Whether it’s a new year or just another day, it’s always a good time to start improving your lifestyle. One of the most impactful ways you can change your life for the better is to concentrate on your health, both mental and physical. Although this is never straightforward, there is no use delaying these positive changes until an arbitrary time in the future – give yourself a head start by deciding to do something now. Since there are so many angles you can take when you first start to focus on getting healthier, you might need some help pinpointing areas where you can begin. Here are a few simple guidelines for leading you towards a healthier self, both in body and in mind.
One: Get Fit
Physical fitness has always been something people strive for, from world famous athletes to ordinary people mustering the will to attend the gym. It can sometimes feel impossible to get started, especially since making a concerted effort to push your physical boundaries can take a large chunk out of your daily routine. When something appears to be difficult, it is tempting to make excuses as to why you would rather put it off. Just because you have work tomorrow doesn’t mean you can’t go for a run tonight. Discipline plays a huge role in your journey to self-improvement, especially regarding physical fitness.
Part of the difficulty is the fact that exercise often hurts, whether during or afterwards. If your resolve to get fit isn’t strong enough, it is very easy to let this deter you from exercising again. Avoid making these shortsighted mistakes and instead practice good discipline. Tell yourself that you will be happier in the long run if you are uncomfortable at the gym for just one hour. Not only will you become physically healthier with an improved heart rate and lung capacity, but you will also have taught yourself some valuable lessons about self-discipline and using your willpower to overcome mental obstacles.
Two: Drop Bad Habits for Good Ones
Getting fit should become just one of your top new habits. Turning something into a habit is a surprisingly easy way to make the most out of it with the least stress. People who regularly wake up early no longer feel the pain of rising before the sun – they have trained themselves that it is simply the way their day goes. Think like a soldier while being your own general – order yourself to eat something healthy now instead of binging later. By making these commands into habits, you remove the element of choice that would normally trip you up.
Of course, don’t punish yourself for occasional lapses of discipline. Just because you haven’t had a cigarette for two months then suddenly you find yourself lighting up doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. As long as the bad habits become rare lapses and good habits become second nature, this step can make an incredible difference. Swap alcohol for soft drinks when out with friends, or better yet something sugar-free. In many cultures, drinking alcohol at social gatherings is considered normal, but there’s no reason to avoid changing the norms and creating a healthier future. Studies have shown that younger generations are giving up the cultural trend of getting drunk as a form of entertainment. Much like how people baulk at cigarette advertising from the early twentieth century, soon everyone will see alcohol not as a kind of social lubricant but as a drug to be wary of. Switch your bad habits for good ones that still feel indulgent. It might take some time to find a suitable replacement for your nightly candy bar or weekend drink, but soon you won’t notice any difference except in your health and wellbeing.
Three: Build Your Confidence
An excellent step towards self-improvement is building confidence in yourself. If you don’t feel confident, it can hinder your lifestyle in unexpected ways. For example, social anxiety might prevent you from meeting friends or going to the gym. Extremely low confidence might even trick you into believing that you aren’t deserving of self-improvement. This, of course, is wrong. No matter the mistakes you make on your way, keep pressing on until you feel like the best version of yourself – then keep going.
Building confidence isn’t easy, and it takes a whole variety of methods depending on who you are. For some, it might be as simple as checking out Bathmate Direct and improving how you see yourself. For others, it might take a few weeks of gradually exposing yourself to more situations you don’t tend to find easy or comfortable. If you have trouble dating, be gentle with yourself and take it one step at a time. Slowly your confidence will build, and you’ll find yourself much more prepared to let yourself experience potentially awkward situations. The important thing to remember is that confidence opens up the world for you and is a brilliant thing to develop.
Four: Reduce Time with Tech
The digital age is bursting with new technologies and so many amazing breakthroughs that it is impossible to keep up. More than three billion people use the internet which means that many of us spend time interacting with technology. Of course, the whole purpose of tech is to make life easier and more entertaining, so there’s no reason to go throwing your smartphone or laptop out of the window in an attempt to feel healthier. However, as people become more and more accustomed to communicating through technology, aspects of social interaction become lost along the way.
Since technology is so attractive and seemingly omniscient, it’s understandable that we end up using it for hours every day. Relying on it for everything, however, teaches people to neglect other parts of their lives. Constantly distracting yourself from the physical world can create a disjoint between yourself and your surroundings, leaving you perpetually unsatisfied and unhappy. Exposure to the light emitted from your screens can disrupt your sleep and put your diet and exercise to waste. Take a few hours of your day to find something solid and non-pixelated to interact with to give yourself a break.
