In amongst our busy lives, it is very easy to start neglecting the habits which are enabling us to eat right, feel great and keep healthy. When we’re busy, we often tend to be on autopilot, where we make excuses and avoid what is actually important, and that is our health and wellbeing.
Many of us reach points where we are overwhelmed, stressed and frazzled and often our health and wellness is the first thing to suffer. Whether it’s ordering junk food rather than cooking, getting a taxi home instead of walking or binge-watching tv over going to the gym, many of us revert back to bad habits as a comfort and coping mechanism. But, as a result, we then become tired, rundown and irritable, so prioritising your health and wellness when you are notoriously busy involves adding healthy habits into your daily routine in order for them to become automatic and part of your day-to-day life.
Don’t Change It All At Once
It often seems like we try to do everything at once, whether it’s losing weight, advancing in our careers or getting our finances in check. Rather than prioritising these tasks, many of us try to do it all at once which then leads to us feeling overwhelmed and this is a method that is completely unrealistic. The more we try to do, the less able we are to properly make any of these changes, meaning that everything then suffers. Before you do anything, you need to prioritise and make a list of what you want to change and take it all one small step at a time.
Create New Positive Habits, Rather Than Results
Rather than focusing on the outcome, instead try to focus on the behaviour and positive habits which you would like to achieve. If you become too focused on the steps which are needed to gain the results you’ll become infatuated and will soon begin to dislike what it is you are working towards, which will then lead to backwards steps. For example, if you want to lose weight, instead of focusing on the total amount of weight you wish to lose, think of it as just eating healthier and moving more.
Change Your Environment
This will depend on your goal, but the notion still stands. If you want to lose weight and be healthier, then filling your fridge and cupboards with junk food is unlikely to motivate you to stick to your diet. Instead, stock your kitchen with wholesome and healthy foods which you actually want to eat, as this means you are much more likely to eat and enjoy them. The same goes for other health and wellness goals. If you want to be happier and less stressed, then removing yourself from those environments will only have positive benefits on your mindset.
Recognise The Small Changes
It’s the small changes we make which often have the biggest impact on our goals. Whether it’s getting off the bus a stop earlier and walking 10 minutes further, or adding probiotic capsules into your daily routine, all these small changes will eventually come together and you’ll notice that you feel much better for doing so. Even just drinking an extra glass of water each day or taking the stairs instead of the elevator will have huge benefits on your health and wellness.
If You Slip, Get Back On track
We all sometimes make choices which we know are not good for our health or wellness. We’ve all chosen a dessert or skipped the gym for a few days – we’re only human – but one of the hardest things is to get back on track and forgive ourselves. You don’t need to overcompensate or go to dramatic extremes just to try and undo the damage which we have done as this only makes getting back on track harder. Just take it one day at a time and try to get back into your healthy routine.
Keep A Handle On Your Stress Levels
Stress can be extremely harmful to our health as it imbalances every hormone in our body and this becomes one of the major triggers for reverting back to comfort eating or lack of exercise. Everyday work stress can feel extremely overwhelming at the time, especially when events occur which are way beyond our control. When you are feeling like this, ask yourself “Will this matter in a day, week or year?” then take a moment to think about what you can do to keep yourself feeling healthy and balanced during this time. It might involve asking a coworker or family member for help or support, learning to say “no” if you’ve got too much on or just taking time out to relax or rest.
Tags: Health, Wellness
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