Tips for Health and fitness

 

Health and Fitness

If you feel like getting started this year, start by taking some time to develop a few healthy habits. These may be related to your overall goal of getting more out of life, but they are a lot of fun and will help you achieve everything else in 2022.

Exercise — get active! This is the same thing that people say when trying to lose weight. Get into an activity you enjoy and keep working at it every day. It can be anything, from swimming at the beach to playing tennis with friends. You don’t need to make an hour or two in the morning and still do it for eight hours on a weekend. Just go out on your next run and work yourself up into a sweat. Jump rope, skip rope, jump jacks. Find something really enjoyable and stick to it and see how long you can go. If you have kids, try joining them or encouraging them to join in, so they can stay active and exercise with you all the time. There are so many options to choose from here!

Meditation — Meditation is a way to relax and calm your mind. Set aside time each night or whenever you feel it, especially after dinner. Practice what you do best — deep breathing — and try not to stress about anything that arises in your life. Focus your attention on God or any other place you feel most comfortable. Relax for a while. Don’t worry, there is no rush. Your body wants to rest and the only way to get you to be able to rest is to give it what it needs. Be grateful this is your last breath and take in every bit of what you can hold onto. Keep thinking of where you went and where you are now and be thankful everything happened for a reason. Your mental state has many causes, but if you look at these things objectively they are connected. To be who you truly are, take care of everything in your life and find ways to serve others, and give some joy to yourself.

Journaling — Journaling keeps track of what makes you feel good about yourself. When I was younger my mom would write down just her thoughts about me a few times per week. We wrote in our journals just to remind ourselves we loved them and were thankful for them. Writing is a way to connect with someone who is doing well, as a form of communication to share support and inspiration. Jot down ideas, thoughts, feelings, and experiences if they come to mind. Record dates and events and add them to lists. A journal can become the outlet through which you tell someone you love them and wish them the best.

Take Time To Reflect — Take time each day to think deeply about who you are and what makes you happy. Who do you admire? What’s your favorite quote? Write down a list of things you enjoy about yourself and things that you are grateful for. For example, maybe someone else inspires you to do better in life and you want to learn a skill that someone else did. Use your own words to show that you have their backs and hope they too have theirs. When you have a difficult experience or situation in your life write it down and remind yourself that every one of us has struggles. Not everyone goes through the same issues and that’s okay. Learning from what everyone else has done is going to teach you. This could be a person who inspires you to work out or someone who gave you their time in the past that you may not have been able to give back in return. No matter what happens in your lives today I believe that reflection is important for all of us. Whether you need it or not we should always remember that we were created with a purpose. Take some time off here and today to spend some quality time with your family on a picnic. Spend the afternoon reading at some point and stop whatever you are doing to read. Allow yourself to get lost in another world and get lost in thought as to why you chose that career path and what it means for you and your family. Enjoy the moment with the ones that matter to you. The moments that bring you joy will remain forever and that is part of who you truly are.

You want your happiness. So why aren’t we living it? Happiness comes in different forms and comes in abundance. You never know what it could lead you into. Try this in your everyday life: Start small. Do simple, fun activities at your job when you notice it makes you smile. Have a nice breakfast before your busy day begins. Look at someone who inspires you today and tell them you love them and they inspire you. Ask others their stories as they relate to yours and try to incorporate some of their words and phrases into your daily ritual of living life. Remember that every day is your chance to open your heart and put others first and make positive contributions to society. Be kinder to one another, even those who are bigger than you. When you have the opportunity to go out to eat, do whatever you can to make others feel good about themselves, even if that is by offering a coffee, being friendly, or offering to take out food to feed those less fortunate. Make time between social activities to spend time with family and friends. Go out at least once a month and watch movies or read books, go to the gym or swim in a lake together. Let your happiness shine amid the chaos life throws at you. Think how you would approach someone who appeared to be upset, sad, or unappreciated. Imagine how happy you would be when you saw their kindness, compassion, and empathy, even though that is not what seemed to end up happening to them. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves “did we deserve that? ” How do we respond? My challenge this year is to ask myself this question more often rather than the usual “did people treat me unfairly?” or “did I lose something without having enough knowledge or control over it? ” Asking yourself these questions is an excellent way to check-in on your inner peace and to let you know what needs to be fixed.

If you try anything new in 2021, be proud of those who make changes. Change takes many forms, but it is never easy. It is always challenging and requires humility to understand the struggle of making the change. The trick is to do something hard every day, but also very necessary for your growth. For instance, if you have been struggling with depression, then a new hobby such as knitting might get you closer to becoming happier and better at life. Even something as simple as finding a hobby is something that can improve your life quality greatly by improving your ability to be creative and appreciate the little moments as they happen.

In addition to being a source of emotional satisfaction, finding joy in your life is also something that helps others. Helping others is a great motivator to move forward as many of us are doing, simply because it is so rewarding. When you help others, you will gain greater self-worth which leads to an increased sense of identity. By helping others you gain a greater sense of pride and self-worth. Showing gratitude for the good things that happen to you is a great way to ease your burden of guilt and shame that sometimes comes with being a victim of a cruel and unjust system (the government, corporate America, etc). Remember that others have suffered much more than you, so remember your pain and suffering and use it as motivation to continue moving forward.

When you’re putting in the work and being honest with yourself about where you are, what gives you comfort, what puts a smile on your face, and what brings you joy, you will discover that true happiness lies within you. Being grateful for who you are and how well you are loved is also a great way to start 2021 on a great note. Because of 2020, we’ve witnessed a global pandemic and the loss of thousands of lives. Our country and the world have fought a good fight. Some of the greatest leaders in history took it upon themselves to sacrifice to try to save the planet and humanity from impending doom. While the losses felt incredibly large, some of the saddest figures in human history had many more resources at their disposal, however, they chose to channel it into a cause that could directly impact the world. Those who fought the hardest for the rights and freedoms of their fellow man are among the finest people in human history. They also suffered far more, yet we celebrate their accomplishments like nothing else. Today, we must do our duty to ensure that we don’t repeat the mistakes they made. Remember that even when you feel overwhelmed you have the power to call another day and begin again. This is not possible because they overcame every hardship of life and came out stronger than ever. Give thanks for what you have and leave space for what you don’t. Celebrate their sacrifices and remember that they paid a price and are no longer forgotten. May they rest in Peace.