As human beings it is good, if not necessary, for us to take time to sit back, chill out and simply BE. However, I’ve come to realise that when it comes to our mental and physical health that ‘Well-being’ is generally not something that just happens, like ageing or sudden ‘Lockdown’ in 2020! Sometimes Well-being involves a degree of Well-DOING.
I often ask myself why we, as adults, have such a drive to busy ourselves. We work ourselves to the bone, party until we drop, give all our energy to linking in with and looking after our family members and we become engrossed and obsessed with the lives of random ‘celebrities’ who inevitably make us feel inadequate. We tend to feel ill at ease in our own company and as for silence… well that feels like an itch that needs immediate scratching! We fill every little ounce of space and time with things that we feel are more important than looking after ourselves. We are running on empty and fuelled by gallons of caffeine!
But why oh why is this the case?
Is it that we are trying to fill some void?
Are we driven by a sense of guilt and an ‘I should’ rather than ‘I want’ mentality?
Is it a case of the dreaded ‘FOMO’; a fear of missing out?
Or do we fail to see the value in spending time on ourselves, believing it to be an undeserved ‘luxury’?
We need to realise that self-care is an essential part of living a more productive and fulfilling life, leading us towards more meaningful and better quality relationships with those around us.
I’m sure you’ve heard it said ‘You cannot pour from an empty cup’!
Here are 5 practical
Well-DOING tips to help you to ‘fill your cup’ and increase your Well-being
1: Get a Good Night’s Sleep
We recharge our phones and laptops so that they don’t crash when we need them to function. Sleep is the human ‘recharge’ button! If we don’t recharge then we will not function. Simple as!
We all vary when it comes to the quantity and the quality of sleep that we get on a regular basis, however it is highly recommended that as adults that we should be getting somewhere between 7 and 9 hours of QUALITY sleep each night.
For some top tips on how to get a good night’s sleep have a read of our article on Sleep in our ‘Ways to Well-being‘ series.
2: Have a good breakfast & Eat well
You are what you eat. Happy versus ‘Hangry’!
Fuelling appropriately for the day ahead is essential to maintain your energy levels and it will also help to regulate your mood. In this way you will be more likely to RESPOND rather than to REACT if a situation arises or a ‘curve ball’ comes your way!
I know! It sounds like such a cliché! But the old 11am stomach growl is not to be commended or recommended. I grew up groaning to the mantra of ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ and attempted to side step the lumpy gloop of porridge before me. I was never a breakfast person. However, today as I work, hike and train for marathons I appreciate more than ever the importance of fuelling appropriately for the day ahead and know that, like a car running in the red, if you leave yourself short then you’re going to struggle until you chug and eventually conk out.
Whether it is a regular working day or an active day where you are hiking, pounding the pavements or running around looking after the needs of your family you need to fuel up.
3: Switch on!
Get Active. Whether you are the most calm person in the world or the biggest stress head I highly recommend introducing exercise into your life. Being active has been proven to provide many benefits both physically and mentally. On a physical level exercise benefits pretty much every muscle, organ and inch of your body from your heart, to your lungs to your skin. And when it comes to our mental health the benefits are just as vast. Exercise has the ability to improve your mood and to reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and depression. Exercise also encourages our body to release serotonin and produce endorphins (happy hormones) which help to produce positive feelings of happiness and well-being.
Exercise is also a natural energy booster and research has shown that it doesn’t have to be intense cardio activity to have a positive impact and benefit your mood. So I suggest that you try to find or pick some sort of activity that you enjoy, something that will get you out the door or even get you to switch on a YouTube video and move along with it. Doing something that you WANT to do rather than something you feel that you SHOULD do means you are more likely to maintain this activity and integrate it into your new, feel good lifestyle.
4: Switch off!
Self-care. Yes, sounds a little contradictory that the ‘Switch on’ advice is followed directly with a ‘Switch off’ piece of advice! But hear me out. This piece of advice is based on the necessity of self-care and the importance of taking time out for yourself so that you can better provide for your own needs and those of the people around you. It really comes back to the theory that you cannot pour from an empty cup. So what I’m recommending is that you find some way of getting a bit of ‘switch off’ down time.
How? Well only YOU have the answer to this. What do YOU enjoy? What carries YOU away and helps you to get lost in the moment?
It might be getting engrossed in a good book, Netflix series, podcast, getting exercise or joining an evening class where you get to spend time doing something that you’ll enjoy.
Whatever floats your boat! But taking time out for you is not a luxury, it is not a selfish act and it is definitely not something that you should feel guilty about. It means that after a brief escape that you can return to the ‘real world’ with a fresh head and be more productive and attentive to your own needs and those of others.
5: Celebrate the here and the now.
Live in the moment. The last piece of advice suggested escapism as a means of switching off from our racing thoughts. This piece of advice encourages you to tune into the present in a more conscious way and to celebrate it for what it has to offer. If this global pandemic has taught us anything it’s that we have to stop racing ahead making plans, busying ourselves and failing to enjoy where we are at, right here right now. We need to pause and to take time to enjoy even the simple pleasures and joys in every day life.
We need to adopt an Attitude of Gratitude where we focus on and celebrate the things and people we have in our lives rather than pining after the things we do not have and what we cannot do. We need to tread softly and to be kind to ourselves and to each other and not take anyone or anything for granted.
All we know is the present. And the present is just that; a type of gift to be enjoyed and appreciated for what it is. And we have to trust that everything else will fall into place.
Enjoy your present. Take care and have a nice day 
The post Well-DOING for Well-BEING. appeared first on Intrepid Lassies.
