February Discussions - 6 Ways To Invest In Yourself
On Wednesday, I attended the Health and Wellbeing Fayre at the Student Union. This fayre consisted of smoothie making (with a bike), painting, arts and crafts, fitness challenges and lots of goodies. An idea that I loved and stuck with me, was a jar which was filled with 31 positive notes for the month. Unfortunately, I do not have a jar, but I do have a pretty box that I can use to imitate this idea as the last 3 weeks have been quite stressful as everything seemed to be happening at once. It has been quite hard to keep up with it all and meet deadlines, socialise, participate in extracurricular activities, exercise, get 8 hours sleep, eat 3 meals a day, stay positive, etc. But this made me realise that even though I enjoy these things, and some of them are necessary, I do need to find some sort of balance and I know a lot of people who similarly are in the same boat. This event stressed how important it is to take the time to nurture and look after yourself and just take the time to breathe. Building upon this, I thought about 6 ways many people, including myself, could take the time to invest in ourselves to feel positive.
1. Take Time To Invest In Your Creativity Or Things You Enjoy – I enjoy reading or writing when I am feeling stressed. When I am stressed or down, I find that these are the times I usually write my favourite pieces, (which is annoying lol but hey-ho) but I can also find comfort in watching shows on Netflix. Whatever it is you enjoy, whether that is just talking with friends or watching TV, take a break and enjoy it, rather than cramming to meet a deadline. This 30-minute break might be exactly what you need to relax and come back to your work with a clearer mind to carry on.
2. Go To The Doctor When You Are Sick- that may sound obvious, but if the symptoms you have last longer than 10 days, you should probably go. I hate going to the doctor, and when I am ill, I just try and deal with it, but when I went the other day, I was told I should have gone earlier to prevent symptoms of my eye infection getting worse. I know some people out there are similar, but if you have persistent symptoms, do go so you can get back to your normal fabulous self.
3. Surround Yourself With Great Friends- This is so important because the individuals you surround yourself will influence the quality of your life. Surround yourself with positive people who make you happy and who lift you up. You are only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with, so if negative people are weighing you down, be brave enough to leave them behind. Sometimes it is okay to be a bit selfish.
4. Eat, Sleep, Move, Repeat - This slogan was written on a water bottle I received at this event. Obviously, balance is important. I am definitely the kind of person who does skip on exercise sometimes, and I am not one to deprive myself of cookies and a plethora of carbohydrates, but I do understand that balance is needed and I am also partial to the consumption of a good piece of veg. But, I do understand that the body needs nutrients and sleep to repair so that it can function properly. Good food definitely nourishes the body and mind. When I am on essay mode, I automatically notice the positive difference in concentration, focus, and sharpness levels after I’ve eaten. Sleep is also so refreshing, I feel like some people’s negative emotions are nearly eradicated when they have had enough sleep. And, when you exercise, 9/10 you automatically feel better because of that serotonin kick. So, what’s not to enjoy?
5. Nurture Your Mind – Keeping physically fit is obviously great and has a ton of health benefits, but I am one who focusses on my mental health more, even though the pair are equally as important. When my mind is positive, all aspects of my life are positive and things fall into place. Because of this, for me personally, mental health will always be my main priority. I try not to deprive myself of food groups anymore to try and reach an ‘acceptable physical shape’ because I have previously done this and it resulted in misery. I eat what I want because I want to, because I need balance, and because it makes me happy. I am not promoting an unhealthy lifestyle here, I am just suggesting that mentally if anything makes you happy, you should do it (as long as you aren’t excessively harming yourself obviously). I understand, that some people have fitness goals they want to smash and that is great, but I have noticed that if my fitness goals are causing me mental harm, rather than just a sore and sweaty out of breath challenge that I want to tackle, then I won’t do it. The mind is so important and the dictionary defines ‘healthy’ as being in a good physical and mental condition. You can eat all the fruit and veggies in the world but if your mind isn’t healthy, you are not healthy. Take time to mentally look after yourself also!
6. Set Goals- Invest some time in setting goals. No matter how big or small these goals are, it is so satisfying because once you achieve them, it feels like you can accomplish almost anything you’ll set yourself in the future. Along with this, creating a bucket list of things you want to complete, can keep you positive by giving you something to look forward to.
Once again these are all suggestions and there are some things I need to work on myself, but I understand that it is all a work in progress.
Have a great February xxxxx
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