It’s ironic that in a time when all the conveniences we can imagine are at our fingertips to make our lives simpler and yet we find ourselves more busy than any generation that came before us. Our hectic life and busy schedule have become a petri-dish for growing stress, anxiety, and depression. We are bombarded with advice on all the ways we should be enjoying life more, but it all seems too complicated, too time-consuming, and, frankly, too much effort.
The online site for tips on how to live a happier, healthier life, Happy Conduct, hears you, sees you, and what’s more, understands you. They want to make sure you know that getting and staying healthy doesn’t have to take over your life. In fact, a healthy lifestyle should feel as natural, if not more so, than the one you’re living now.
Home is Where Our Heart Is
If your home is chaotic and cluttered, everything else in your life will feel that way too. Your environment affects your mood, your stress levels, and your feelings of satisfaction. Getting emotionally and mentally healthy can begin at home. Have you been reluctant to get rid of objects or clothing you no longer use or wear? Then ask yourself, “have I used/worn that in the past year? If the answer is no, then it’s time to let it go. If you have children in your home, the same goes for them. Fill a box or several and donate to charity. You’ll not only feel better in a home that’s not quite so cluttered, but you’ll also have the joyous feeling of knowing you’re helping others.
Your sleep environment is more important than you think. It’s not only the hours of sleep you get, it’s the quality of that sleep too. Cooler temps, removing all light sources from items like cell phones and computers, adding white noise, and even introducing a lavender scent to reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature, will help you get more out of your night’s sleep.
You’ve Heard it All Your Life But…
Eat your veggies and go outside and play. Or—swap out the bags of fast food, as convenient as you believe them to be, for a more healthy diet. Preparing your healthy foods ahead of time and refrigerating or freezing them, may take as much, if not less, time than eating out if you count time spent waiting to be served or waiting in drive-thru lanes. The more you research what goes into your convenience foods, the less you’re likely to crave them. Your healthy food choices start at the grocery store. If it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it.
Walking every day is the lowest commitment, least expensive, and easiest exercise habit to get into. You don’t need special equipment or a professional trainer to begin. Start with short daily walks, even ten minutes a day for the first week or two if you’ve been sedentary for a while. Put some music or an audiobook on your phone to keep you company and you’ll find that you’re staying out longer and longer. It’s helpful to have a fitness tracker to keep up with how many miles you’ve walked and your heart rate and there are low-cost ones that do many of the same things the more expensive ones do. Also, comfortable shoes that offer good support will keep you from getting sore muscles or blisters.
Health Through Growth
Human beings were meant to grow, learn, and evolve. When we stop learning, we stop growing. Our brains need stimulation. A lack of that can be a source of discontent, depression, and stress. It can also be holding you back in your job, multiplying all those negative aspects. It’s hard as working adults to contemplate going back to school to further our education. It seems overwhelming and we question the value of pursuing it. If we’re already working, we wonder how that can even be a possibility.
When you look at the possibilities for job advancement in the fastest-growing field of employment, Information Technology, it looks inviting, yet we struggle to see how we can make that happen. Online classes that allow you to work around your already busy schedule make it not only possible but exciting to work toward a Master’s Degree. A degree that can open the door to a future that can make your life happier, brighter, and yes, healthier because you’ll be doing something fulfilling where the earning potentials seem almost limitless.
Health and happiness go hand-in-hand. Once you make a healthier lifestyle a part of your daily life, you’ll find your overall happiness and contentment go up. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
