It's About Learning To Get Back On The Horse🏇

Hi friends. I'm back! Please read this (fun and wholesome) welcome back message. Thanks.

Welcome back!!

Hi friends,

Welcome back to my newsletter. Wait, wait before you click away, just get through this “welcome back” stuff and then it gets better wholesome.

I write this post to briefly update you about my somewhat long hiatus and also just to cut the ribbon for a new chapter in my life and this newsletter. I am excited to have you all back, existing readers and many new friends (I hope) from college : )

What was I up to???

I will be straightforward about this. 

Since the last post about 2 months ago, I’ve genuinely tried to make time to write for my newsletter. But, with the new things (uhm, like stress and um overload) that came with my part-time job and college, it’s been hard to get my life together.

I’ve had several bad weeks where I was sick, which disrupted any flow I had prior. 

I also had weeks where I was overwhelmed and I was “catching up” with college work. At times, I would be annoyed that I am still “catching up”, but over time I had come to accept that it’s okay (yeah, really) to slow down and take time to get to my best. That certainly helped, along with a big warm hug from journaling - my savior!

I’ve been striving to achieve a balanced life that incorporates the things that matter to me such as college, work, gym, newsletter, reading, and blah blah blah. Oh yeah, hanging out with friends would be nice too (?).

Sure, it’s ambitious to have everything fit in regularly within a week. But, I know it’s possible. Every week, I’ve gotten closer and right now I am sitting at a nice place. I am not fully there yet, there’s always something I can’t incorporate, but I am almost there and certainly in a good place. 

I am grateful. 

You can probably imagine that I had no time to write or think about the newsletter given that I was catching up and repairing my life. I also enjoy writing when I am in a good mental and emotional state (aka when I am feeling good).

Since you are reading this (I hope so :d), it means I’ve reached that state and I am ready to write. Cheers!

Couldn’t find a relevant image, so here’s a happy picture of me. Since we are talking about what I was up to, I guess it goes with the theme.

Now that I am back, let’s chat…

I am also struggling with the direction I want to take this newsletter, like what I should write about. Which audience should I target? Should I just write what I want and some niche will click? Regardless though, I won’t overthink (that’s a bold statement Fuhad) and I’ll just write. That much is clear, I want to continue writing and hopefully making a positive impact on the amazing people who are reading.

Besides sharing my thoughts, I will be writing about relevant topics to my audience, which are (mostly) students (college or high school), which includes time management, study tips, mental health, college life, etc, and generally self-improvement. 

Random miscellaneous posts are to be expected, like a page from my journal.

Hey, side note, if you’re not a student, most of these things will apply to you too. (like who doesn’t need to work on time and stress management from time to time…)

Okay, that’s the intro.

Here’s a photo of something my little students built with Legos.

A Useful Wholesome Thing I Learned

Before I close this post, I want to share a small message with you all. It’s something I’ve learned over the weeks since college started. It goes something like:

 “It’s not about avoiding falls, it’s about learning to get back up faster when you fall.” 

To take words from my favorite influencer, Vinh Giang, “setbacks are inevitable.” Instead of avoiding them all the time, we can accept that they happen and when they do we’ll just get back up.

For example, if you stopped going to the gym, or you missed too many deadlines, just notice it and get back on the horse. The goal is to reduce the time it takes us to get back on the horse.

Beating yourself up will make that difficult and being kind will certainly help. (Check out this video - it’s short and Vinh beautifully talks about this idea.)

Look, the start of a school year isn’t always easy. It’s coming from an idiot, who thought it would be a breeze. Be compassionate to yourself, and work together instead of looking down because you didn’t achieve your expectations. In my journey, I was my biggest supporter (how cute). When I fell, it was like the better version of myself wiped my tears, picked me up, and said let’s go bud.

If you can be kind to yourself at your worst times, those times will be incredibly easier to navigate - I promise you. Hold yourself accountable, yes, but don’t punish or criticize. 

So, be compassionate, slow down if you need to, and over the span of some time, you’ll end up in a greater place. I hate when it takes long too, but I realized (the hard way) that it’s much better to move at the rate you can than complain and do nothing.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, or stressed by college, school, work, or anything else, you’re not alone. Give yourself the time and space to make a comeback.

Source: sammorrell.com

Thanks a million for spending a few minutes of your day reading this. I appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed it. Have a beautiful weekend. See you all in the next one!

(P.S.: praying for Palestinians🙏)