The meaning behind a healthy lifestyle
The Meaning Behind a Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle goes beyond healthy food and physical health; it is a package. One needs to embrace some of the healthy practices and free the self from negativity. In my previous post (Simple Changes for a Healthier Diet), I shared some easy changes you can implement now to make your diet healthier. In this post, I will be sharing some of my favorite practices for a healthy lifestyle.
Before I start, I want you to look out of the window, and think about what makes you happy? What does happiness mean to you? And what does healthy living mean to you? What I have learned is this really varies from person to person.
Here are some proposed practices to implement for a healthy lifestyle according to my definition of “healthy”:
Exercise and Be Active
Exercise might be an obvious thing to mention but I am here to clarify this point a little bit. A big misconception is we exercise to lose weight. While this can be true- exercising and moving the body help you lose weight, exercising and being active is good for stamina and for overall health. Using the same house example that I used in the previous post, think about exercise as house maintenance, you need to keep your house in a good shape and by moving your body, you are strengthening it and training the muscles to stay active and strong. You really don’t need to do much besides going for a walk or a bike ride for 30 minutes a day. For me, it is de-stressing after a long day, and I love to incorporate different types of activities and workout classes
One thing to note is: building a habit can’t happen overnight, you need to start gradually, and this is what you should consider when you think about building the exercise habit. James Clear in his “Atomic Habit” book (one of my favorite books btw) shared some tips on how to build habits by making small changes. In his book, he stated that there are “Four Laws of Behavior Change”, these 4 laws will help you build those good habits. The laws are:
Make it Obvious
Make it Attractive
Make it Easy
Make is satisfying
So, let’s say you want to exercise:
Obvious: Sign up for an exercise class - you signed up and paid for a class which means you have it set in your schedule
Attractive: Choose a workout class you will have fun and enjoy doing. If you love loud music, maybe indoor cycling will be your thing, ...etc
Easy: You signed up for a class and someone will guide you throughout the class; you don't need to think about what you will do at the gym
Satisfying: The happiness after the class.
I am not going to go into details about the laws and the book but I found a summary of the book written by Medium writer Aidan Hornsby here. I also shared the Amazon link below if you want to purchase it.
Practice Mindfulness- Mental Health
Mental and physical health are equally important for overall health. Healthy living is not only about food and exercise. it is also about your relationship with yourself and with others. This is not an easy thing to follow but it is also not impossible. To start:
Focus on the things that bring you joy, peace, and happiness
Surround yourself with people you enjoy their company
Stay away from topics that don’t serve you, such as gossip
Gossip is something we all do as humans without feeling.
Listen to your body, if you need a rest day, take it.
Practice gratitude, meditate, and live-in abundance
Always remember to be happy for other people's success; and know what they have are not taken from you.
Get control over your finance. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty on finance but will dedicate an entire post
Free yourself from all the fears that are unreal and don’t care about what others may think of you
Always be careful of what you tell yourself.. don’t play your words against you.
The Four Agreement Book by Don Miguel Ruiz is one of my favorite self-growth books. It teaches you how to not limit yourself and how to live a happy peaceful life by following only 4 steps. A summary of the book can be found here
Quality time with people I truly care about is something I learned very recently. Being able to have an enjoyable rich conversation is not easy. I used to care about the number of friends that I have more than the quality of their personalities and what they can add to me. Finding like-minded friends is not impossible. The more you surround yourself with positive people, the happier you are. The happier you are, the better your mental health is.
I can’t talk about mental health without mentioning meditation. I know meditation is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can spare yourself 5- 10 minutes a day to meditate, you will start to connect with your inner self, and eventually, you will reach peace.
Be Minimalist and Sustainable
Being minimalist will help reduce waste. Having a lot of stuff, especially in a small space can bring negative energy and stress.
The less stuff you have, the less stressed you become, and eventually you will be happier. Buy only things that you need and will use; things that bring joy to you. Always choose quality over quantity
I started teaching myself this and I still have a lot to learn. I stopped shopping just because I want to or because there is a new clothing trend It truly made me focus on things that are not materialistic and this is the beauty of it. It also made me more sustainable by replacing single-use items with more sustainable ones. This also saved me some money.
Spend Time in Nature
We spend so much time working indoors either from a home office or cubical Infront of screens. I do think on some days we even forgot to breathe right. Taking a 10-minute break outdoor has a big effect on the mood. Our mother nature is amazing; you don’t need to go far to enjoy the beauty of our earth. Sometimes beauty can be just at your doorsteps but we chose not to see it.
Key Takeaways
Take care of yourself. No one will if you don't. Think about your body and soul as a valued gift from our creator and you need to take very good care of it
Exercise shouldn’t be complicated. A daily walk habit can have a big effect on your health
Stay away from talks that won’t serve you and have more rich conversations with like-minded people or people you enjoy their company
Be mindful in everything you do in life
Enjoy life, go outside in nature, and appreciate our earth. Building a connection with nature is amazing and it will make you want to take care of it.
Don’t be harsh on yourself; do your best in everything you do and always start small.
Celebrate yourself for all the things you do(small or big).
Reference:
Notes on Atomic Habits - Medium
Book Recommendation
Atomic Habit- James Clear
The Four Agreement- Don Miguel Ruiz
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