Are you trapped by comparison and an inherent need to appear “perfect”?
Do negative thoughts continually come into your head throughout the day?
Do you spend a lot of your time criticizing or judging others?
Do you have a short temper?
Do you say or do things that you later regret?
We can all say yes to at least one of these. maybe not in every moment of every day, but those thoughts can always creep in. that negative chatter connects to negative feelings, which in turn affects both our physical and mental health. And when our physical or mental health suffers the cycle continues. Everything connects together: you can’t have a healthy body with an unhealthy mind. You also can’t fully experience true compassion, joy, gratitude, and love for life with an unhealthy mind. So, what does it mean to have a healthy mind? What habits can you implement that are going to help you feel better and more vibrant? What can you do to ensure that you can live your life with the happiness, engagement, and energy that you want? How can you be in control of what’s going on inside of you instead of being controlled by what’s happening to you? How do we stop living in a reactive state of mind?
1 – Awareness
Every time these thoughts come up for me, I always stop myself and ask WHY. What is going on with ME right now that is allowing these thoughts to creep in?
To really have a healthy mind, you have to take ownership of what’s going on inside your head. When you start to have that negative chatter come up in your head, stop and think…WHY is that? What’s going on inside your head that is causing those thoughts to come up? Start asking yourself those questions and start to build awareness. The next time you’re having negative thoughts, doubts about yourself, judgements of other people, or not feeling good about yourself, stop and take note or maybe even journal on that. What are your triggers? Take an inventory of all areas of your life. what’s going on within your relationships? Within your career? Within your own self-care and self-love practices? How good are you feeling about yourself in these areas? Identify what those problem areas are so that you can start to move forward with some action. The more awareness you have, the better.
The key here is not be ashamed, embarrassed, or to try hide this side of you. We’re all human and none of us are perfect; we all go through this. Hiding it from others, but more importantly from yourself, only creates an unhealthy, toxic situation inside your head as the layers and layers of trying to protect yourself build up. eventually, things catch up with you and it all unravels. So focus on healing, on acknowledgment, and progress forward instead of shame, guilt, and denial.
2 – Start with your self-care
You can’t have a healthy mind in an unhealthy body; it all connects together. And while it’s harder to change outside circumstances in our lives, it’s actually quite simple to make changes to our own self-care habits and our physical beings. It doesn’t always feel simple, but when we break it down, it really is. Hydrate more. Sleep more. Eat better. Move more. These are things we all know, but they often fall by the wayside when we get busy, overwhelmed, and stressed. If you’ve fallen off track with taking care of your physical self, start here.
3 – Get More Sleep
If you consistently are not getting enough sleep, your brain just can’t function properly and you are going to find it challenging to maintain a good mental state. you may think you’re functioning just fine with the sleep you’re getting…until you actually get into a good rhythm and routine with sleep and start getting 7-8 hours per night. That’s when you really realize how good it is and you’ll see your life start to shift in ways you never thought possible. Make some small changes: establish a good night time routine, turn off your devices 30 minutes before you fall asleep, and try to get into bed a little earlier each night. Make sleep a top priority because without that time to recharge, renew, and repair itself the brain (and the body) just don’t work at their best. when your brain is not working at its best, that’s when it starts to send you off track.
4 – Gratitude
Each day, do some journaling and write about the positive thoughts in your head. What was great about your day? What are you excited for tomorrow? What are you most proud of? Doing this trains your head to focus in and think about the positive instead of always focusing in on the negative thoughts. Your brain is a muscle that we can train to behave in a certain way, it just takes time and discipline.
5 – Meditation
Meditation is another amazing way to build the muscle of the brain so that you can really control what is going on inside your head. When you start to meditate and you start to feel your thoughts fluttering away, practice pulling those thoughts back and controlling them. Learning this control over your own mind is key. That way when you’re approached with a difficult situation, you can control and own your thoughts instead of just reacting and letting the situation control you.
Your choices are a reflection of your self-worth. If you don’t like how your mind and your body are operating, then it’s time to commit to making some different choices. And it starts with this base foundation of self-care. It’s time to implement. Take action. One small step a day is all it takes.
Facebook: facebook.com/charlotteferreux/
Instagram: @charlotte_ferreux
Website: www.charlotteferreux.com
Email: [email protected]
