Contributed Post
Everyone has their own little ways of making themselves feel better, and tackle the challenges that a modern, busy life likes to throw our way. With a generation experience burnout, and expectations of living your best life perpetuated through social media, too much stress can take a toll on your mental and physical health over time.
Why not take some time to think about the way you can make small changed to help you feel your best each day. By focusing on what’s in your control and being more mindful of your habits, you can alter your behaviour towards positive behaviours. What you choose to do or not do makes a difference when it comes to your health and wellbeing. Keep reading to learn how you can feel your best daily, and aim to maintain a positive outlook.
Build Connections
Humans are social beings and having a diverse network of support around you can be absolutely key in maintaining positive mental health and overall wellbeing. With the increase in social media, it can sometimes be hard to find genuine connection, and it can take some hard work to cultivate positive relationships.
Think about those you have around you, whether that’s in work, your friendship circle or even your family. While having lots of different connections in life is important to bring diversity of thought, skills and experiences, it’s also important to make sure that you aren’t giving too much of yourself to relationships that don’t expand your horizons or allow you to live your true, authentic life. Find your chosen family, discover what people can bring to your life, and think about how much you joy you bring to others too.
Eat Healthily
Feeling your best has to start from the inside! By being more aware of what types of foods you are eating, you can make some more positive habits when it comes to your diet. Eating a healthy, varied and balanced diet can help you have plenty of natural energy. It’s true what they say – you are what you eat – and if the balance is slipping towards convenience and processed foods, then you are likely to notice the impacts these have over time.
A good first step to changing your eating habits is to begin cooking for yourself at home. While the suggestion to look at ‘quick fix’ diets may provide some short-term results, this way of looking at food can create some negative relationships with food, and it’s far more likely that you’ll reach for those endorphin boosting comfort foods with high sugar and fat before long.
Get inspired, there’s plenty of great recipes and home meal-kit providers these days to help you start your healthy eating journey! By buying more raw ingredients and making a plan for what you might want to cook, even if you’re not a great home chef, you’ll start to discover new cuisines and be more conscious of what you’re fuelling yourself with.
Focus on Getting Quality Sleep
Getting enough, quality sleep is very important for your health and wellbeing. You want to make sure that each day you wake up feeling refreshed, restored and aren’t having to rely on caffeine to get you through the mornings!
Plan to go to bed at a decent time each night, and start to build mindfulness into your evening routine. Everyone is different, but ensuring you have the right time to switch off and reflect before getting under the duvet – that next episode of the must-binge show can wait.
Your bedroom should be your sanctuary. Configure your bedroom for optimal rest and sleep by investing in a comfortable mattress and bedding. If it’s time to replace your mattress then you should check out your local bed shop to see what they have on offer in this department. You want to make sure that you don’t wake up with aches and pains in the morning so it’s worth spending the money if you want to feel rested. It is recommended that you replace your mattress every seven years.
Spend Time Outside
Connecting with the natural world around you is another great way to feel your best every day and get some fresh air. This is especially important if you work a desk job all day. Spend more time outside and use your free time to explore nature. There are many activities you can do depending on the time of year.
Explore more outdoors, get lost in your local area, and take the time to find green space that you can retreat to when the challenges of the world get too much. Being outside more will also help keep you active and moving more daily, without the need for that pesky gym membership!
Nurture Your Mental Health
If you want to feel your best every day then you also should be aware of your stress levels. Be sure to nurture your mental health and take care of your mind. This is an important aspect as it relates to your overall wellbeing.
For you, it may be that you enjoy meditating or writing in a journal. There are plenty of ways to reduce stress, be more mindful and ensure that you feel strong mentally. Putting in the effort to focus on how you feel physically and mentally can help set you on the right path to overall wellbeing. There are plenty of resources, podcasts and journal prompts to help you get into the habit of asking how you really are.
Your Own Tips
We all know something that makes us feel better, and the big take away here is that everything in moderation and living a well balanced and varied lifestyle is the best way to feel our best. By being more mindful about the factors that can have an impact on our wellbeing and willing to experiment with these ideas can help you see what works best for you. It won’t be long before you are feeling great and have a lot more vitality to carry you through the day.
Let us know your own tips for feeling your best – drop a comment, or share on social media with #relativeluxury