It is so easy to get stuck in a rut constantly reinforcing bad habits and feeling like nothing you can do about it. I know it’s frustrating and exhausting but you’re not alone. Here’s how we do it:
Write down your goals
Make a plan. To know where to start you need to write down your goals in detail how and when you’re going to make them happen. People who vividly describe or picture their goals are more likely to successfully accomplish them than people who don’t so take your time to visualize your goals.
Be realistic of what things you can change now that it will improve your life, maybe do a vision board checklist write it down on your journal and add beautiful bright colors to make it inspirational to look at it every day and that is the key to look at it every morning to remind yourself your goals.
Replacing bad habits
Take a break from your phone in the morning. Research has found that people who spend more than two hours a day on social media are more prone to have feelings of depression, anxiety and isolation.
I know it is appealing to watch tech talks, check emails and new messages as soon as you wake up but it will make you feel anxious and less productive about your day. So let’s try to have a productive healthy morning. When you wake up don’t look at your phone, just put it away get up and make your bed first thing in the morning this will make you feel
more productive and puts you in the right mindset.
Start your day drinking a glass of lemon water on empty stomach. It will boost your energy, keep you hydrated, have a better digestion, clear your skin and keep you healthy. You can also try to meditate for 10 minutes and prepare yourself a balanced yummy breakfast, go for a morning walk a have a 10 minute stretching routine and write in your journal how you feel.
All these activities keep your mind sharp and make you feel more productive than scrolling for 30 minutes non-stop. It is okay to check your social media during the day but set rules of how much time you want to spend on these apps a day. You can also pay more attention to what accounts make you feel more happy and which ones don’t and do not hesitate to take a break from them. This is a crucial step in growing up mentally learning how to use social media to your advantage not against you.
At night brush your teeth and floss. Never go to bed with makeup on so remove your makeup and clean your skin at the same time. Put your phone away one hour before falling asleep this will give your brain time to slow down.
Apply vaseline on your lips and avoid sleeping with your phone under the pillow or right next to you because vibrations or alerts can potentially keep you away for hours. Instead
place your phone away. Sleep eight hours because when you have a good rest your body will stay healthy, will have better skin, less hair loss and you feel happier and ready to conquer the next day.
Self-care
Take an active role in treating yourself and improving your self-love every single day. A way to treat yourself every day is keeping up with your hygiene, so take a shower every day to feel clean. If you’re gonna have a long day put a few drops of peppermint oil on the shower floor before showering to improve mental clarity plus it’s refreshing. Use an organic mitt to wash your body, this helps to clean dirt oils impurities stuck in your skin from the
day before. Clean your underarms and feet daily to avoid odors.
Exfoliate your skin twice a week. This is extremely helpful for getting rid of dead skin cells and dry skin on clogged pores. Your skin will stay more radiant and younger over time. You can buy a body scrub with vitamin c or make your own scrub by mixing coffee grounds honey and aloe gel. After shower apply lotion to your whole body to maintain your skin soft and don’t forget to lotion your heels.
Establish a skincare routine to boost your confidence. Sunscreen is the most important one because it’s going to protect your skin the most. Do facial masks once a week, moisturize your lips, apply hair serum on the ends of your hair to avoid split ends. Brush your hair upside down to add more volume and this also promotes hair growth, try a new hairstyle, wear perfume to smell good, carry on your purse hand sanitizer and if it’s hot outside
put your hair in a clock clip to protect it.
Wash your bed sheets once a week to keep breakouts and oily skin at bay. Practice self-compassion by taking a few minutes to choose one thing that you like about yourself and repeat it to yourself five times. Positive affirmations fight negative thoughts so the more you do this the more happy you’re gonna feel with yourself.
Step out of your comfort zone
I normally found myself telling the story of tomorrow I’ll begin this or that or today I don’t
feel ready for it but guess what, there is never going to be a perfect time or a perfect day to start doing the thing that you’ve been postponing. I feel like we do this to ourselves because deep inside we are scared of changes the new, to push limits to not feel accepted for who we are and if you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone today let’s do it together challenge yourself.
Maybe learn how to play an instrument, learn to say no, allow yourself to be a little bit crazy, take your shoes off and walk on grass on bare feet, dance in the rain, don’t take yourself too serious, wear that bathing suit promised nobody cares, listen to music that it makes you feel unstoppable, do photography, put on a super cute outfit even if you stay at home, tell yourself you look good, challenge yourself and finish a book in a week, tell a compliment to a stranger, don’t take things for granted, do anything that it makes you feel
alive excited looking forward for tomorrow and do it now.
Move your body
It can be challenging to stay active during work ,school or in general because it’s really hard to find motivation to exercise but being physically active can make you feel more happy, manage weight, strength bones and muscles, increase energy, improve self-esteem and your ability to do more everyday.
You can stretch in the morning for five minutes, go to the forest, take the stairs instead of the elevator, pace in one spot for 5 to 10 minutes or aim for 8,000 steps a day when you have free time. Do not wait for motivation to happen just get up and do it. Go for a long walk, take a spinning class, run, do yoga, take a dance class on Youtube, make it fun, play happy music, do a cute workout hairstyle, feel the sweat it is healthy and be in the moment.
Drink tons of water to flush those toxins, take deep breaths and if you feel like you can’t do it pick yourself up and repeat this. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, there you go you completed 30 minutes of exercise today and now you can go and enjoy the rest of your day.
Feed your body and mind
Food has the ability to make me feel energetic, happy and healthy but it also has the ability to make me feel insecure. I could be eating a piece of cake and then think to myself “well, I just ruined my whole day”, I might as well just make the most of it. Don’t get me wrong it is a hundred percent okay to give yourself permission to enjoy treats and special foods from time to time as long as it is control so here’s some tricks that help:
- Put your phone away before eating. Distractions can trick your brain into never feeling satisfied so put the thing away.
- Drink a glass of water before and after eating. This way you’ll feel fuller and prevent
eating unnecessary. - Eat slowly. According to studies you should be chewing your food about 32 times in
general if the food is harder like steak chew 40 times if the food is softer like watermelon to 5 to 10 times the more you chew your food the more satisfy and better digestion you’re gonna have. At the end of your meal put your fork down after each bite of food to give your body enough time to signal the brain that is satisfied. - During the week be consistent with your meals eat balanced food have vegetables fruits protein drink carrot juice will keep your skin and hair gorgeous and add some strawberries to make it super yummy, eat yogurt have a snack drink green tea and tons of water to keep your body hydrated. Select one day a week where you can have your favorite meal like pizza hamburger, ice cream or whatever food you love the most pick a day so then you can enjoy without feeling bad because you deserve it too.
Be kind to yourself
We need to normalize the importance of practicing self-compassion. Life is busy challenging all the time and on top of that we are constantly judging, comparing and putting ourselves down for no reason.
Something we can control in our life is our actions, and how we talk to ourselves. Growing up takes time so it is normal to feel lost, it is okay to spend a day or a whole week in bed and not be productive. Stretch marks are natural, acne happens even when you’re eating
clean. Let yourself cry makes you stronger and more connected to you, become your best friend no one knows you better than you so take your time to genuinely listen to what you feel.
Keep smiling even on difficult times and practice gratitude every day by reminding yourself how lucky you are to be here one more day breathing enjoying the sun the night for your family friends and if you feel like giving up and the negative thoughts are crawling your mind constantly do step at a time. Don’t worry, tomorrow will be another day to try if you achieve a small goal celebrate your small achievements in this process because that’s what glowing up is all about.
It’s having fun, learning, failing and pushing. You’re doing great, be proud of yourself because you’re crushing it.