Danijela Tomic

10 Tips To Become a Healthier Happier You Being happy isn’t something you need to achieve, though most of our lives we’ve been taught otherwise. It seems humans have this incessant need to make life more complicated, which reflects in us being miserable and unsatisfied most of our lives. Like with most other things, happiness comes from your state of mind, while your circumstances play just a minor role and are a mirror of your thoughts. This concept is hard to grasp, especially because people refuse to take complete responsibility for their own lives, but it’s the truth nonetheless. Whatever is happening to you, whoever is in your life, whatever you have and don’t have – you decide how much it will all affect you. Today we’ll talk about ten short tips to become a healthier happier you, and though they’re simple enough, they’re not that easy to implement, though they truly should be. 1. Count Your Blessings and Say Thank You You’ve probably heard it before, but we’ll mention it yet again – gratitude is everything. Focusing on what you already have allows you to step back from all that rambling of the mind that haunts us when we’re in our “default” mode. Thinking about things you’re grateful for is a shift in consciousness, though it might not seem that way because it’s too easy. Well, give it a try. How much time do you need to come up with something you’re thankful for? What was the last time you thought about it? When you start your day by saying thanks, you’re setting a positive mood and it will make everything you have to go through in the day much easier to handle. 2. Don’t Run Around Whining Something bad is going on in your life and you have to share it with someone. Go for it, that’s what close friends are for, but don’t go around all day, every day being stuck in that whining mode that brings everybody down, especially you. You won’t get anything fixed by complaining and you’re only making yourself relive the bad situation you’re in over and over again. Step back from all the moping and nagging, just breathe and let go. Solutions will come as soon as you realize that by complaining you never solve anything, in fact, you’re only making things worse. 3. You Need Your Sleep We’re overworked, overstressed, overstimulated practically every day, which means getting some quality rest is vital for keeping our sanity. You can seriously and permanently jeopardize your health unless you give your metabolism a chance to recharge and replenish. This means that you should have 8-hour sleep as often as possible, no excuses. Besides, consequences of sleep deprivation can dampen your everyday routine in various ways – it’s harder to concentrate, you’re more irritable, your willpower is just not on point and that is more than enough to disrupt your life. 4. Know Who You Are and Love It Self-care should be one of those things that come naturally to human beings, but we have somehow managed to prioritize everything above it. Most of us have plenty of self-acceptance to work on, otherwise we risk becoming the victims of our own vicious self-talk and negative thoughts. You are who you are and the sooner you accept that, the sooner will your whole inner world become much better. We’re not saying accept who you are and never change a thing, on the contrary, love yourself but also strive to be better in ways that make sense to you, as that will make you a happier individual and you will instantaneously treat all around you better too. 5. Mind Your Eating Habits Your eating habits reflect how important your body is to you and how much you respect it. You don’t have to be a super-vegan, but make sure you’re eating in a way that feels good on all levels. Eating well will function a bit differently for everyone, but striving to eat healthy food is something we should all think about. We’re surrounded by highly processed sugary foods that make us crave more of the bad stuff and leave us unsatisfied and big. You can clearly sense in your body when you eat something that is good for you, all you have to do is get over all the mind babble convincing you that you need more of the bad stuff, just because you’re used to it. 6. Comfort Zone Is Overrated Being afraid is what keeps us stuck in one place, doing the things we don’t care about, spending precious time with people that don’t enrich our lives in any way etc. Fear wastes our lives, or rather, it wastes our lives if we let it. Doing things we love doesn’t always come easy or cheap, but experiences and fulfillment we get from breaking out of our shell are worth it. Your comfort zone constricts you and your fear of failure is the ruler of your comfort zone, but here is the glitch – you’re the creator of both and you can undo them just as easily as they’re controlling you now, all you have to do is take that first step out of your zone’s line. 7. Being Active Makes All the Difference We’re not here to say you should become a fitness wiz, but the physical aspect of you constantly craves activity. When you’re stuck in an office for eight hours or more, you can be sure that your body is in dire need of some movement once you’re done with your work. You can choose what kind of movement feels best to you – maybe it’s tango lessons and maybe it’s free climbing, there’s really no limit to this. But it’s essential to understand that nurtured body breeds nurtured spirit and a quiet mind, not to mention that you will feel amazing in your own skin. 8. Water Is Life Dehydration doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when your body is constantly lacking water, sooner or later something’s going to go wrong. More than 60% of our body is water, which means drinking plenty of it and regularly is one of the pillars of good health. Don’t just reach for water when you’re parched, then it’s already too late and your metabolism is becoming dehydrated, make it a habit to drink plenty of water throughout the day and that means even when you don’t feel particularly thirsty. Don’t go overboard of course, but don’t leave your house without hydrating either. 9. Don’t Go on Wild Goose Chase for Happiness Happiness is not out there, it’s not something to be chased around, it’s not trying to run away from you, in fact, it’s here all along. Most of us have grown up with the notion that you’ve got to work hard to “achieve” happiness, but that exact outlook is what makes us unhappy in the first place. Talking about paradoxes… Your feeling of happiness and calm doesn’t come from outside sources, they can only slightly magnify or downsize it, but it’s all in you. When you learn not to expect things from people but appreciate who they are and what they’re willingly giving you that is happiness. Once you understand that the only creature that determines your emotions and thoughts is the one looking back at you in the mirror, you’ll be much happier. There is no wild goose chase for happiness, it is actually found in the peace, love, and quiet you already carry within yourself. 10. Always Be Kind Nothing beats kindness, absolutely nothing. We’re not talking about the grand gestures that obviously change the world (though that is appreciated too), we’re talking about small kindnesses that mostly go unnoticed. First, practice being kind to yourself, as that in itself will be a feat. Being kind to others will then come naturally and that is what will be a game changer. You really don’t need a lot to be kind, just don’t be all grumpy and grim-looking, don’t look down on people, don’t judge them (that’s a big one). Treat others the way you would want to be treated and you will see how much of a change it will be for the way you see the world. Being healthy and happy is what we all want, but somehow we most of us “fail”. As soon as you realize that it all starts with you, that there is nothing and no one else to blame or dump responsibility on, you’re be already much happier than you were and with that healthier as well.