When you’re bogged down with the commitments that come with being a parent and/or the stress of a full time career, finding some time to participate in activities whose sole benefactor is you can seem to be impossible. However, denying yourself attention to focus on other areas of life will only cause issues that can potentially have further negative impacts upon your health, family and career. When you fail to look after yourself as an individual in order to care for another person, you will eventually run out of steam and be unable to provide assistance to yourself or anyone else. If you’re struggling to find time in your hectic life to focus solely on yourself, then read these top tips to discover what you can do to improve your personal well being in no time at all.
The Importance Of Eating Well
As a parent, there often comes a time where you find yourself cooking a nutritious meal for your children, and either not eating anything or making something worse in quality. The effort that you put in to preparing food for others must be mirrored in your own eating habits, as you need a healthy diet just as much as everybody else. Each plate should consist of a portion of fruits and/or vegetables, a source of lean protein and complex carbohydrates, as these are the building blocks that will contain all of the necessary vitamins and minerals you need to thrive. Realistically it doesn’t take long to throw some fresh ingredients together, and the energy and vigor you will gain as a result make it so worth it. Skipping breakfast should be avoided as much as possible, as it is the most important meal of the day and acts to literally “break” your overnight “fast” - hence the name. Your first meal should realistically be the largest, and is a great opportunity to fill your plate with foods like whole grains that can help you to stay full and energized until lunch time rolls around. Your overall focus and concentration will certainly be lacking if you instead opt for some kind of junk, as high sugar and fat foods cause a roller coaster for blood sugar levels and can make you slump in extra fast time.
Self Care Can Transform Your Day
Taking part in self care activities can help to transform a very negative day into something much more positive and worthwhile. This could be anything from a long hot bath filled with bubbles to a session standing in front of the mirror reinforcing your importance - anything that you feel would remove even the smallest amount of the pressures you are experiencing should be considered. One of the best and most beneficial self care exercises that you can do is meditation, and it’s so easy to fit a couple of sessions into even the most hectic of lifestyles. Whenever you find a moment during which you can pause and think, whether this is whilst on your morning commute or perhaps as a part of your night time routine before bed, grab it with both hands. All you need to practice meditation is yourself and a comfortable place to sit down, as it all comes from within. Take a seat and begun to focus solely on your breathing, paying close attention to ensure that you you inhale via your nose and exhale through your mouth. Try to do this for as long as possible and make a note at which stage or time your mind decides to wonder elsewhere - this is essentially what you are building on, as the longer you are able to keep a completely clear and balanced mind, the more peaceful you will be, therefore helping you in many other aspects of life too. With meditation comes mindfulness, which is the practice of addressing and accepting your current emotions and situation in a calm and collected way, or “living in the here and now”. This takes no time from your busy schedule, as it’s simply a very achievable frame of mind that can greatly benefit your mental health.
Find A Passion & Stick With It
When you become a parent, it’s hard to keep a strong individual or personal life. The hobbies and passions you used to take part in get replaced by children’s own alternatives, and whatever it is that really interests you has to take a back seat. However, you cannot allow this kind of behavior to fester and grow as you need some kind of outlet or passion to keep yourself sane. Even if you decide to do something as simple as going back to school, it’s completely achievable with a hectic life as places such as Rutgers University can offer online courses that can remove a large chunk of the hassle. Do some research to determine what it is that you would actually like to spend some of your free time doing, either with an end goal like a qualification or just to have some fun. Make sure that whatever you choose to take part in, you are able to fully commit yourself to really having a go - and not giving up. Developing some kind of extra interest has so many different benefits, from the social side of being able to meet and converse with new people regularly, to the extra skills and knowledge you can gain, so it’s a win-win situation.
With any luck, these ideas are just the push you needed to begin making some time for yourself. You simply will not be able to care for anyone else if you are not in good health - both physically and mentally. Make an effort to consume a healthy diet to lay the perfect foundations, and always take part in self care activities that put you at the center of your own attention. Finding a passion, hobby or interest will do wonders, positively benefiting your social life, interpersonal skills, knowledge base and much more. Don’t forget - your brain is a muscle and needs to be exercised in different ways so you can be strong both in mind and body.
No comments:
Post a Comment