What is the quality of your life at the moment; are you including time in your schedule for self-care and exercise to increase your energy and vitality? We are living in a fast-paced society where we are constantly focusing our attention on improving the lives of others; our work colleagues, families, parents, friends, our pets or anything else that exists in our reality! It is absolutely normal and wonderful to care about others but in this process self-care is forgotten and we often neglect important areas of our health. The main aspects of personal wellness are: physical emotional, social, mental, and spiritual health. We may feel hopeless and out of balance when we cannot maintain a healthy lifestyle and this causes stress in our inner and outer world. The decisions we make impact our short-term and long-term personal health. If one area of our lives is out of balance, most likely the other areas will be affected, too. We need to be able to master all areas of our lives to achieve balance and to look at obstacles as opportunities. My life changed when I realised that life happens for you and not to you. I follow my own simple strategies and activities that have helped improve my lifestyle and health, keep reading for some ways to invest in yourself and to help boost wellness in your life.
PHYSICAL
Learn to cook healthy meals. Avoid junk foods, processed meat, sugar, soft drinks and sweets. Include lots of fruit and vegetables in your diet and drink as much water as you need.
Exercise is important to maintain a balanced life. Try walking for 30 minutes every day or find an exercise that you enjoy. If you cannot go outside, buy an exercise mat, some dumbbells and exercise at home. I have found many online exercises on YouTube, choose your favourite and start exercising at your own pace to improve your health.
Reduce your alcohol consumption and stop smoking. Get enough sleep and listen to your body when it needs to rest to allow the muscles to relax and the mind and body to heal.
EMOTIONAL
Allow yourself to feel and acknowledge negative emotions and realise that every situation is temporary. Try and maintain a positive attitude and energy even when everything is falling apart. Learn how to manage stress and express your feelings. Increase your self-awareness to help you process your emotions and understand your strengths and weaknesses. Find your purpose and meaning. What is it that brings you happiness in your life? Do you jump out of bed in the morning excited for the new day or do you want to hide under the covers hoping that someday things will change.
SOCIAL
Recognise when you are in an unhealthy relationship and take action to resolve a negative situation or environment. Do you have a supportive network of friends and family, or do they drain your energy with their negativity? Set boundaries with the people that cause stress in your life or increase toxic energy. Don’t be afraid to walk away from friends or relationships that negatively affect your health. If you have the time, you can volunteer for a charity in your community. For example, you could be a mentor for a student or you can look after sick animals, find a cause that is important to you and connect with like-minded people. Volunteering will help people, grow your connection to your community and give you a sense of purpose in your life.
MENTAL
We need to form good habits that support cognitive function that affect how our brain functions to improve our mental wellbeing. There are many ways to support your mental health and it’s about what works for you and makes you feel comfortable. Never feel embarrassed to seek help when you feel that your life is out of control. Some ways that you can support your mental health:
- Exercise
- Mindfulness meditation
- Healthy diet, consume foods that are high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids that support cognitive function
- Keep your mind active by continuing personal development and seeking new challenges and learning opportunities
- Cultivate creativity
SPIRITUAL
Spiritual health is a choice and it is not a set of rules, for me, it means connecting with our soul. Are you taking time every day to tune into your soul and purpose? These are some of my favourite activities you can try to connect with yourself and improve your spiritual health:
- Meditation is a great way to connect and feel our emotions and sensations in our bodies. Meditation can help manage stress as it produces a deep state of relaxation to quiet the monkey mind. You can meditate for as little as 10 minutes a day and you don’t need any equipment.
- Yoga means ‘union’ in Sanskrit and helps to bring clarity to the mind and develop a deeper connection with your , intuition. If you cannot get to a yoga studio, there are many yoga videos on YouTube to develop your yoga practice at home.
- Spending time in nature and doing activities like walking, hiking can increase happiness, reduce stress and boost your immune system
- Practicing gratitude and writing our feelings in a journal is one of my favourite ways to boost happiness. Writing a few sentences every day about what you are feeling helps to process your thoughts and emotions. It can help to lower stress levels as I find that reading our thoughts on paper can be a cathartic healing process. Start by feeling grateful for what you have in your life, write your emotions in a journal and read them out loud a few minutes every day.
- Take a break from social media and have a digital detox. Social media is a great tool for staying in touch with family and connecting with new friends but it can also make people feel tired, depressed and cause negative emotions when comparing their lives to others. Try and give yourself a detox from social media, once a week or a couple of hours during the day. Take time to reconnect with yourself, family and your partner during this time. Switch off phones at least a couple of hours before bed time so it will be easier to fall asleep at night.
Wellness is about a positive mindset in all areas of our life. When you are able to connect to your heart and have a healthy relationship with yourself, you will attract more positive and healthy relationships in your life. You will not worry about obstacles as you know that it is part of the journey and a healthy mind and body can achieve anything.