INTENTIONAL LIVING
Do you feel your daily life is moving too fast?
Are you rushing through your tasks, just trying to get everything done?
Then you need to try slow living.
This is where you take your days and make them more intentional to reduce stress.
Chronic stress can cause high blood pressure and lasting health risks when it can be avoided by following some of the steps I am about to list.
Before we can begin, you must identify your stressors in order to make them go away. If it is time, people, information, health... Until you can assess what is inhibiting you then you will not be able to move forward.
01 BE PREPARED
The most common time for people to feel rushed is in the morning before school or work because there is always "too much" to do.
My recommendations:
Wake up at least (AT LEAST) 1 hour before you must begin your day, be that leaving the house, jumping on a work call, dropping off the kids, etc. If you want to aim for more, more power to you, but one hour should do the trick for beginners.
If you eat breakfast, plan it & prep it the night before.
If you need to pick out an outfit, plan it & prep it the night before.
If you need to workout, give yourself ENOUGH time.
Do you have a favorite part of your morning? Drinking your coffee maybe? reading? going for a walk?
Make more time for those slower things that bring you joy to start your day relaxed and intentional.
You are the only one that can make more time for yourself by choosing what you would like to spend it on. So set yourself up for success and not stress by being prepared!
02 BE CREATIVE
Getting stuck in a rut can be deadening to someone's life and make them feel uninspired and bored.
My recommendations:
Do not let your job or schooling get in the way of you being creative.
Try to learn something new each day. Read 5 pages of a book, listen to 5 minutes of a podcast while make breakfast, read the paper!
Don't let your mind go stale- use it on a daily basis to workout problems or create something new.
Be creative with your physical activity- garden, hike, try a new online class.
Be creative with your cooking- buy a cookbook, look up some new recipes, buy some new produce you have no idea how to cook and figure it out!
Plant a garden, draw something, write anything, do something that is out of your normal range of motion to get your mind moving.
Don't live the same day over and over again, have your routines, create something new each day, live fresh.
03 CONSUME INTENTIONALLY
Consuming the wrong energy, information, and physical things can inhibit growth and hurt you physically and mentally.
My recommendations:
If the news stresses you out, don't listen or watch.
If seeing girls with different bodies than you on social media makes you feel uneasy, take some time away from social media.
If certain foods you eat don't make you feel great, get them out of your diet.
If certain habits are causing continuous harm to the environment you live in find alternatives.
Consume media, food, knowledge, and materials with an intention to be sustainable. Something that can last and will ultimately be beneficial to you and your environment.
Make your own coffee, tea, meals, products, and buy second hand or sustainably made clothes.
Be a CONSCIOUS CONSUMER.
Live each day with intention for what you need to feel successful and happy. In the end you are the only one who knows what you need to make that happen. :)
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