There are lots of things we all want to accomplish in life. We all have a bucket list of the cool things we plan on doing. Even with your bucket list and other plans, you are probably overlooking two of the most important things you should be striving for. If you have an actual list, take a look at it. Are happy and healthy on the list? If they are not, they should be. How are you going to check off bucket list items if you are too sick or too tired to do them? How are you going to meet your goals if you’re struggling with health or mental health issues?
Being happy and healthy should be the top priorities on your list. Unlike a lot of your bucket lists items, they aren’t something you can do someday. They are something you need to be doing right now. They should be your life focus.
If you haven’t spent much time working on being healthy, you might be struggling with serious issues that a simple blog post can’t really help you with. If that’s the case, you should consider looking for more specialized help, especially if you are struggling with addiction or serious depression. You should consider looking into a treatment center like JC Recovery Center. They can provide a firm foundation for your recovery journey.
If that’s not what you need and you are just looking for some simple steps to help you enjoy a better quality of life, then the following ideas will be just what you need.
Lots of people put off goals like health and happiness because they don’t think they can afford them. Getting healthy is expensive. If you are unhealthy, who has time to worry about being happy? If you are one of these people, then you need to understand two things.
The first thing you need to understand is happy and healthy are the choices you make and not destinations. Happy is about being grateful and a positive attitude. Even if things are going completely wrong, you can choose to look at them in a different way. Maybe the bad thing that just happened is an opportunity for you to do something better. Maybe it’s just the break, or break-up, you needed to move on. You can choose to reframe your thoughts and move forward. I know that sounds kind of simple, but if you give it a try, you’ll see how powerful it really is.
Healthy is also a choice and is something you can achieve very easily, even if you’re on a tight budget. Healthy doesn’t have to be expensive or really time-consuming. To be healthy, you have to take action. Even the smallest action can help you along your way. It’s the little steps you take consistently that make you healthy, not the huge dramatic gestures.
To be healthy, you need to eat right and exercise. Both of these things can be very inexpensive, if not completely free. Walking, for example, is a great free exercise that has amazing physical and emotional benefits. Even if you cannot walk very far, you can walk a little further today than you did yesterday. If walking doesn’t excite you, you can try something else. Check out a low-cost fitness class or just start doing yoga at home.
Whatever you decide to do, once you decide to do something, over time you will see health benefits.
The same is true for healthy eating. It’s not about throwing everything in your refrigerator away and only eating kale sauteed in coconut oil. It’s about making little sustainable changes every day. Changes like deciding to eat out less or cook real food more. Even given up one trip through the drive-through window a week can have amazing health benefits. If you really look into the health risks of fast food and processed foods, you’ll be surprised. The New York Times has written extensively on the subject, but a simple Google search can provide you with a wealth of health information.
If you are interested in creating a happy, healthy life for yourself, but you are still not sure you can afford to start, then you should check out this article about being healthy on a budget.
