You have heard it like million times over and over – if you do what’ve always done, you will have what’ve always had.

Change is uncomfortable. But here are the good news: you don’t always have to make big changes to feel the positive effect in your life.

First of all, please, realise, it’s only you, who can decide, what life you want.

Do you want to be healthier?

Do you want to be happier?

Do you want better relationships?

More success?

More money?

Everything above is an inside job, and You are the one who decides.

All it takes is to make small changes, one at the time.

Drink More Water

If you don’t like plain water, add a few berries or a slice of citrus fruit – lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit. I personally like to add a few slices of thinly sliced cucumber (use the vegetable peeler) with a few mint or basil leaves. This way the water does not only taste better but is also refreshing! When I don’t have citrus fruits at home, I use food-grade essential oils. A couple of drops into a glass will do the job!

You can purchase high-quality essential oils from my absolutely most favourite brands Neal’s Yard Remedies or Wild As The Wind.  

Drink Herbal Tea

Tea has been valued for over 4000 years as both, a medicine and a drink for pleasure. Herbal teas are made of flowers, herbs, fruits or spices. They have an incredible array of health benefits, contain antioxidants, trace minerals and vitamins.

Teas are a valuable resource for people who don’t want to rely on pills for minor discomforts and ills. In our complicated world, it’s nice to know that there are still some plain and simple solutions to make our everyday lives easier. 

I personally like peppermint (you can use a few leaves of fresh mint) and green tea, and my absolute winner is raspberry leaf tea. There are hundreds of different teas out there, so drinking this delicious beverage never gets boring.

“Better to be deprived of food for three days than of tea for one.”

 

~ Ancient Chinese Proverb

Wake Up Early

Easier said than done, I know! But, remember, the only thing that stops you from getting up early is your brain. I would never say I will become an early riser until I decided to simply be one. Setting your alarm just half an hour earlier than usual will give you the space you need to gather the thoughts for the day ahead. Your brain tends to be the most alert in the morning, so why not to use this time wisely to focus on important tasks uninterrupted while the rest of your house, and the world sleep.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wise.

 

~ Benjamin Franklin

Set your alarm for the same time every day. Determine the best time, and work back with 10-minute increments per week, this way you will be waking up earlier in no time!  Go to bed at a similar time every night. If you need more sleep, decide to go get to bed earlier (rather than sleeping later). In the morning, when the alarm rings, don’t think about postponing it for ‘just another 5 minutes’, count to five and get up! Hold yourself accountable for your own actions, and make your morning count! You will be proud of yourself for this brave and productive move!

Keep Things Tidy / Declutter

There is nothing better than welcoming the brand new day in a tidy environment. Start with making up your bed. Before you go to sleep, get into the habit of washing up the dishes (or just rinsing them and putting into the dishwasher), pick things up, clean the spills as they happen, wipe the counter before you leave the kitchen, straighten the pillows on the sofa.

Get rid of things you no longer need. If you haven’t used some clothing/shoes, decorations for a couple of years, you most probably don’t need them. Donate them to a charity shop, or resell. Make this a habit, keep only things you need. Simplify.

If you leave your home or office untidy, your brain often can’t rest. Subconsciously you are reminded of everything that needs to be done. This increases stress and fatigue. Whether you are aware of it or not, your tidy or un-tidy home/room might have an effect on your behaviour. Our mind is directly affected by our environment. Tidying your place also tidies up your mind! A messy room is a representation of a disorganized mental state. Tidy up your place. You can do it.

From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change.

 

~ Marie Kondo (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying)

If you keep things tidy, you will get the benefit of knowing what things you have – your clothes, shoes, jewellery, books, stationery – so you don’t have to stress looking for things when you need them, or buy new ones, when you already have alternatives at home!

Practice Selfcare

Selfcare is often ignored, but, it is absolutely necessary. Selfcare is not only an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, but it also offers us a balance in today’s increasingly over-stimulating world, as well as makes us healthier and happier, and more in-tune with our body.

Practising selfcare can be as simple as breathing in wonderful scents (incense and essential oils inhalers are great options), lighting up some candles and having a relaxing bath, skin dry brushing, massage, taking time to put on a face mask, going for a walk to nature – studies show that being and living in green space has very positive benefits on our mental health. Remember to truly love yourself and find a ritual that nourishes your body and mind!

Be Mindful / Stay Present

Focusing on the present – without any judgement of how we feel and what we think – can be both, liberating and healthy practice. Person’s time is heavily influenced by their emotional state. Emotions are such tabu is today’s world, and should be spoken more about. Many are living with fears and insecurities from the past and the future, and that makes it difficult to appreciate the present moment – it’s here, where the mindfulness comes.

The key to being mindful is to learn how to pay attention. To be fully present requires our focus on the NOW. Feel the smell of the air, the scents, focus on the sensations of the moment – such sounds, our heartbeat… feel, listen, smell. Put your attention to the emotions you are experiencing. Try to feel them in your body. How does it feel? Where do you feel the emotion? In the throat area, head, chest, belly? Try to describe the emotion and stay with it. It’s ok. Emotions can’t hurt you. It’s the thoughts you think, that sentence in your head, that creates the emotion.

Stay in the moment, stay present, breathe.

Journal

Journaling is no longer ‘old-school’, in fact, it has gone throughout quite a remarkable come-back, and there are no doubts about its positive benefits on our health and happiness. Journaling is not only for teenagers – it’s for anyone who can write! It helps with self-expression that can lift and empower people, so when they look back, they can learn to understand their feelings and emotions in a more complex way.

Journaling helps to get the thoughts from our head onto the paper – this way we can look at our thoughts from the observer view, and evaluate our behaviour. It is the best way to learn about ourselves, and the benefit of recording the memories this way is such a bonus!

Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a relationship with your mind.

 

~ Natalie Goldberg

One very beneficial way to journal is Effective Journaling. This practice is becoming very popular, as it helps you to meet your goals in various areas and improves the overall quality of life.

Journaling also offers a wide range of health benefits, that has been scientifically proven. Research shows journalling can:

• Reduce Stress
• Improve Immune Function
• Improve Cognitive Function – Helps with Memory
• Decreases the Symptoms of Asthma, Arthritis, and other health conditions
• Boost the Mood
• Strengthen Emotional Function

So, whether you keep a gratitude journal, bullet journal, or a personal planning journal, keep it up!

And if you are completely new to journalling and the idea speaks to you, then you might find The Mindful Life Journal: Seven Minutes a Day for a Better, More Meaningful Life truly enchanting.

Move Your Body

All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.

 

~ Martha Graham

Whether you like or not, the movement is what the human body was designed for. Let it be a short 30 minutes walk, a gentle stretching or an online yoga class, run, dance, hike cycle, work in your garden, lift – do whatever works for you. Be willing to feel uncomfortable, and move your body. Action is what brings the results. Your mind needs to switch off from time to time, and this is much easier when we are engaged in any type of activity.

Plan Your Days

Create your life deliberately. Planning significantly reduces your stress levels, and gives you the satisfaction of getting more things done – it is, however, crucial to stay accountable to yourself, show up, and do, what you plan.

Many of us live our life how it comes. If you want to achieve those goals, you have to plan how to get there! Planning boosts your productivity significantly and offers you to have more time in life. Whether it is a to-do list or tasks scheduled on your calendar, either will work like a charm!

Planning is a skill, however, more often you do it, less time it will take. After you’ve practised planning a few times, it will eventually become a habit, part of your daily/weekly routine and completely effortless.

With planning the day the night before you will be amazed at how much your productivity will skyrocket, and how satisfied you will feel at the end of each day!

Eat More Real Food

Food is information. I am great ambassador of this universal truth. Healthy eating is a habit, more you practice, more natural it comes.

Think about healthy food as a fuel for your precious body. Choosing to eat healthily is a form of self-respect, and even if you can’t see the benefits in the moment, you will be rewarded in the long run.

Including healthy food into our diet takes a commitment to change our thinking, as well as our eating habits, but that’s why you are here I assume? To improve and grow, to become the healthiest and happiest person, to make your life better, not bitter.

By eating real whole foods, we ensure our brain receives proper nutrients to function optimally – that means less depression and better mental health! Win-win. 

It’s widely known that fried and processed foods should be eliminated from our diets by all means. Eat fruits that are in season, and go crazy with vegetable intake every day. Include lots of green leafy vegetables whenever you can, be mindful of meat, fish and seafood – always prefer to know where your food comes from. Quality is the key.

Support small local farms and farmer’s markets whenever you can, include lots of healthy cold-pressed oils, nuts, seeds and whole grains. Keep it simple. Food is here to nourish us, to energise us, to make us happy & healthy!

More on the food topic on the way. Stay tuned!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

5 Self-improvement Ideas That Will Change Your Life

7 Tips How To Make Your Brain Healthy

13 Simple Ways To Start Eating Healthy Today 

50 Powerful Yoga Quotes For Inspiration & Motivation

RESOURCES for this article:

• lifehack.org
• livingwellspendingless.com
• healthline.com
• greatist.com
• psychologytoday.com
• intermountainhealthcare.org
• cambridge.org
• verywellmind.com
• medium.com
• Victoria Zak, 20.000 Secrets Of Tea: The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’s Healing Herbs (New York, NY: Dell Health)