Feel Good, Look Good!
Believe it or not, stress and fatigue can have a big impact on the way your mind and body work. Overtime, there’s a lot of adverse factors that can accelerate aging and reduce your motivation to look after your appearance. While some may view it as vanity, caring about and respecting your appearance is healthy. The most important thing is that you feel good, not that other people think you look good. So following this logic, if you want to look your best self, you need to feel good.
Here are 7 tips to improve your wellbeing, physical health, and mind:
1. Drink more water
Drinking enough water is one of the best things we can do for our body. Think about what would happen if you never watered a plant? It would wither up and age.
Drinking more water can help your body to function healthily flushing out toxins from the body and boost energy levels, mental clarity and reduces headaches.
And on top of this, it helps to improve your complexion and the elasticity of your skin, keeping you looking fresh for longer.
2. Spend less time on social media
Stepping back from social media will help to improve your concept of reality and focus on the real life moments that give your life substance.
Social media has become a big part of a lot of people’s lives, but it is a distorted version of reality that will be hard to replicate in your own life. Comparing yourself to others or feeling the need for validation of others may cause your happiness to depend on other people. And now that’s crackers, because it’s your life, not theirs, so don’t let your happiness should be dependent on the validation of others.
Now you might be here because you’re interested in grooming and looking after yourself, but as a word of warning, a lot of what you see over social media and in advertising is fake or only momentary.
Some of those godly looking manes with heavenly volume are deceiving. As a designer and hair enthusiast, I can say their style only has to last a split second and then it is further unrealistically enhance using digital editing and photo manipulation. It is another reason why you should pay less attention to social media, because it sets unrealistic expectations. What you see is only a still taken by someone, it might not even reflect their life and you certainly don’t know what there life is like behind the scenes. Anyone could do that, but the trick is to find a style that is comfortable for you, lasting and that you think looks good.
3. Give someone a compliment
Admittedly, if feels good to receive a compliment. So try spreading the positivity and to others as well.
Try giving someone a compliment. It might be telling someone they did a great job, telling a friend their new haircut looks good, or thanking someone for being a great friend. Just try it, you might find it makes you feel good too.
4. Write down your thoughts
If you feel like your thoughts are overwhelming and sometimes get the better of you. Try writing them down. Sometimes just the process of writing them down can extract the negative feelings surrounding them. Once they are down on that piece of paper, suddenly they don’t seem so big or overwhelming any more.
And don’t just write down the negative thoughts. Write down the positive thoughts as well and everything you have to be grateful for. Keeping track of what’s going on in your life and what makes you feel good is a good way of maintaining happiness and helps you to navigate and control your feelings.
As an exercise to improve mindfulness: before bed each night, try writing down what you have to be grateful for.
5. Fix the small things
Do you ever feel like things get the better of you, or that there are so many big things going on that you can’t control them?
Well some things are out of your control, but a lot isn’t so don’t over generalize. It’s not a helpful way of thinking.
Try starting small, like by making your bed as soon as you wake up. Getting up straight away and fixing those sheets, starts the day with a positive action that immediately puts in an organised and positive frame of mind ready to start the day.
Alternatively, break down what has been bothering you… is it a blown light bulb that needs replacing that you haven’t done because you also have to clean the toilet? A wall in your home that you don’t like the color of, or other things that seems trivial, even though they worry you anyway?
Make a list, maybe there’s also things that don’t need to be done, but would make you feel better, and then tackle then individually and see how it makes you feel. Enjoy the little things in life, because combined they have a big impact.
Sometimes by fixing something small, but something that has a repetitive impact on your life can make you feel better. And maybe once you start to feel comfortable that the small things aren’t in the way anymore you can start to tackle the big things.
If you’re looking for more ways to take control of your life and empower yourself, I would recommend checking out a book called ‘12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos’ by Jordan Peterson. You can find this book on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2PMP8W3
6. Cut back on alcohol
Having a drink after work or going out on a weekend might seem like ritual or way of life… But at the end of the day it is a choice and here are some reasons why cutting back on alcohol can improve your health and wellbeing:
- You will have more time on your hands. You could use this time to fit in fun activities, learn something new, or even go to the gym.
- Improved sleeping pattern. You might find that without the alcohol in your system you sleep better and wake up with an extra bit of energy to tackle the day. Alcohol often interrupts your normal sleeping patterns, and can affect the quality of your sleep. So taking a break from alcohol every now and then can ultimately give you more energy and put you in a better mood.
- You will look better for longer. When you crack open a brew, it has a lot of physical impacts inside and out. Alcohol is a toxin that makes your body work harder causing your organs to go into overdrive to break it down. In excess, this not only leads to health problems but it also leads to dehydration which can cause dry, flaky skin which can promote wrinkles signs or aging.
- Improved mood and happiness. Alcohol is a depressant and over indulging can affect the chemistry in your brain and lead to lower moods.
7. Exercise more
Regular physical activity is good for the mind, body and soul.
There are so many benefits to be gained from regular exercise that contribute to a healthier, happier, and better looking you.
Exercise helps to clear your mind and it releases endorphins into your brain than make you feel happy and satisfying. It is a great way to de-stress and gives mental clarity that helps to combat anxiety and depression.
If you feel like you never have the energy, just try starting. The more you exercise the more energy your body will gain access to.
Regular exercise also will helps to improve your sleep and boost energy levels on a daily basis. Allowing you to feel capable or achieving more. And whats better, is that it can be fun and social, which can help you to connect with more people and have a good time.
In Conclusion:
There are so many things you can do to improve your mindfulness and wellbeing. A lot of which will make you feel better inside and out.
Don’t let life get you down, buried under stress and fatigue.
There is always a way out, and you won’t get there unless you keep going and exploring new possibilities.
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Life is an accumulation of these attempts and new pathways, so get out there, look after yourself, treat your mind and body the respect it deserves, and enjoy it.
