If you were subscribed to my newsletter for my previous article you read how important it is to stay active and keep your body fit and healthy. I talked about advantages such as more energy, more confidence, disease prevention, disease control, etc. But what about keeping your mind fit and healthy? You may not realize how big of an impact your mind has on keeping your body fit; better sleep, lower body fat, more energy, better attitude, etc.
Think about your day to day life and all of the stressors involved. Would you say that your amount of daily stress is average compared to the general population? Low? High? Well, the “average” population live their lives with way too much stress so if you consider yourself average, you’re probably in the red.
What people also don’t realize is that the majority of the stress comes from things that they brought upon themselves and have the ability to change. I’m talking about monthly bills, your job, your sleep patterns, your cluttered house, etc. All of the above have been proven over and over again to raise your level of stress.
I understand that some things can be harder to change than others, but the fact of the matter is that if you caused it, you can stop it. Keep it simple. Start with your home. When you walk in to your house after a day of work do you breathe a sigh of relief or a sigh of grief? Your home should be your comfort zone. Somewhere that you can relax. It shouldn’t be cluttered and unorganized.
Do you have a jobs or chores around the house that you’ve been meaning to get done for a long time? Are you absolutely so busy that you can’t possibly get to it? Probably not. Think of the chores as calorie-burning exercise. Minimize that “to-do” list and stop feeling like you always have something to get done.
There are so many other things in life that contribute to your stress level and only you can figure those things out and take charge. It doesn’t have to happen overnight so take your time and make changes gradually because gradual is better than no change at all.
Patrick McCandless ISSA-CFT, EMT-P
www.MACFitnessOnline.com
Tags: diet, exercise, Fitness, health, Nutrition, weight loss
