As we know from the previous points in our lives, the previous expectations of society didn’t really allow for time to sit back and reflect on life. More so, leisure time to actually work on yourself and your goals without the need to constantly balance everything else going on in your life. Speaking from my own experience, my wellness typically took a backseat to the hectic-ness that a busy life demanded.
Well-being is more important now than ever before. In a world that feels so out of control, this time is an opportunity to at least be in control of one thing, and that’s YOU. This is a period where you can really begin to make time for yourself and work on yourself. Focusing on your wellness is beneficial to keeping on track with your mental and physical health.
There are eight different sections of wellness: emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, career, environmental, and financial. There’s no pressure to have all eight of them at the maximal level of wellness, however, acknowledging the different sections and taking the time to work on all of them is valuable in the long run.
Believe me, I am more than ready to get back to the hustle and bustle of life, however, our lives are moving on regardless of there being a pandemic or not. So why not use our time wisely and take time to work on our WHOLE well-being.
Thus, the time to be selfish is NOW.
I will be talking about emotional well-being as this section is critically important in our present chaos. Emotional well-being is an important factor in your wellness. However, it can seem like one of the most daunting practices to navigate through. Emotion is to be able to understand and cope with one’s feelings. However, dealing with emotions isn’t an easy feat. Especially now, it’s very normal for your emotions to be up and down, and very intense or nothing at all. In saying this, take the time to be “selfish” and figure out what works for you unapologetically.
Stress Control
Stress control is important to continuously work on and try to incorporate in your life. Stress control helps you break the hold that stress has on your life. It’s acknowledging that you can’t rid your life of stress, but you can try to manage it to the best of your ability. More importantly, if you learn different tools to help reduce the stress in your life, you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. An example of stress control may be to simply identify the sources of stress in your life. Write them down, every single one, even if they’re big or small. Identifying your triggers loosens the power they have over you, and helps you to begin the process of being able to manage them. To each point of stress, ask yourself if you can either avoid, alter, adapt or accept it. By identifying how you can navigate the stress, you’re able to create strategies to deal with them. At the end of the day though, stress isn’t easy to overcome and so many people around you can empathize with the difficult. If you’re needing help in managing your stress, don’t hesitate to reach out to people around you–loved ones or professional help.
Positive Outlets
Positive outlets are different ways to relieve the stress, anxiety or negative energy that may surround you. Learning which positive outlets work best for you is a great tool to have on hand when life feels chaotic. Positive outlets are also fairly unique to how each person expresses them. What might work for your friend, may have no positive effect on you at all. Thus, choose to express yourself in whichever way you choose, just in a positive way. Revelling in what makes you the happiest and most at peace is such an important part of your overall well-being. Positive outlets allow you to cope with stress and live a fulfilling life. These outlets can be simple, everyday activities that can have a big impact on your emotional well-being.
For example, writing has shown to relieve stress, alleviate anxiety and calm down the mind. If you’ve never written before, don’t fret, there are many ways you can incorporate into your daily life. Journaling is a valuable method to write down your feelings at the end of the day. You can set a time for 5-10mins and just simply write! However, if maybe you’re wanting to take your mind off of your own life, write about someone else’s! Better yet, write a fictional story and let your mind truly wonder as an intentional practice.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem can be characterized as a person’s overall sense of self-worth. It is the opinion of yourself and your abilities as a person. Having low self-esteem can leave people feeling defeated and hopeless. That’s why it’s important to work towards healthy self-esteem. Having healthy self-esteem can help you achieve success with positivity and support from yourself. However, there are many factors that can affect your self-esteem (such as age, genetics, illness, etc.,) and make it difficult to achieve healthy self-esteem easily. Hence why you need to be your biggest supporter and not put yourself down maliciously.
Below are ways to practice healthy self-esteem:
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Avoid dwelling on past, negative experiences. The past is in the past. Move on to bigger and better things.
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Express your needs. Advocate for yourself. No one knows you better than you. You know what you want and what you need.
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Feel confident. You are worthy. You are loved. You are enough.
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Say “no” when you want to. If you don’t want to do something, then don’t do it. You don’t owe anyone anything. If you’re not comfortable or aren’t up to participating then say so.
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See overall strengths and weaknesses and accept them. No one is perfect and that is okay. We all have strengths and weaknesses and that is what makes us unique and special. Revel in these things.
Photo by Eye for Ebony from Unsplash Your emotional well-being is one area of the many parts which make up your overall wellness. Take the time to figure out what works best for you. You are worthy, loved, and enough. You deserve to be the best version of yourself that you can be and that starts with taking the time to work on you.
