Life is hectic. Between work and school, family and friends, it’s easy to forget that you need to take care of yourself. I mean, when was the last time you checked in and asked yourself how YOU were feeling? Even though we are trying to be the best at everything we do, it’s critical to make sure that mentally, we’re doing okay.
Part of becoming a healthier person is not just about losing weight, shaping up, or changing your appearance. It’s not always about making sure you can get to the gym right after work. A large part of your overall health is mental. Along with checking in with the scale every now and then and monitoring how our clothes fit, we need to start asking ourselves, “How am I feeling?” After a workout, do you have more energy or are you past the point of exhaustion and about to collapse? How are you sleeping? Do you stay up late tossing and turning, stressing about all the work you have to get done the next day, or are you waking up completely rested? How about body image? Are you seeing YOU in the mirror, or the distorted “fat” picture you have of yourself in your head?
These are all very important indicators of good health and by paying closer attention; you will be doing wonders for your mental and physical being!
FEELING good is a huge component of leading a healthier lifestyle! It’s not ALL about looking good! As you get healthier, by either losing weight, exercising more, or eating better, start noticing if your mood elevates. Are you feeling more confident and have better self-esteem? Are you able to get a good night’s sleep and feel rested in the morning? If not, what factors are bringing negativity?
Be honest with yourself and check in daily! Sometimes it’s a good idea to keep a journal, briefly writing how you are feeling, both the high and low moments. When you acknowledge the good and the bad, you are better able to handle those lows. You’ll start to realize that all these signs of positive and negative energy are just as important as the size of your waistline!
Yoga is an excellent way to check in mentally. It’s all about connecting the mind AND body. Once I started practicing on a daily basis, I noticed I was less stressed and better able to calm myself down in difficult situations. I was also more appreciative of my body and what it could do for me. I no longer feel the need to “torture” it with endless hours of exercise. I exercise to feel good and keep my body healthy; not to achieve “perfection.”
A last laugh...
Find your own nitch and what works for you! Feel great about how far you’ve come! You are worth it!
Feeling GOOD comes from within. With a healthy mind, you WILL have a healthy body!
How do YOU check in mentally?
Excellent post! your words ring so true! Thank you
Love this post. I have learned over time that, rather than trying to make everyone else happy, if I am happy, people around me are drawn to my happiness.
I have started making myself quite the priority. Doesn’t mean I still don’t spread myself way too thin, but little treats like a few extra minutes of sleep, a bubbly bath, some random yoga stretches or an impromptu shopping trip during lunch remind me to take a break!
This was a really inspiring post
Happy Friday!
This post really hits home! For years I was completely out of touch with how I was TRULY feeling. I set strict rules for myself (mainly exercise and food related) and made sure I achieved my “goals” no matter how tired, hungry or full I was. As a result, I was always stressed and felt like my life was out of control! I’m so grateful that things have changed for the better! But of course I still struggle…The key is centering myself again and focusing on HEALTH.
I’ve heard yoga does wonders, but have never actually devoted myself to regular practice. I think maybe I should give it a shot! I ground myself by taking long, steady-paced walks. It’s during this time that I’m best able to reflect on what’s happening in my life.
Thank you for including all those sweet cards/images. I love that line of cards. And I’ve been having a hard time lately, so this post was especially relevant. I need to see the positive in life, even when things get hard. Thank you so much!
Great reminder. Everyone needs to remember to stop and think about how they feel, and what may be contributing to stress, and/or sadness in their life. Even the busiest people have time to look after themselves for a bit!
My job is going really well, thanks so much for asking. What/who is your interview for again? I bet you told me, but I forgot! I am so bad at keeping track of who is doing what.
What a great post! I often forget to ask myself how I am doing. It is so important to take time out for ourselves. I love doing yoga and I feel so great after class. I feel so relaxed and rejuvinated. I need to practice more often.
This was a great post! I love the pictures…too funny! I can tell when I am not focusing on my body because I often get cranky
i love learning to smile even when things are tough. it doesn’t mean ignoring the hard stuff, but just knowing that life’s too short to dwell on it!
I love this post!!! This is something I have totally incorporated into my life, that I never used to do! I am very in tume with my body and feelings, and I feel better overall because of it!!
We all need to love and take care of ourselves…its something that so often gets overlooked!
I love the post cards and pics…..so cute!
Reason 778 why I love your posts. This is something I was just talking about on my site today. How do you check your mental health?
I totally echo your thoughts, fantastic points. And sometimes you do have to verbalize the good and the bad, it’s so cathartic.
Even though we are trying to be the best at everything we do, it’s critical to make sure that mentally, we’re doing okay.
I completely agree with everything you just said and I really love that last bit – Feeling GOOD comes from within. With a healthy mind, you WILL have a healthy body. If you don’t have a healthy mind, it doesn’t matter how thin, fit, or healthy your body is because you will never be happy or satisfied. In order to achieve happiness we must work on fixing what’s inside and then I believe that happiness with the outside will follow by itself.
I love this post! It’s so true – when you focus on being healthy mentally and emotionally, your body follows along quite naturally.
As I get older, I’m realizing more and more that health is mental! if your mind isn’t healthy–if you are stressed, if you arent taking care of yourself–then you just cant be healthy.
great post!: )