and conversation you have with others. It will only make you miserable and can sometimes create a problem that wasn't even there.

Life Lesson #7:
The most beautiful thing you can wear is a smile. Even if you don't feel like smiling on the inside, if you smile on the outside, it can better your mood, and brighten not only your day, but that of those around you as well.

Life Lesson #8:
Confidence is KEY. Believing in yourself helps boost self-esteem, and will attract others to you. People flock to those who are confident and capable individuals, so stop doubting yourself, and start envisioning the best version of you.

Life Lesson #9:
Sometimes you need to take a moment and JUST breathe. Step back from a tense situation. Stop and think about what you are going to say before you speak. Sometimes this means sleeping on a situation and reassessing it afresh in the morning. A clear head is always better than a heated one. Things spoken in anger often lead to to greatest regrets.

Life Lesson #10:
Stop living in the past, because it will only cause you to sabotage your future. If you want things to be different, don't compare them to the past. Learn to let go and let good things happen. Past mistakes and painful memories make you stronger only if you remember the lessons you learned and let go of the negative feelings. 

Life Lesson #11:
Life is short, so forgive and forget. Don't live with regret.

These are just a few of the numerous lessons I have learned throughout my life. There are always many more to be learned everyday, but I just wanted to share a few of them with you. Until next time, here is a word of advice...

Carpe Diem,
Marian

Milestone Moments

I have completely lost track of how many times I've asked myself or been asked "What do you want to do with your life?". This short, simple phrase has the ability to send me into a panicked frenzy. There is nothing more stressful than not knowing what you want to do with your future. 

All those years lying ahead of you, waiting to be given a purpose. All the countless, life-changing decisions waiting to be made. And the hardest part, having to try and decide what you will be doing for the next fifty years, when you're only nineteen going on twenty and still asking your parents for grocery money. 

I came into college with a plan. I knew what I wanted to study. I knew what I wanted to be. I knew what I needed to do to get there. Or so I thought...

My freshman year, I was a Biomedical Sciences major, ready to be a pre-med student and become a doctor. Then, the summer before my sophomore year, I did something I never thought I would do. I switched my major. This was definitely a milestone moment in my life. It altered how I thought about college, how I saw myself, how I envisioned my future. I lost confidence in my ability to succeed in my classes. I was too scared of failure to take the upper level difficult science classes required of pre-med, so I became an Allied Health major, and switched to pre-nursing. I was taking my version of the "easy way out".

Pre-nursing was definitely a less rigorous a course load than pre-med, not to mention, I no longer had to take the new 7 hour long MCAT exam. The plan was to do neonatal nursing... But that plan failed miserably, shortly after I spent a semester volunteering in the neonatal department at a local hospital. I was shocked and disappointed to find that I dreaded my weekly hospital volunteering. I found it monotonous, boring, and not at all what I thought it would be. So, I finally decided to quit the hospital, and started to take a long, hard look at my life, my goals, my choices, my future.

So many kids come into college not having the slightest idea of what they want to do with their lives. And I used to feel sorry for them...that is until I became one of them. Changing my major changed my outlook, readjusted my mindset. I gained a newfound understanding toward others, more empathy, less judgement, more humility, less pride. 

I began to realize that it was completely okay to come into college and not know exactly where you wanted to be in the next five years, or even the next semester. I realized that college is not the time you have to have it all figured out. It is the time to explore your innermost thoughts, desires, fears, ideas, lack of ideas. It is the time not only to lay down the groundwork for your future, but also to learn life lessons, build character, create lasting friendships with others, and blossom into who you want to be as an individual.

Individual. This seemingly ordinary word has a whole lot of meanings. Individual. Unique. Uncommon. Different. Special. One-of-a-kind. Original. I think that finding who you truly are and discovering what makes you stand out from the crowd, what you have to offer that others do not, realizing your individuality, is one of the most significant milestones of your journey through college and life. 

It took me over four semesters and two summermesters of college to finally figure out what I thought I wanted to do. And even today, I still sometimes hear the words What am I doing with my life resounding through my head. But so far I think I have reached a milestone moment with my most recent decision to journey down the pre-dental path. 

I am now currently an Allied Health major with a minor in Psychology and Biology, and I feel more at peace with my pre-dental decision than I ever was with my prior ones, thanks to my positive summer shadowing experiences so far. So for now, I am sticking with it, and I hope to learn and grow more each day as I work towards getting closer and closer to dental school each day. 

I want to end this post with a challenge. I challenge each of you to take a moment or two today, and think about what you want out of life, what qualities define you as a person, and who you want to become as an individual. We live in a world where assimilation and similarity is the norm, and being unique and different is oftentimes frowned upon and even scorned, so I want to leave you with a few words of encouragement that I hope will help you on the road to discovering your true self, and your own individuality.

Carpe Diem,
Marian

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."

-Kurt Cobain

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."

-Coco Chanel  

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before." 
-Albert Einstein

"Do not be afraid to color outside the lines. Take risks and do not be afraid to fail. Know that when the world knocks you down, the best revenge is to get up and continue forging ahead. Do not be afraid to be different or to stand up for what's right. Never quiet your voice to make someone else feel comfortable. No one remembers the person that fits in. It's the one who stands out that people will not be able to forget."

-Nancy Arroyo Ruffin

Educational Endeavours

"The value of education is to make yourself do what has to be done whether you like it or not."

These words by Thomas Huxley, were what got me through my four years of high school. I posted this quote on a neon yellow index card and stuck it to my computer screen several years ago, and it somehow helped me get by. The constant battle between productivity and procrastination has always been one of my biggest struggles, and still is today, which is something I imagine quite a few of you can relate to.

Like so many of our generation, I find myself wasting away countless hours everyday browsing the web, watching Netflix, napping excessively, surfing social media, watching youtube, or simply doing nothing. 

So how do you surpass this wave of laziness, and make it to the untapped potential on the other side?

I read an article today called "The Psychology of Laziness", so here is an excerpt I believe was especially thought-provoking, for those of you who are interested.

                        Psychological Theories of Laziness (by M.D. Neel Burton)
"In most cases, it is deemed painful to expend effort on long-term goals that do not provide immediate gratification. For a person to embark on a project, he has to value the return on his labour more than his loss of comfort. The problem is that he is disinclined to trust in a return that is both distant and uncertain. Because self-confident people are more apt to trust in the success and pay-off of their undertakings (and may even overestimate their likely returns), they are much more likely to overcome their natural laziness.

People are also poor calculators. Tonight they may eat and drink indiscriminately, without factoring in the longer-term consequences for their health and appearance, or even tomorrow morning's hangover. The ancient philosopher Epicurus famously argued that pleasure is the highest good. But he cautioned that not everything that is pleasurable should be pursued, and not everything that is painful should be avoided. Instead, a kind of hedonistic calculus should be applied to determine which things are most likely to result in the greatest pleasure over time, and it is above all this hedonistic calculus that people are unable to handle.

Many lazy people are not intrinsically lazy, but are lazy because they have not found what they want to do, or because, for one reason or another, they are not doing it. To make matters worse, the job that pays their bills may have become so abstract and specialized that they can no longer fully grasp its purpose or product, and, by extension, their part in bettering other peoples' lives. A builder can look upon the houses that he has built, and a doctor can take pride and satisfaction in the restored health and gratitude of his patients, but an assistant deputy financial controller in a large corporation cannot be at all certain of the effect of his labour—and so why bother?

Other factors that can lead to laziness are fear and hopelessness. Some people fear success, or do not have sufficient self-esteem to feel comfortable with success, and laziness is one way in which they can sabotage themself. Shakespeare conveys this idea much more eloquently and succinctly in Antony and Cleopatra: 'Fortune knows we scorn her most when most she offers blows.' Conversely, some people fear failure, and laziness is preferable to failure because it is at one remove. "It's not that I failed," they tell themselves, "it's that I never tried."

Other people are lazy because they see their situation as being so hopeless that they cannot even begin to think through it, let alone address it. Because these people do not have the ability to think through and address their situation, it could be argued that they are not truly lazy, and, to some extent, the same could be said of all lazy people. In other words, the very concept of laziness presupposes the ability to choose not to be lazy, that is, presupposes the existence of free will. 

The Solution: I could have ended this article with a self-help pep talk or the top-10 tips to overcome laziness, but, in the longer term, the only way to overcome laziness is to profoundly understand its nature and particular causes: to think, think, and think, and, over the years, slowly find a better way of living."

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201410/the-psychology-laziness

With my junior year of college fast approaching, it is things like these that I think about. As a pre-dental student, junior year is one of the most crucial of my undergrad degree. Just a few of the things I need to do include starting my dental school file, studying for my DAT test, making sure my resume is well-rounded, continuing to do well in my classes as they get harder, and balancing my job, studying, and other extracurricular activities. The stark realization that I have run out of time to waste, hit me like a ton of bricks. If I don't kick into gear, start working harder, procrastinating less, studying more, and striving toward bigger goals NOW, soon it will be too late. 

But sometimes, even the thought of being jobless, helpless, and a failure, are not enough to spark my inner motivation and drive me toward success. 

Procrastination vs. Productivity: Round 1

Shadowing dentists is something I have been putting off since last semester. I convinced myself that I would be much too busy to shadow during the Spring, because I would be taking harder classes like organic chemistry, so I declined to submit my shadowing application to Pre-Dental Society at the start of the semester. I am beginning to think that this may just have been an excuse or simply fear of the unknown. 

Round 1 goes to Procrastination.

Round 2: 

I promised myself profusely at the end of Spring semester, that this summer I would at least put in the effort to try and find a place to shadow. It took me a few weeks, but one afternoon, I finally picked up the phone and made some calls. I left my information with a few local dentist offices, and then I waited. A few days later, one office returned my call. They were more than happy to let me come in and shadow, and even allowed me to work it in around my busy schedule. So I went to Walmart, bought my scrubs, and got a notebook to write my experiences in. My first day will be tomorrow.

Round 2 goes to Productivity.

Round 3:

Part of me is looking forward to the shadowing experience, and the opportunity to learn first-hand what a day in the life of an actual dentist is. The other half of me is dreading the day, and constantly running through every possible way in which things could go wrong. What if I end up hating dentistry? It's too late in my degree plan to switch tracks again. What if the dentist thinks I'm annoying or a nuisance? It's too late to find another office to shadow in. What if my scrubs look stupid? It's too late to go look for more by tomorrow. What if my summer classes, DAT prep, work, studying, and shadowing are too much to handle all at once? If I burn out and experience a mental breakdown, who's gonna be around to pick up the pieces...

So yet again, my all too familiar friends make another appearance...

Round 3 goes to Stress and Anxiety.

The mind is a complex place full of our most frequent fears, our darkest secrets, our strongest longings, our past regrets, our deepest desires. I think Neel Burton was on to something when he said "the only way to overcome laziness is to profoundly understand its nature and particular causes: to think, think, and think, and, slowly find a better way of living."
We must train our minds to think in our favor, to ignore the fears, doubts, and hesitations, and instead listen to the affirmations, encouragement, and positivity life has to offer us if we only embrace it. So until next time, I leave you with these quotes, and a challenge to take a moment today to stop and truly analyze why you are lazy, what makes you procrastinate, and what you're really afraid of in life.

“You will find there are times you must grasp your life with both hands and forcefully steer it in a new direction and then strain to hold your course until the storms of fear, weakness, and doubt abate.” 

― Richelle E. Goodrich

“Life’s challenges are inevitable. We have to prepare mentally by renewing our mind with inspiration daily to be able to cope when the situation arise.” 

― Lailah Gifty

Carpe Diem,
Marian