Wellness Focus

It’s the middle of January already, and I won’t lie, I am still trying to definitively wittle down my list of New Year goals. Let’s face it, last year was difficult for us all, and entering the new year was very different from the years that came before. Although, it may feel like the same old bad news day in, day out, I don’t think we should allow ourselves to feel deflated by our lack of oomph for 2021.

I struggled profoundly last year, I found the fear and anxiety of living through a pandemic really quite terrifying. I found myself at the end of 2020, desperately exhausted, mentally, physically and emotionally. I’d stopped cooking proper food, stopped communicating with friends and spent most of my time curled up on the couch. No matter what anyone says, once you allow yourself to indulge in fear it only leads to a downwards spiral. So, I’m writing this without the spunky optimism we usually expect at New Year but with a simple, I hope refreshing outlook from someone who, like you, needs to find a positive focus on wellbeing.

So let’s talk about actual wellness, and what it means to you. I believe, that our journey and experiences are all profoundly personal, which makes no one right way to correctly improve our outlook and wellbeing. We can all accept that throughout our lives there will be forced to navigate our way through negative situations but if we are truly content with ourselves those difficult times will be easier to manage.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fitness guru, nor am I the poster girl for well-being but I am real. I have the same struggles, same fears and crave the same goals of happiness as everyone else, and I’m going to share with you my own hopes and dreams for the year ahead.

I have decided to dedicate 2021 purely to myself, to my own well-being, it’s a year to put myself first, push myself forward and start to love myself. The biggest question however.. where and how to begin?! If you’re anything like me, it’s taken you a million years to get anything out there on paper as the term ‘well-being’ is such a broad term. It’s extremely difficult to know where to start, but as the old saying goes, let’s start at the very beginning.

Be Kind to Yourself

I’m as guilty as the next person for pushing myself too hard, placing unrealistic expectations upon myself and feeling deeply deflated when I don’t achieve the desired outcome. I tend to fall into a pattern of blaming myself for each and every event that happens in my life so this year, I’m determined to change my mindset. I have collected a few daily affirmations to repeat to myself in an attempt to reset my negative way of thinking. I do think its important to take responsibility for your own actions, but if you’re anything like me, you take too much responsibility and that needs to stop. We can control our own behaviour but we cannot control the outcome, or how others chosone to act.

This year, when I start to feel overwhelmed with guilt I am going to take a breath, have a break and revisit the situation once my mind has settled. I’m going to remind myself each and every day that I am worthy, I am strong, and I am a good person. I feel that I force my own depression sometimes, sure life can get difficult and I really have faced some challenging moments but I am not responsible for other peoples behaviour, and I am going to smother myself with love and affection. For me, this is the foundation to my mental wellbeing, to feel love, we have to love ourselves. It really is that simple, but doing so, is difficult so lets persevere. Let’s make this year, the year we decide to love ourselves.

Routine

This is a major issue of mine, having been a night worker for many years I seem to have developed a knack for ignoring my natural body clock. My routine is all over the place, I‘m most productive between the hours of 3am and 9am, then I think its bedtime. I will nap throughout the day, and I have fallen into somewhat of a depressed state because of this.

Where do we begin? Routines are a gradual form of habit, they require work and repetition to form. Here is the basic structure of routine I have decided to lay out for myself..

6am - Wake up, stretch, drink a glass of water, allow myself time to wake and enjoy the early hour.

7am - Get dressed, I know this sounds simple but with lockdown I have fallen into the habit of just not getting dressed or applying makeup so those are two key things for me. Get up, get dressed, get glam.

8am - Breakfast, if feeling up to it a nice brisk morning walk and then a nice cup of tea.

9am - Work, Chores, Boring life necessities.

1pm - Lunch, its not hard, eat lunch. Enjoy lunch, take half an hour out and actually eat.

5pm - Start preparing meal, chill out whilst cooking and eat, girl, you have got to EAT !!!

7pm - Enjoy a long soak in the bath

8pm - No screens, no distractions just soft meditation and allow myself to fall into a relaxed state ready to sleep.

It’s a simple list, but you‘ve got to start somewhere right? I’m sure that not everyday will consist of that exact routine, but that’s the basis I‘m aiming for. Having suffered with insomnia for years, its about time I got a grip of the situation. I know where I’m going wrong and hopefully with this simple routine, I will start to feel healthier, with tons more energy.

Self-Care

Ok, so I’m actually not a fan of the term but its the best way to depict this idea. I need to treat myself with love, and I don’t mean just have a pamper every now and then. I‘m talking about true self care, nurturing your mind, body and soul.

Meditation is key for me, along with yoga, it allows me to check myself, calm my anxities down and breathe. When I haven‘t got time to sit and physically wind down to meditate I make sure that I remain mindful, I’ll slow the pace of my activities and take time to appreciate the world around me.

Physical care, get moving!!! I am naturally lazy, I don’t enjoy exercise but I have gained just over 3st over the past few years and I’m telling you, I can feel the weight. I’d like to lift that weight from myself, not just to fit into my old jeans but to physically feel lighter, to breathe better and to be able to endure activities for longer. It’s not something that comes natural to me, so instead of setting an unrealistic goal like actually attending a gym I’m going to use things I really enjoy and then incorporate movement into that. For example, I love nature, I love the wilderness, the silence and the fresh air so walking makes perfect sense, however, I know I’ll make a thousand reasons not to go so to counteract this, I’m going to challenge myself to create at least two beautiful wildlife photographs each week. Photography is my biggest passion, so what better way to force myself out and about?

Food

Wow. One of the most basic essentials to life and I struggle, I won’t lie. I am unbelievably bad at eating. I either can’t be bothered, can’t decide what I want or simply put it off so long I go past the point of hunger (you’d think I’d be really skinny right? Wrong. It doesn’t work that way). Something that is really important to me, is using local small businesses so I have started purchasing all of my food from the local shops, no processed food, just fruit and veg really and I’ve found that because its something I feel strongly about and because I don’t want to waste the food, it triggers my imagination - not to mention how delicious all the fresh produce looks!! I haven’t done it yet, but what I hope to do is create a list of meals, that I can chose from and easily cook. Eradicating the decision process I think will improve my outlook on food a lot, I just get overwhelmed by choices, never know what I fancy so if I spend an hour or so one evening listing the meals I enjoy, then I have a go to list and I can just ensure I have all of those ingredients in the house ready to grab.

Be Social

Lockdown is making this ever so difficult, but there are ways to be social and being creative with those ideas is key to enjoying company from afar. I have become so isolated in the past year that I really need to work on putting myself out there to try and connect with others. I fear I’ve developed a degree of cabin fever, and I have desperately underestimated the need for human interaction. I have always enjoyed my own company, so I have to admit I’ve enjoyed not feeling obliged to meet friends for coffee or attend events, but after a year of doing this I can recognise the real detrimental effects it is having on my mental health. We are social creatures, even introverts like myself need some level of company.

Stop Complaining

I’m sure that this will ring true for a lot of us, I complain A LOT. Not to anyone, just about them, two-faced I know but I am such a wimp I wouldn’t say boo to a goose so I find myself having little bitches and usually it’s nothing anyone else has actually done, but my own feelings of self pity and lack of self worth. I’m going to make a conscious effort to pause, think, and turn a negative into a positive. Its boring listening to moaning and complaining all the time, especially when its in your own head, I’m determined to find a way to stop the negative thoughts and emotions, replacing them with contentness. I find that once I start to indulge myself in negative thinking and speaking I can’t stop, then I feel exhausted and depresesed. No more. It’s time to change.

Finances

The dreaded word. I have been ignoring and putting off sorting out my finances for years, but I’m happy to say that the very first thing I have done this year is tackle them straight on. I have switched banks, cancelled all unwanted subscriptions, created a saving goal and made a strict budget plan. We’re only a few weeks into the year so I’m not getting ahead of myself but I cannot tell you how good it feels to actually grab ahold of my money and finally know exactly whats coming in and out.

If I could, I would share with you my entire notebook of scribbles for 2021 however, it is literally an entire notebook and I fear no-one has time for that, so I’ve kept this list simple and I hope that it helps you to cut back and simplify your own goals and lifestyle. This is just a snippet of my intentions for 2021 but I will finish off by saying one of my biggest goals is to write, I’ve always enjoyed writing and now that I’ve realised my own potential, I feel it will give me the motivation I need to actually put myself out there, write more, and improve. Everyone needs an outlet, and I think writing will become mine.

I really hope that we can all enjoy a happy 2021, regardless of the trials and tribulations it may hold. Cling on to the idea of a better life, and a better outlook, things always work out and I wish you all the very happiest of New Years.