Hello, May

It's a new month, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on April.

I like to go on my camera roll and look at time periods in picture form. You'd be so surprised at the moments your subconscious mind has hidden from you. It gives you insight on what you usually place at the forefront of your mind and what you struggle to remember.

In April:

• I got flowers twice

• I learned a new skill (blowdrying my hair)

• I baked!

• I cooked many times

• I worked out

• I took advantage of my mornings with spontaneous coffee dates, pool time, and fun errands

• Had 3 BIG research wins

• Started new weekend rituals with my husband

• Developed a new creative hobby of Pinterest boarding, lol

• Slept and ate well

• Lost weight 😊

• Wrote 3 articles

• Read a book

All of this did not come to my mind when I was reflecting! All I could remember was how stressed I was about my research commitments. April was an amazing month, but in my mind it was only framed as stressful. Crazy, isn't it? How our brains work? I'm actively and intentionally trying to rewire my brain to be more optimistic.

Optimism builds emotional resilience, helps you spot opportunities, gives you fuel to keep going, protects you from falling into depressive episodes, gets you out of bed! (I'm literally doing a whole research project about it, lol.) This exercise of reflecting on your monthly highlights is a way for me to train my brain to focus on the positive. It's also important to assess what wasn't productive for you and what you want more for yourself. Here are my lists:

What I'm leaving in April:

• Unproductive worrying

• Being harsh on myself

• Not savoring moments and not being present

• Rushing

• Postponing happiness

• Negative thoughts

• Wasting time doom scrolling and bed rotting

What I'm taking into May:

• Romanticizing life

• Indulging in fun mornings

• Working out

• Documenting my life via pictures 🥰

• Spontaneous plans

• Consistent research effort

• Sleeping early and waking up early

• Investing time in my creative side (writing, mood boarding, painting)

• Read another book!

What I want more from May:

• Connecting with people I don't usually connect with (get out of my comfort zone)

• Positive self-talk. Being gentle on myself

• ✨ Being present and not taking moments for granted ✨

Writing this and reflecting on my month has been very eye-opening, and I encourage you to do it with me.