Sometimes we might feel bad without any clear reason. It may seem that everything works well in your life, then why you still feel bad?
Well, there are few areas, which you maybe don’t place as a priority to take care about, however which may have strong impact on your well-being and tour emotional health. What are those areas and what are ways to improve quality of life?
- Be your own priority
So many people still think that to prioritize your own needs is selfish or egoistic. People think that to be “a good person”, you need to take care about others and quite often for this reason to let your own dreams down.
But isn’t it unfair? Shouldn’t you think first of all about what actually is making you happy?
Well, highly likely that this question is too difficult for you. Your self-identification and your understanding about life, happiness and others is formed in a childhood and is strongly affected by social norms and opinions of others. If in a childhood you were constantly hearing that the most important is to take care about your family, to please your boss and colleagues or to keep good relationship with friends in order to do not feel lonely – now it’s very difficult to understand what are your own needs and what you actually would like to prioritize.
And actually, this mindset is really “comfortable”. It’s so easy to make someone responsible for your happiness instead of taking a risk and doing something by yourself. It’s much easier to blame someone when things are not working for you, then to look for a reason inside yourself.
However, no one can actually make you happy except you, because no one knows your story, your needs, dreams and how do you feel. It’s also so important to understand, that only being healthy and feeling harmony and happiness, you can take care about others.
No one can tell you what is wrong and what is right for you, because they are writing a different story of life. And you need to write your own story!
- Learn how to say “no”
How many times you were in a situation, when you say “yes” and after a while you start to regret this?
How many times you felt overwhelmed, busy but not productive or having no time for yourself? Well, you could easily change it if you get more control over your decision.
Before saying “yes” you should always pause and consider few things:
- What do I want and what do I need? How it will make me feel? Is it in line with my priorities and goals?
- What negative outcome I can get if I say “no”? How much it would affect me and how important it is?
- Is it possible that by saying “yes” I can miss other good opportunities?
- If I say “yes”, can I do it 100% (considering time frame, quality, etc.)?
Make sure you take all your decisions consciously.
- Make sure you have time to rest, to spend some time alone, also - time for your hobbies
We are living in a very dynamic world which takes so much of energy from us every day. What do we do to recharge our batteries?
I always called myself “maximalist”. I thought “more” is always better. I wanted to check my limits. I thought that I am too young to rest. And I was always complaining how tired I am.
However, nothing is healthy where there is no balance.
7 hours of sleep per day isn’t enough. Rest also consists of time for doing nothing and time for hobbies. This is essential to free up your potential and your creativity.
14 days of vacation, which you spend hiking, partying, visiting places, shopping, meeting people and doing many other precisely planned things doesn’t help you to recharge your battery. You can get even more tired.
One weekend of spa after weeks working extremely a lot will not help you to recover. In general, it’s almost impossible to compensate damages done in this way for your brain and body.
That’s why it’s important to find a balance in life. You need to have enough sleep, but also enough rest - time for doing noting, being alone. You also need time for your hobbies or other activities which gives you positive emotions.
- Avoid toxic people
If your goal is to be happy, then why do you need people who give you negative emotions?
Toxic person is someone whose behavior often hurts you, takes your energy and makes you feel sad. Sometimes toxic people are unaware of the negative impact that they have on others, while others simply feel satisfaction from making other people feel bad.
We can prioritize opinions of others, number of years spent together and sentiments or find many other excuses, however the only good decision is to avoid a toxic person. How to do it?
- Set boundaries and make sure no one cross them
- Keep a distance, don’t go to long conversations and don’t put yourself in a place, where you have to spend a lot of time with a toxic person
- Don’t think that it’s important to be nice with everyone, toxic person unfortunately don’t think about being nice with you
- Know that it’s not your responsibility to save them or to change them
- Focus on positive things, especially if you see that a toxic person feels satisfaction by making you feel bad
Please let me know if you find this helpful.