It's easy to fall into a rut of unhealthy habits. Drinking too much, smoking, not eating well, and living an inactive life can all be detrimental to your health and happiness. Sustaining a healthy lifestyle can seem overwhelming, but it's achievable – and it can make a difference to your health, happiness, and well-being.
A healthy lifestyle is all about balance. And that includes healthy nutrition, exercise, and mental well-being, which can lead to you living a longer, healthier life.
With that being said, here are 10 quick tips to help you stay healthy and happy:
1. Practice delayed gratification
The problem with Western culture is that we live in a world of immediacy. We think that if something feels good, it is good and we should continue doing it indefinitely. So, in the pursuit of immediate pleasure, we often neglect our long-term goals.
The concept of delayed gratification can be beneficial to your health and mental well-being. In other words: you have to work on making the right choices instead of immediately satisfying your cravings.
2. Start a journalling practice
Keeping a mindfulness journal can help you trace your way back to what motivates and inspires you. In fact, keeping a journal can have many mental health benefits as well — writing about your feelings and feelings of accomplishment, for example, can provide emotional release as catharsis.
This is especially helpful if you are looking to clarify what drives you, who is important to you, and how you want to live.
3. Take time for yourself
If you're feeling stressed and anxious, take time to meditate or even take a walk. Take some time to centre yourself and realign that energy. It's essential to have a healthy relationship with yourself, and that means honouring your needs and making time for self-care. We often get caught up in the excuses we make that keep us away from taking care of ourselves. Instead, take that hour of 'me-time' each day.
4. Be a positive role model for your children (or younger relatives)
Children learn how to live through what they see, which means they're mirroring our behaviour and actions. So, if you want to contribute to raising healthy and happy children, be a positive role model for them. Let them know it's okay to exercise, eat well, and enjoy being active.
5. Make time for your loved ones
We all need our social networks. We all benefit from being surrounded by people who love and support us. It's easy to get caught up in the rat race of life, but it's so important to take time for friends and family.
You can't have a healthy relationship with others if you don't have a healthy relationship with yourself first. Keep your eyes and ears open for ways that you can help others and make their lives better.
6. Take control of your finances
It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget about your finances. But to have a healthy relationship with money is to feel a sense of accomplishment by being able to handle your finances well.
If you're having financial problems, it's important to make time and figure out what is wrong, so you can address the problem accordingly.
7. Take care of your body
You can't be healthy if your body doesn't feel good. The combination of exercise and healthy nutrition is vital to a happy, healthy life, so it's important to make time for this.
If you're not getting the amount of exercise that you should, make an appointment with a health professional to help you fix the problem.
8. Eat healthy food
There are many opportunities to eat poorly while travelling, or while you're eating at a restaurant or bar with friends. You can make sure that you eat healthier by planning ahead and eating fresh and healthy food at home and at work.
Eating the right foods at all times can keep your body healthy and help you stay in shape. This is vital if you want to be as happy as you possibly can be.
9. Keep track of your physical health
As well as tracking your mental wellness through mindful journalling, why not keep a note of all the things you do to work on improving your health? This can help your awareness of what's going on in your body at all times, which will help you take better care of yourself.
You can use a simple journal, or one of the many health apps available for your smartphone. Choose the option that will be simple for you to maintain!
10. Don't waste your time with negative people
There's no doubt you've noticed that when you're around negative people, it throws off your entire energy. Therefore, there's no point in wasting your energy on those types of people — just let them be and find other, more positive, people to spend time with. You don't have to get sucked into a negative world; you can always choose to be happy, healthy, and wise.
Your happiness, wellness, and health all come from balance. When you can maintain harmony in your life, you'll be on the right track.
As long as you're looking for ways to improve in all areas of your life — your work, your relationships with friends, family, and significant others — you'll be able to create a healthy lifestyle for yourself and achieve the happiness that you deserve.
