 Hey Psych2Goers, are you looking for some habits to help improve yourself? Well, you've come to the right place. Here are a few tricks to get you feeling happier and help you become a better you. 1. Follow what it is you want in life for yourself, not just what others want for you. Are you choosing a career that society says you should have? Are you with a partner only because your friends say you should be with them? What about your goals? Are they yours or someone else's? It's important to follow what it is you want in life, not what others only want for you. This doesn't mean you should be selfish, but it does mean if you're not happy with the path you're taking in life, you may need to change things up. Make a promise to yourself and stick with it. If you know what you want, go get it. A good habit if you're struggling with staying true to yourself is to make the decisions yourself before asking others what they think on the topic. It's kind of you to think of others' needs too, but keep in mind your needs and wants are just as important. Balance. As long as you're true to yourself, you should be fine. 2. Write down the things you'll need to get done tomorrow so you can rest for the evening. So you've had a busy day at school and you have a ton of work to get done tomorrow. It's already pretty late and you've made plans with friends and family this evening so you have to call it quits for the day. You've been working hard. You deserve it. But when you go out to dinner for the evening, you can't help but feel that stacked to-do list at the back of your head. There's a great little method, clinical psychologist, writer, teacher and podcaster Nick Wignall practices. Wignall recommends on his blog that you try what he calls the 455 drill. Five minutes before work ends at 5pm, he writes down three important things he should get done the next day. This way, he's assured and reminded of what he needs to work on the next day. He doesn't need to hold on and memorize what it is he has to do tomorrow. It's written down for him. He let it go on a sticky note on his desk instead of keeping it bottled up inside his head for the rest of the evening. Great advice. So, create your own variation of the strategy if you'd like. If you write down the rest of your worries or tasks today that you know you should probably complete tomorrow, you can let go of them so they don't worry you throughout the rest of your evening. You can do this for a task you know is better completed next week or a month from now. Whatever floats your boat. Are you having a hard time focusing on your studies? Are stress and anxiety keeping you from getting the rest you need? Well, have no fear. Our sponsor for this video, Endle, is here to help. Endle uses your location, weather, heart rate, and time of day to create music that has been scientifically proven to boost productivity and soothe even the most restless mind. With their revolutionary technology and cutting edge neuroscience, sleepless nights and unproductivity is a thing of the past. The first 100 people to download Endle will get a free week of audio experience. So, check out the description for this limited and exclusive offer. 3. Search for a creative outlet or hobby. Nearly everyone has a creative side, so it's time to let yours out. Being creative is a great way to express what you're feeling and share something about yourself with the world. Remember journaling and doodling? Those are creative outlets as well. Being creative allows you to release any energy or feelings you have out onto a project. So, make it a habit to incorporate a bit of creativity throughout your day. Try a new hobby, practice the tuba, make a sculpture, whatever it is, make time for it throughout your day or week. 4. Do something that makes you truly happy at least once a day. What is it that makes you truly happy? Spending time with your family? Painting? Going on walks with your dog? Our days can get busy and, along with that, stressful. So, it's great to plan into your day an hour or so to do something that makes you jump for joy. Well, you don't need to be physically jumping unless you really enjoy jumping on trampolines. This should give you a little something to look forward to and work towards throughout your day. And it should take the stress off a bit being able to spend time doing something you truly love. 5. Be kind and respectful to yourself. Are you too harsh with how you think about yourself? Do you over-criticise yourself after small mistakes? Well, it's time to respect yourself, my friend. You wouldn't treat your friends with such harsh criticisms or judgements, right? Then why not treat yourself as a friend? Be kind and gentle. Not cruel and judgmental. A good habit is to replace harsh self-talk with positive self-talk. Easier said than done, right? But it's worth a try. If you catch yourself on a tirade of rude insults to yourself after a mistake, take a breath and ask yourself how you can simply do better next time. Or how you have plenty of time to try out new strategies or fix the mistake so it's even better than before. Maybe simply give yourself a compliment each day. Spend time recognising what's so great about you. What are you proud of? What are you looking forward to? What makes you happy to be you? 6. Straight away from rumination and stay focused on the task at hand. Do you spend a great deal of time playing out scenarios and replaying unhelpful thoughts? These ruminations can make an individual feel extremely anxious as they play out these hypothetical situations. A good habit is whenever you find yourself caught in a stream of unhelpful thoughts to focus on something in front of you. Or take the stressful thoughts you've been worried about and express them in a journal. You'll be able to slow down and regain your clarity by simply slowly writing out what it is you're feeling in a journal or a notebook. It doesn't need to be a thorough journal entry. A simple sentence or doodle make it you back to feeling relaxed. So will you adopt any of these helpful habits? And if so, which ones? Feel free to share with us in the comments down below. We hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, don't forget to click the like button and share it with a friend. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this. And as always, thanks for watching.