One of my biggest conflicts this semester was trying not to overload myself with more than I can handle. I think the most challenging part of my Patriot Experience is practicing well-being. I often overcommit myself and end up sacrificing much-needed sleep. This was illustrated on multiple occasions during the Fall semester when I was struggling to maintain a balance between work, school, and my student organization commitments. As a result, I pulled all-nighters almost every week and it was seriously affecting my health. I was also exhausted and moody, and I found my body trying to compensate for the lack of sleep by over-eating. It was one of my worst semesters in terms of well-being.
When winter break came, I was so relieved and I created well-being goals in an effort to do better for the spring. For instance, I downloaded an app to help me keep track of my habits in order to raise awareness of negative behaviors like over-eating and maintain positive new behaviors like journaling and going to bed before 12am. For the most part, this app has been very helpful in my well-being journey. As I started the spring semester with these new habits in place, I found myself more alert and energetic which translated well to my performance as an LC.
Although I’m working to practice better well-being, it’s a process that I still struggle with constantly and I recognize that I’m not going to do everything perfectly overnight. For instance, earlier this semester when I had two exams, a presentation, and a paper due, I knew that I wouldn’t have enough time to study for both exams if I attended the Black Excellence Gala on Friday and the Somatic Leadership Conference on Saturday. Despite knowing this, I said, “screw it” and went to both events anyway. I have a huge fear of missing out and I want to engage in everything that I can to make the most of my Mason experience, but this often backfires when I end up burning out because I don’t have enough time/energy to do everything. In the end, I still did well on the exams even though I didn’t get enough time to study, but I lost hours of sleep because I had to stay up finishing all my other assignments for the week on top of studying. This is obviously bad for my well-being since I was still depriving myself of sleep.
For the upcoming year, I would like to better manage my time, so that I can dedicate more of my effort towards my own well-being. I always want to say “yes” but I need to learn how to set up better boundaries and let myself say “no” if I want to avoid burnout and lead a sustainable lifestyle. One way I have found is helpful is to consult people in my life who can offer an objective and considerate advice. When I talk through my well-being conflicts with loved ones, I always come out with a better idea of how to approach a situation and they help to hold me accountable to my well-being goals.