I would like to talk more about the basics, how can you take care of yourself and especially about the wellbeing of your mind. So let's assume that you eat and sleep well, you exercise regularly, so now you have the bandwith to actually take care of your mind. This idea is partly aligned with Maslow's pyramid, the hierarchy of needs, you need to cover the basics so that you can go to a more spiritual level like finding your purpose in life. If you need to worry about making ends meet then most probably you won't have self-actualization as a priority. Also, you need to give all the nutritions so that your brain can use its full capacity, you need to sleep enough regularly to be able to stay on the journey and keep working towards a goal. You might know the feeling when you stayed out for the night and the day after you just crave for junk food which may be a bomb of carbohidrates but might not contain a lot of minerals and vitamins… I personally could die those days for the hamburger and potato menu of a fast food restaurant but that sad little piece of pickle is not really making it healthy and my brain will not be functioning as it is supposed to.
The good news is that you don't just work yourself up on the pyramid. We are one coherent entity so working on the well being of your mind will also have a positive impact on your desire to take care of your body and vice versa. You know how common is it that someone starts to practise yoga just to help on the back pain torturing him for a while now, and after a while he just realises that he is totally transformed, he stopped smoking and eating greasy meat, he meditates every morning after sun salutations and sleeping became sacred full stop.
So what can you do for the well being of your mind? You know that you need to take care of your eating habits, your sleeping, you need to regularly exercise, and this is more or less valid for everyone. However our mind and brain and soul makes a fantastic complex system so it is somewhat more difficult what will make you happy but here are some ground rules we can work on together.
Values - Live according to your values, work to get closer and closer to your true self
Be positive and stay positive - This is not easy but you can learn to control your thoughts and keep them positive. If your mind wonders to negative areas and you allow it, that is a decision, a choice. Why not chose to think positively? With neurolinguistic programming you can actually program your brain to leave behind the negative beliefs and create a new, positive way of thinking
Be yourself - How much do you let others influence your decisions and how much importance do you give to what people think of you? Where do you draw the line when it comes to your friends, family, coworkers?
Love yourself - Learn to appreciate yourself and accept yourself, just as you are. Don't punish yourself, accept that you do the best you can, and if you would like to change, work on yourself, but don't be so hard on yourself
Me time - Make sure that you have some time for yourself, when you don't clean up the apartman or cook while the kids are away. We have the sometimes bad habit of effectiveness but should life (and especially your freetime) be effective or joyfull? Try to find some activities that bring you the flow to make it a quality time, but sometimes it is okay if you just do nothing and watch the ceiling with pleasure - if that is what you needed, just do it without feeling guilty!
People - If you free yourself from judging others and have unrealistic expectations of others, you will see how much joy you find in your relationships
So, where shall we start the work? 😊