Health and wellbeing seem to be goals that many of us want to improve on each year. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve included these aims on my list of new year’s resolutions! So, let’s tackle it once and for all, and keep up those good-for-you promises throughout the year.
This is the 5th blog post in my series of new years goals blog posts so I hope you’ll check out some of the others if any of these are relevant to you and your resolutions:
- How to be more creative in 2022
- How to buy your first home this year
- How to declutter and organise your home
- How to plan a thrifty and sustainable wedding
And now, let’s think about ways that we can make our health and wellbeing goals a reality this year…
Make time for self-care
The thing that’s most likely to put a stop to our new year’s goals is lack of time. So, perhaps the most important element of achieving your wellbeing goals is to actually make time for it.
Put it in the calendar, allocate blocks of time throughout the date, take time off (and actually turn off your PC and phone!) and really dedicate yourself to making time for your wellness. If you don’t plan it, time will just run away with you and it won’t happen.
Self-care can come in lots of forms. In fact, my friend Victoria has shared 77 winter self-care ideas on her blog so have a read of that article if you need inspiration for ways to make yourself feel good.
It can be as energetic as going for a run, as simple as choosing fresh food, or as luxurious as getting a flower delivery for yourself. Treating yourself – whether with lovely goodies, fun experiences or relaxing times – can help you achieve that coveted wellbeing feeling deep inside.
It just goes to show that you don’t need to allocate heaps of time to taking care of yourself, you just need to figure out the things that’ll boost your mood and actually get round to doing them on a regular basis.
Drink more water
How many times have you had this on your list of new year’s resolutions? It’s such a straightforward thing, that’ll make a big difference to your energy levels and your overall health. But we just don’t do it!
Personally, I think there are two reasons – firstly, why would you reach for water when there are other tastier options available? And secondly, it can be expensive (not to mention unsustainable) if you’re buying bottled mineral water or sparkling water.
So, the solution for me has been to meet myself somewhere in the middle. I want my water to taste nice and be ice cold so I want to store it in the fridge to make it more appealing. But I don’t want to buy plastic bottles of water to do this and, instead, I found a solution with my ZeroWater filter.
I got this high-quality filter jug a couple of years ago and I chose a jug-size that fits into the door of my fridge. I refill it every day so just imagine how many plastic bottles of water I’ve saved during that time! I’ve only needed to replace the filters a few times and they help to make the water so pure and actually taste nice.
This now means that I have no objections to drinking water and I’m able to make it a regular part of my daily self-care.
Get your body moving
As someone who has gone from doing zero exercise at the start of the pandemic to actually needing to move my body regularly, I want to tell you how important this is for your overall well-being.
Getting moving isn’t just good for your physical health, although even the smallest efforts will help to improve your strength, balance, flexibility and endurance. On top of this, any type of movement will help to release endorphins – those feel-good chemicals – to boost your mental health as well.
Let’s not call it exercise (I was a P.E-phobe at school!), and you don’t have to be running miles every day to achieve your wellbeing goals. Instead, choose an activity that you like, then you’ll actually do it and enjoy it. And if you choose to engage in more strenuous activities, it’s a big plus to know how to replenish electrolytes as well as the water you lose when breaking a sweat.
Personally, I enjoy dancing, walking, yoga and different types of pilates but, for you, it might be swimming, playing tennis or digging the garden. Whatever kinds of movement you choose, just be sure to make time to do it regularly and mix it up often so that you don’t get bored with doing one activity over and over again.
Make mental health a priority
To be honest, you won’t feel like you want to do the healthy suggestions above if you haven’t prioritised your mental health first. Like most things, any kind of self-improvement has to start from within the mind, otherwise, you’ll be miserably fighting against yourself, forcing yourself to exercise, eat well or even relax.
So, if you’re experiencing any mental health struggles, be sure to talk to someone about these, and even get some professional help. Your local NHS is likely to have a wellbeing service where you can get advice and support, and this is a great place to start when your goal is to take care of your mental health.
Also, investigate relaxation techniques, such as calm breathing, meditation and guided progressive muscle relaxation to help you to unwind and take a bit of the pressure off. If you do one thing for your wellbeing this year, it’s a good idea to make these types of relaxation a priority and do it every day.
I hope these tips will help you to get started with your new year’s goal to boost your wellbeing this year. Let me know what you’ve been doing to improve your physical and mental health in the comments below – I’d love to hear your advice and ideas. 🙂
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This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
