Six Ways to Finish the Year Stronger than Before

[Re-Post from last year because it's evergreen advice]

We are halfway through the year which means it's never too late to put yourself first and get your health back on track. Here are six actions that can help you do that.

Learn to Listen to your body

Social media. Doctors who just seem to give the same unhelpful advice. You blasting bullshit to distract yourself from actually sitting in the silence and hearing your own thoughts. The world is noisy and it is taking you away from you. Realistically no one knows you better than you. If they say they do, they are a guardian, a comrade, or they are lying. Learning to listen to your body is foundational to the rest of this list.

You ever just love something so much that you want to eat it everyday? But then it's then it's the twentieth day you've eaten it and for some reason you just can't spend more than five minutes away from the bathroom. It's noticing the changes that occur within you on the day-to-day or week-to-week basis that really makes a difference when it comes to achieving any goals relating to the self. One way to get started is to take note of how you feel in the hours following a food you haven't eaten in awhile. How does it make you feel? Happy? Ready for a nap? Nauseous?

This isn't to punish yourself when you eat something that does not agree with you. This is to put more agency to your life. For example, brie cheese might not the best for my tum tum. However, I really like this garlic brie cheese I got as a gift. I will enjoy this right now and make sure that I have some ginger tea on hand in case I don't feel well later on. That's the vibe here. Observe and learn from your actions.

Strive for a gallon of water a day

Yes, I said it drink water. Hydrate or Die Straight. Hydration affects your mental and physical capabilities. This is not about losing weight. Some people do say that if you feel hungry drink a glass of water first and check in with yourself in twenty minutes. That is good advice when living in the United States. We are surrounded by extremely palatable food and loads of excuses to take an extra bite or grab another handful. There's nothing wrong with eating something because it is tasty. Excess of anything is a problem long term.

Doctors have noted that if you feel thirsty you may actually already be dehydrated. Therefore, instead of waiting for a physical cue, it would be best to give yourself reminders to take a few sips of water every 30 or 60 minutes. Doing this is better. than remembering an hour before you go to sleep and guzzling down 30 ounces. This often leads to waking the middle of the night to use the restroom. If you have trouble falling back to sleep this can lead to chronic sleep problems which also greatly affect your physical and mental health on the regular.

Daily Physical Activity.

I will start by saying that health professionals now recommend 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity per week. As well as at least two instances of resistance training. There are a host of reasons why this is important. Improving mental health, physical health, increasing resilience, improving cardiovascular health, decreasing insulin resistance, the list goes on and on. That being said, as a beginner, almost everything is better than nothing.

Furthermore, daily physical activity is only beneficial if you are enjoying it and understanding the long term benefits of it. I certainly implore you to include resistance training to your life. If you aren't ready for that fine. Do something you do like. You like to dance? Put a timer on for 30 minutes and play some music. Take a walk around your neighborhood. Put on Yoga with Adriane. Do what makes you feel good.

Another benefit of this goal is that it does not necessarily involve consumption. You do not need to be a participant in capitalism to achieve this. Exercise is a great alternative to numbing yourself with over spending or over indulging. It is natural for all animals to process their grief and pain through movement. This is an ancestral outlet that will not hit the wallet or the waistband.

Take up a tactile hobby

I recall last year that thousands of people were in a tizzy when a twitter user asked something along the lines of, "Is there a hobby that you have that does not include consumption?" Consumption as in watching television, film, looking at memes, reading books, etc.

This was a valid and important observation. A lot of people honestly have become detached from reality and use many of the above to bypass the horrific things happening in life. This is even more alarming if the consumption of the above is not leading to the performance of other actions such as creating material of your own to share with others. We are mere pawns of capitalism if we don't do something with what we consume. We are all artists. We are all creators. I find it even more inspiring to try my hand at something physical or something that builds a skill. Tactile hobbies include, learning an instrument, caligraphy, a foreign language, journaling, carpentry, pottery, dance. Stretching our minds beyond that of a consumer is holistically important.

There is nothing wrong with consumption. Balance is key.

Embrace Silence

Many people fear the voices in their head. Silence allows us to confront them and eradicate them. Often the voices in our head telling us we can't do something aren't actually our own voices. They are the voices of people from the past who were so insecure in themselves they took it out on us when we did not have the mental resilience that we have now. Additionally, silence inspires creation. It is difficult to come up with your own ideas when you are constantly drowning your mind out with gossip, news, or a random youtube video you only put on to distract yourself from that mean thing you said to someone the day before.

Pipe down and listen up. You might learn something.

Suggested Reading: Silence: in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge; Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Break Up Your Routine

I'm sure some of you have seen the meme where someone is doing mundane things in unhinged ways: brushing teeth with mayo and then opening the toilet seat to get water to boil in order to make kool aid for dinner. Ridiculous yes, but the idea of keeping people guessing is not. From a spiritual perspective, some think that changing your routine can shake off energy or spirits who have been attached to you and feed off of your monotony ,especially if you have feeling down and depressed. From a material perspective your brain has to create new pathways and is challenged when you do something that you don't in auto pilot. It allows you to be more present in the moment, to have a greater appreciation, and to perhaps feel inspired in ways you have not before. Something to consider.

Build a better world by building a better you, one step at a time.