22 SIMPLE WAYS TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT LIFE
All of us feel tired, overwhelmed, stressed or just out-of-sorts some days. It’s completely natural to feel like this every now and then but it’s a sign that we need to look after ourselves for a little. If you’re having one of ‘those’ moments and need some easy ideas to get yourself back on track, here are 22 simple ways to feel better about life.
SIMPLE WAYS TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT LIFE
Here are 22 simple ways to feel better about life and yourself. Intentional tips for looking after your body and mind when life feels difficult.
1. Put in your ear phones
Listen to a podcast or some music, something that inspires or relaxes you, takes you out of your own thoughts and to a different place for a while.
2. Take a walk
Grab the kids, the dog or go by yourself. Enjoy the fresh air, a change of scene and get your body moving.
3. Clear the clutter
Clear all the worktops or table tops in your home, go through your bedside table, or check out these quick declutter projects. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what you can achieve. It won’t change the world but it might instantly make your home feel more manageable.
4. Meditate
Take 10 minutes to slow down, focus your mind and block out the noisy world around you.
5. Avoid social media
Social media is a wormhole that sucks us in and can have such a negative effect on our mental health. Here are some thoughts around minimalism and social media and how to use social media more mindfully. Try these 10 productive things to do on your phone instead of social media too!
6. Make a cup of tea or coffee
Sit down and enjoy drinking it whilst it’s still warm! Think about what’s making you feel down and what you can do to help lift yourself up when you’ve finished your drink. Sometimes all we need is just some mental space to re-group and find clarity. At the bottom of this article you’ll find a mental declutter checklist you can get to work through as your drink your cup of tea or coffee!
7. Call a loved one
Have a chat with someone you love, who loves you and makes you feel good. Social connections are essential for a happy and healthy mind.
8. Give yourself a home spa treatment
Do your nails, wash your hair, put on some make-up. Do something to boost your feelings about yourself. When you have confidence and think you look good, you tend to feel a little better too!
9. Sing and dance
Turn up the music, sing and dance for all your worth! Just changing the vibes can change how you’re feeling and give you a physical outlet for any difficult emotions. Music can be a great source of therapy!
10. Read a chapter of your book or magazine
Take your thoughts to a different place for a while.
11. Get creative
Do some colouring, write a short story, write in your journal. Practice mindfulness and being present in the moment. So much of our negative emotions are caught up in how we’re thinking about the past, the future or things that are beyond our control. Be mindful and content being right here, right now.
12. Assess your habits
Habits are what we do often to keep things ticking over, at home and in life. How well do your habits support you? Do you have positive and healthy habits that help you to be the best version of you? Or do you have habits that make you feel bad and contribute to poor mental or physical health? Explore these simple habits to make life easier for some healthy, positive habits to try yourself.
13. Go through your wardrobe
Throw or donate the clothes that don’t fit, are worn out or damaged and that you don’t love to wear. Make space in your wardrobe so you can see what you do have and make it easier and quicker to get dressed next morning. That will take away one decision out of the thousands of others you’ll have to make throughout the day. One less decision means one less drain on your mental energy.
14. Write a gratitude list
One of my favourite ways of swapping negative thoughts for positive ones. Jot down 5 things you’re grateful to have in your life and focus on these when you’re feeling down. Read more about how to use gratitude to improve your life.
15. Do something nice for someone else
Send a friendly text, smile at the next person you see, give a hug, write a love-note. Share your love and see what love comes back to you.
16. Go for a drive
Either on your own or the kids can come too. Turn up the music, explore your neighbourhood, get out of the house and see where you end up!
17. Journal
Journaling is a great way to feel better about life as it helps us get to the root of what we’re feeling and why. Try these journaling tips for beginners or this selection of self-care journal prompts to help you reconnect with yourself and come up with a plan of action.
18. Be productive
When I’m feeling down, I like to turn things around and achieve or do something. I feel better when I’ve ticked something off my To Do list and am often more motivated to carry on instead of dwelling on my problems. Here are some ideas for productive things to do in an hour at home so you can save time and stress for your future self.
19. Reset your home
Home is where the heart is and when my home is messy, dirty or chaotic then my mind and heart definitely feel less than peaceful. Have a quick tidy of your home, create a calmer and more organised environment and maybe you’ll be able to find your own inner peace now too.
20. Repeat these affirmations
Positive affirmations are words of purpose and intent. The more you say them and repeat them, the more you begin to believe they’re true.
21. Read about the benefits of a decluttered home
Even if you don’t feel like taking brave, bold action, why not learn what a clutter-free home and life could give to you. More time, more space, less housework, a better functioning and welcoming home and somewhere that allows you to rest and recharge. Read more about the benefits of a decluttered home.
22. Schedule your priorities
Sometimes, when we’re feeling down, it’s just because we haven’t spent enough time and energy on things we want to do. We’ve been so busy doing what we need to do for life and for others, that we’ve put ourselves at the bottom of the priority pile. To help ensure you make time for what matters to YOU, try this free worksheet to help you schedule your priorities.
I hope you find these ideas helpful. Pick and choose which suits you best at the time. Not all of them will work for everybody all the time. It’s about finding what works for you.
ACTION AND DISTRACTION
There’s just a couple of points I wanted to mention…
1. Action
Many of the tips involve a practical, physical activity. When I’m feeling down for any reason, I try to ‘do’ something.
It could be one of the tips above or gardening, walking the dog, cleaning my home. Anything that stops me thinking inwardly and gets me focusing on moving my body in some way.
Exercise has many great benefits for both body and mind and a quick 10 minutes doing something active definitely seems to help my mind too.
2. Distraction
The other tip I’ve found which helps is to remove myself from my current thoughts.
So, either get a change of scene by getting out of the house (going for a drive, going for a coffee) or by focusing on something or someone else. It could be practicing mindfulness (focus on eating a piece of chocolate), watching the news or phoning a friend to say hi.
These things take you away from dwelling on your own internal thoughts, even temporarily, and instead make you think of other things, outside of you.
Sometimes we just need a distraction to get us out of a funk.
If you ever feel tired out, worn down or in need of some TLC, perhaps it’s time to do something just for YOU! Use the Ultimate Self-Care Toolkit to help you build a realistic, easy and supportive self-care plan for your body and mind to become your BEST SELF! Click here to learn more…
WHY SELF-CARE IS IMPORTANT
Maybe you’ve heard the saying that you can’t pour from an empty cup, well it’s true! If you’re feeling run down, burnt out or just not quite like your normal self, then how can you be there for anyone else? At the very least, you won’t even be able to live your own best life.
Looking after yourself – physically, emotionally and psychologically, is so important. Life throws many challenges, obstacles and opportunities at us and we need to be robust enough to handle them!
Self-care shouldn’t be seen as a luxury and you certainly shouldn’t feel guilty for finding a little time for you.
“Taking care of myself doesn’t mean ‘me first.’ It means ‘me, too.”
(L.R. Knost)
Here are some posts which might encourage and support you to prioritise yourself sometimes (and how to do it!):