You don’t have the energy and motivation to do anything!?
There are certain things that you can implement today that can do wonders for your health, wellness, and happiness.
Becoming healthier and happier can take a long time and it’s all about taking small steps every day as, little by little, these things will eventually add up and you’ll be in a much better state before you even knew it.
Health is composed of two things; the mind and the body.
Becoming healthy means improving both aspects of your being to create an ultimately happier and fitter you.
1. Realise The Power Of The Right Here, Right Now
There is a famous book written by Eckhart Tolle, a German-born author, called ‘The Power Of Now’ based around this entire concept.
Once you realize that you can only be happy in this very instant then your problems and worries become trivial.
It’s a very hard concept to be grasped by the brain as it sees everything in past and future. If you think about it, this is where all of your worries are.
You worry about an event that has already happened such as a breakup, divorce, being fired etc and then you worry about its repercussions and consequences.
However, if you realize that in this moment right now as you read this you are OK, you are safe and you can be happy if you allow yourself then these troubles can go away.
Happiness is simply based upon how much you allow it into your mindset. Your head is normally consumed with ego related ideas.
Do any of these sound familiar?
“I’m not attractive enough”
“I’m not as wealthy as I’d like to be”
“I don’t have x, y or z and therefore I am not happy”
None of these things are true unless you let them be. The reason that people become constantly sad is that it becomes their identity. It consumes them.
Once it has become your identity, it is hard to change because the mind wonders what it will be. You need to realize that your identity is simply ego-driven and could be the sources of all your mental issues.
Take a breath and become comfortable at the moment. Meditation is a great resource for allowing this to happen.
If you spend 5 – 10 minutes of the day in peace and quiet, only focusing on what’s happening to you in that moment in time then it will spill over to the rest of your day.
2. Stop Caring About What Other People Think Of You
This is similar to the last point in that problems arise when the ego is compromised.
Allowing other people to dictate your mood is a sure-fire way to unhappiness and therefore being unhealthy.
Everyone is equally worried about what other people think of them and every individual has their own flaws. If you let the words and thoughts of everyone else affect you then you can never be happy as you will never be perfect.
Perfection is not something that should be strived for as it is an unreachable goal, it can never be met. Instead, focus on what you already have and what aspects of you are good.
If you do have a goal that you want to achieve then make sure that it is for yourself and not for anyone else. Otherwise, it will be much harder to achieve. You will be more motivated to reach a goal that you want to reach opposed to a goal that you think you should reach.
Be that losing a few pounds, seeing your abs, getting to a certain strength level or just including more healthy foods in your diet.
The language that you use to every day can also affect the outcome of your health. Instead of saying:
“I’ve got nice legs but I need to tone my stomach”
Try saying:
“I’ve got nice legs and I need to tone my stomach”
When you say ‘but’ it erases everything you’ve said before. No longer are you happy with your legs because you’re focusing on your stomach? If you use ‘and’ instead then you’re happier from the initial compliment.
Another thing you can swap is “I should” with “I could.” This makes it seem like you have more options and that you are in control of the situation.
If you complete a task that you should have completed then it doesn’t feel as satisfactory as if you complete a task that you could have completed.
The same works for if you didn’t complete something. Allow your mind to have more options and you will feel more in control of your own life.
3. Swap One Drink To Water And One Snack To Fruit/Veg
This is a great way to slowly implement healthy habits into your everyday life.
All you have to do is change one of your fizzy drinks, juices, squashes, teas, coffees or alcoholic beverages for water. It can be plain water or carbonated water it doesn’t matter.
If you don’t like the taste of water, many don’t, then add a squeeze of lemon or lime or put in some fresh mint to make it taste better.
Fizzy water with some ice, lime and mint really tastes nothing like normal water so it’s a great way to make water a staple in your diet.
It’s just as easy to swap one unhealthy snack to a more healthy snack. You may not think that you eat much but when you factor in the odd biscuit, cookie, cake slice, pastry or whatever else is lying around then it can equal a larger amount than you think.
All you have to do is, instead of eating one of these foods, eat a piece of fruit or veggie instead.
It can be any fruit or vegetable that you like and can be paired with something else to make it more exciting.
My personal favorites are:
» Carrot batons, broccoli, cauliflower or cucumber slices with salsa or hummus
» Apple slices with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a little greek yogurt
» Satsumas, bananas or berries
4. Cook A Meal
Cooking a meal is a great way to get yourself eating healthier while teaching you a life skill and also saving you a bit of money.
In the internet age, finding recipes that suit your tastes and preferences is easier than it’s ever been before.
You may think that healthy eating is boring but once you understand what herbs and spices can do to a dish then cooking is a breeze.
It will also help you expand your palette. Many people turn away from extremely nutritious foods such as liver, kidney and heart because they don’t think that they’ll like the taste.
However, once you learn how to properly prepare and cook these foods then you’ll be surprised how tasty they can be.
You don’t have to cook your dinner it could be lunch or breakfast, too. The morning is normally taken over by toast or cereal but it doesn’t take much time at all to whip up an omelet with some diced onion, pepper, and tomato.
A great tip for cooking is to prepare all of your ingredients in advance. If you’re cooking the night before then simply chop up a bit more of whatever you’re using and then throw it into an omelet in the morning.
That way you can have an extremely nutritious meal that will fuel you for the day ahead with barely any prep time.
You can even freeze ingredients as well so that they are already prepared for when you need them.
This can also be tied into your healthy snacks as well. If you chop up some extra vegetables and then place them in a ziplock bag they will be ready to eat the next day which reduces the chance of you having something unhealthy.
5. Make Yourself Accountable
Think up a realistic goal and tell your friends and family what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it by.
Once you’ve done this, all of these people will be checking in with you asking you how it’s going and how you’re progressing.
Now, you’ll be less likely to fail because other people know about your goal and you don’t want to be seen as a failure.
This is an extremely motivational tactic that you can use to make sure you stick to your plan and accomplish whatever you want to.
Your goal could be anything. It could be to work up to running for half an hour or meditating every day. Whatever it is, let other people know.
You’ll probably know from past experiences that if you’re the only one who knows about your goal then it’s very hard to stay on track.
This is why people hire personal trainers and coaches because then they have someone to hold them accountable and provide motivation.
Many trainers and coaches even hire someone just because of this reason alone.
Hopefully, this article has brought some things to your attention that can make the journey easier and more enjoyable.
Any aspect of health and fitness should be to enhance your life not take it over. People often forget about this and they get caught up and obsessive over their goals.
Learn to enjoy the journey and realize that it will take a long time to get to where you want to be but you will get there.
Further Reading
• How to Treat Seasonal Depression?
• Understanding and Treating the Effects of Unrefreshing Sleep
• How Yoga Benefits Your Mental Health?
Researches and references
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckhart_Tolle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation
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