The New Year is always an opportunity to start fresh. Every year brings about new interests, hobbies, friends, and happiness. However, it can also bring on some new challenges and obstacles for you. These challenges aren’t always bad, sometimes our biggest struggles help us to become the best versions of ourselves, but we do not always see it.  Sometimes it feels like life is moving incredibly fast, so fast that you can’t keep up. There’s a lot to worry about in life, especially when you’re still figuring out what you want to do with your life. Sometimes life gets especially challenging. Some years may feel like they were full of growth and satisfaction, others may feel like the worst of your life. You may end up feeling proud of the person you became over the years, but you also may not. You’ve got to remember that there is always a chance for you to start over. Since it is now 2020, our decade has come to an end. This is the perfect time for us to be able to help ourselves nurture and grow into who we want to be. Sometimes all we need is a little self-care. When things like school, work or your own personal problems become the source of your stress and anxiety, you often brush your own physical and mental needs to the side. Those should be the priority, take care of yourself before anything else. All aspects of your lifestyle tie into your mental and physical state. Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy and efficient lifestyle. Below, I have included a few tips for you to consider trying and live a stronger, positive life.

Try a Healthier Diet: Your physical and mental health are extremely important. Changing things up in your lifestyle is a good start to trying to live a more positive life. Trying a healthier diet can help improve your physical health.  This can help you manage your weight, reduce your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol levels and control your blood sugar. Eating healthier food does not just help with your physical health, but your mental health too. The brain is almost like an electronic device, perhaps a phone. A phone needs to be charged occasionally to keep functioning properly, a brain is the same. The fuel in which the brain runs on is food. Studies have shown that the food you eat affects its structure and how your brain operates. Foods like fish, can be helpful to replace red meat.  Of course, there’s your vegetables and greens such as kale, spinach and broccoli that are helpful too. Eat whole grains, fruits or try switching to low fat dairy. Limit your junk food intake. These methods and foods are known to be nourishing for your physical and mental health.

Find your passion: Everyone has something that they are good at, or that they like to do. You don’t always have to be good at something to love doing it. As long as it makes you happy, you are successful.  Finding that one hobby that you love to do and that will distract you from all the negativity and happiness is essential to living a more positive lifestyle. Personally, I love to read and write to take my mind off things. Occasionally I love to draw because it can help be unwind and focus on something other than my hardships. Try doing different activities like sports or art and see what you like doing the best.

Limit Yourself: Do not work yourself too hard and stress yourself out. Admittedly, I am a workaholic and do not know when to stop. I only stop when I am dead tired and extremely stressed out. Do not do this! You must take time to yourself, especially if you are a student in high school or post-secondary. When you are given an assignment, never leave it to the last minute so that you can spread out the workload. When you’ve got a test to study for, start studying as soon as possible because other things will come up that can disrupt your studies; spread it out. Overworking yourself is the worst thing you can do to yourself because you end up stressed and anxious mess in the end. Work very hard, but always know your limits. Take breaks when doing your work if you must, if you are feeling very overwhelmed maybe you should take this as a sign to pack up and relax. Winding down is important, when you clear your head, you can perform properly.

Self-care is the best care. Everyone is always one choice away from changing their lives. Every choice that you make matters.  In the end, the thing that should matter the most is yourself. Take good care of yourself. Your body and mind are like a garden. Your garden needs water and nutrients to prosper and grow, without it, it’ll wither away.

Websites used:

https://www.heartandstroke.ca/get-healthy/healthy-eating/healthy-eating-basics

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626

https://www.healthline.com/health/best-diets-for-mental-health