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Do it for you!: how to turn ideas into things that will benefit you, just for you!


Hi folks, it's been a while, eh? Sorry about that... The truth is that I've been tired, some may even say 'burnt out', and am just about coping with my current workload while juggling a whole bunch of projects I've been brewing up: taxidermist aspirations, an MA beginning imminently, reading, getting up at 5(ish)am and attempting to be kinder to myself. Some of them will, I'm sure, prove more successful than others, but hey-ho.

In this post, I wanted to discuss something I've been thinking about recently: doing things purely for yourself and no one else. In all honesty, I struggle with this whole concept. I incessantly seek assurance in the opinions' of others because I don't trust my own mind to supply it for me. I think this is reasonably common in general, but is particularly so in those with mental health issues. It's strange to think that we can believe thoughts that distress us so furiously, but a single second of positive self-talk can leave us stumped. Here are my thoughts!


Social Media: recording life for your benefit, not that of your followers

I used to journal a lot when I was younger. We all had private (and usually pink and fluffy, key locked) diaries, where we'd divulge our latest crush, our daily musings and hopes and dreams. We did not do this for others, but for ourselves. We'd have died of embarrassment (and we actually believed that to be possible, most likely) had someone else read our deepest thoughts.

Now, we project an image of ourselves created almost solely to impress our friends, followers and to increase the likeliness of acquiring more of both. In a world where numbers are king, our follower count dictates our value and can impact heavily on our self-esteem. Yes, social media is our new method of recording our lives. But this time, only the best parts are remembered, for fear of displaying something less insert-appropriate-adjective-here than we'd like to be seen as.

I do try my best to be authentic on my social media platforms, yet I find myself putting lipstick on specially for a selfie or taking ten photos before choosing what I deem as a 'good' outfit picture. It's artificial and it's harmful.

My response to this is to record life in photos and words seen only by me and perhaps a friend or two, but always in person. Journals, sketchbooks, film photographs: they are your best friend. No one seeing it is what makes it most sacred!


Odd Hobbies

Sometimes, things we do might seem odd (or at least things I do...) to others and they might voice this. To that, I say: do what makes you happy. It's so over-expressed,  but quite honestly, life is short and (as far as we know) you only have one go at it. 

Here are a list of some odd/interesting hobbies to take up: 
- taxidermy (my current aspiration)
- skipping (including tricks and double jumps) 
- making food into art (glazing squashes, gingerbread houses, still life paintings of unusual food combinations) 
- psychogeography and being a flaneur/flaneuse (aka walk around aimlessly, for fun, simply for the love of walking aimlessly. Map the streets out in your mind!) 
- found objects (collecting interesting, but entirely useless, objects you find in your day to day life)

If you love it, do it! Those were just a few of my favourite ideas for interesting hobbies. It's a bit more fun than taking up swimming or running, eh?


Goals and Aspirations: seek your own approval

Finally, I wanted to talk about seeking your own approval and discarding (carefully, when necessary) others' opinions. This is key to doing things purely for yourself and requires a level of self-respect and self-love that we should all have for ourselves, but often don't. First, you might need to work on the value you find in your identity. Here are some practical ideas to begin this process:

1. Write a comprehensive list (or create a mind-map) of your qualities, good, bad or otherwise. Get to know yourself! 
2. What is the nicest/best thing you've ever done for someone else?
3. Ditto for yourself? 
4. Do something nice for yourself right now! (Any act of self-care, stat!) 
5. How does looking after yourself make you feel? 
6. How would your life differ if you took the points in this blog post on board? (Minus the nonsense!) 


So, I'll leave you with that thought. I don't claim to know anywhere near everything and I'm no therapist, but I hope this post helped you in some way. Let me know if it did! Sorry for the absence and much love! 


@jumper.dweller
 Louise 


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