Amongst the chaos of everyday life, it can be nearly impossible to find a sense of peace and calm within ourselves. As students, we have what feels to be a million pressures and competing priorities — school, work, organizations, parents, relationships, volunteering, job searching and fitting in.

We wear many hats, and it can all be a bit much. It is up to us to keep the stresses of life under control, to avoid mental and emotional pile-ups which can often lead to preventable messes in our lives. It is our responsibility to make room in our hearts and time in our lives for ourselves as individuals.

Here are a few ways we can accomplish this simple, but not easy, feat:

 Decompress

Do what helps you unwind and relax your mind. It is an important life skill to identify what re-energizes you and subsequently engage in that activity when you most need it.

Whether it is going for a long walk, taking a hot shower, talking on the phone, spending time with friends or going to the gym, do what takes your mind off the stresses of everyday life.

Putting your mind at ease can help you refresh and achieve your inner peace. Taking time for yourself is critical to your long-term happiness, although you may not realize or want to accept it.

Author Anatole France wrote in his 19th century book The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard, “Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.” Indeed, we require rejuvenation through activities we most enjoy, in order to stay energetic and maintain our endurance in school, work and a myriad of daily commitments.

Rediscover yourself

Take a break from any sort of technology or media and spend some time alone to remember yourself. Look back through old photographs and sift through your childhood and roots.

This will help you appreciate where you come from, everything you have been through and who you are today. Getting in touch with yourself can help you regain focus and perspective on what really matters.

It will allow you to embrace your originality, help you make academic and professional decisions that are true to yourself and protect you from caving in to the competing pressures of everyday life.

As author Mandy Hale wrote in The Single Woman, “You’ll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to live life on your terms, and never, ever apologize for it. Go against the grain, refuse to conform [and] take the road less-traveled instead of the well-beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, and leap before you look. Dance as though everybody is watching. March to the beat of your own drummer. And stubbornly refuse to fit in.”

Reflecting on who you are will help you rediscover your sense of self and confidence, leaving you happier, more grounded and more courageous, no matter what you are doing.

Learn to say no

We have a host of pressures pulling us in different directions in our daily lives. From classmates, friends, family members and significant others texting, calling, asking for favors and wanting to spend time with us — it is hard to let anyone down.

Luckily, you do not have to if you set boundaries and realistic expectations of your limits. You must humbly accept that you cannot do it all or have it all.

Identify your capabilities and breaking points, and how much you can handle. Say no to technology during classes and meetings — turn your devices off so you are not tempted.

If you miss texts or calls throughout the day, simply apologize and explain that you were unable to reach your phone. No regrets. This is not to say that we should not be there for people, as we all should assume responsibility as loyal confidantes, friends and whatever other roles we have.

It comes down to drawing lines and realistic expectations of what you can and cannot do for others in one day, while simultaneously taking care of yourself.

As Elaine St. James eloquently advised in Living the Simple Life, “There are often many things we feel we should do that, in fact, we don’t really have to do. Getting to the point where we can tell the difference is a major milestone in the simplification process.”

For your health and sanity, it is important to not let life sweep you up among all the chaos, obligations and stress of everyday life.

It is a critical skill to control and live life how you want it to be lived, rather than letting life take the reigns and drag you along unhappily. As college students, spreading ourselves too thin is often a common fault of ours, but in order to fully devote ourselves to every task and obligation, it is essential for us to exercise the utmost respect and compassion toward ourselves.

Paria Sanaty Zadeh ([email protected]) is a third-year health professions student studying pharmacy.