I feel like even the most successful, hard-working person, focused on staying healthy both mentally and physically, will sometimes have a day or a week of not feeling good. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by large amounts of work to do. It’s easy to neglect our bodies and end up suffering from various physical issues. It’s also easy to forget about the importance of self-care, living in these fast-changing, constantly busy times. Here’s a short list of things that will help you construct a solid base for feeling good. A set of small changes to implement – small, but with great potential for sure!

1. Set yourself small goals

Is there anything better than success or worse than a failure? How many times have you made big plans and then sorely disappointed yourself by never achieving them? Say you want to take care of your health and cut down on sweets. It goes perfectly well for two days, and then the third day you give up and devour a supermarket’s alley worth of chocolate. Sounds familiar? Whether it’s about your health or anything else, you’re more likely to succeed when your goals aren’t huge milestones set for distant future. Try to make a plan for minor improvements for a short period of time. Want to stop eating fast food every day? Start with taking medium fries instead of large for a week. Once you succeed with a small goal you’ll be motivated to keep going – just make another plan for a few days and simply repeat until you’ve reached your final goal. It will not only make it easier for you to stay motivated, but will also give your mind and/or body enough time to get used to changes. And you’ll regularly fuel your motivation with small achievements!

2. Don’t wait until the last-minute

Yes, I know how hard it is, I personally am a true master of procrastination. But I have to admit that doing things first- instead of last-minute actually does feel good. When you leave things for the very last moment, your mind is probably still occupied by them, which makes you unable to fully enjoy the time when you’re not working. And on the contrary, when you deal with the unavoidable work quickly, then you can feel completely free in your spare time.

3. Take up some physical activity

Everyone knows that introducing balanced physical activity to a sedentary lifestyle is beneficial for our health. But that’s not all we can gain from a workout! Getting physically tired will also make your mind focused on your body rather than emotional problems. Great for when you want to stop thinking about something upsetting or stressful.

4. Be nice to people

Yes, it will not only make others feel good, but you as well. Don’t you like the feeling of making someone’s day? And it doesn’t have to be anything huge. Hold the door for someone carrying tons of bags. Say ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ to a cashier in a supermarket (things we should always do, and yet many of us don’t). Be understanding. And, most importantly, smile! 🙂

5. Don’t be hard on yourself

It’s okay to fail sometimes, although we’ve already settled that failure feels bad. You’re not a robot, you can have a bad day from time to time – it happens, it’s okay. Unless you treat it as an excuse for giving up on all your plans, it’s perfectly fine to sometimes not live up to your own expectations. Just accept it and try again.

6. Do more of what makes you happy…

…unless it’s a bad habit you should/want to get rid of. We don’t always have time for the things we love, but denying yourself from all entertainment for a long time will surely make you feel bad. Try to find a moment for yourself every day. It might take some effort to organise things so that you’re left with a spare moment, but trust me, it’s worth it.

7. Do it today

Unless it’s impossible, every change you want to make in your life has to start today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. Today. Making up plans supposed to start in the future gives you that time gate to postpone or give up on them before you even start. And when you decide to start right now, it will give you that lovely feeling of finally doing something instead of just planning it.

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