Health is one of the world's greatest treasures. However, not all of us pay attention to our emotional health and overall wellbeing. We need to remember to look after our physical health, emotions, and thoughts - these all can help contribute to the achievement of all our career (and personal) goals.
What is Emotional Well-Being?
Emotional health is an essential part of overall health. According to the Mental Health Foundation, emotional health refers to "a positive state of well-being, which allows a person to function in society and meet everyday life demands."
When you are emotionally healthy, you will effectively control your feelings, behaviours, and thoughts. An emotionally healthy person can easily cope with the challenges of life.
Tips to Improve your Emotional Well-Being
To perform well on your job and achieve your daily goals, sustaining your physical and emotional health is crucial.
Here are some helpful tips to improve your emotional health:
#1 Stay healthy and physically active
When your body feels weak and sick, your mind cannot function effectively. That's why you must stay fit and active. Engaging in physical activities will help you release happy hormones such as dopamine and endorphins. These hormones help in uplifting the mood and creating a positive mindset in life. When you are physically and mentally active, you will be able to handle different situations.
Make sure to have healthy habits to keep yourself in good shape. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and other vices. Share your passion and talents with other people. Create good relationships with them to avoid anxiety and depression.
#2 Make quality time for family and friends
We appreciate and feel good when we know that our family and friends support us during our difficult times. Close relationships with friends, family, and relatives are vital in making us feel loved, accepted, and appreciated. That contributes to healthier emotional wellbeing, too.
#3 Enhance your interests and passion
Knowing what skills and interests you have will help you value yourself more. Enhance your hobbies as well – be it a sport, a craft, or activities that showcase your talents and abilities. Involving yourself in a group, charity, and enjoyable charity will also help create your purpose-driven life.
#4 Focus on the brighter side of life
If a person is prone to depression and anxiety, his mindset must focus on making things better. We should learn how to think positively and focus on enjoyable activities instead of keeping negativity.
#5 Get moving
Exercise plays a vital role in improving the overall health of a person. Regular physical activity can be useful in stimulating good hormones of the body leading to better mental wellbeing.
#6 Learn a new skill or develop a new hobby
It's a great feeling when we know in ourselves that we have learned and accomplished new things. Do not limit yourself to where you are now. Believe that you are someone better and that you can do more. Develop a new passion or learn new skills. Try photography, arts, crafts, or baking. Indulging in a new activity or hobby makes you feel more confident and creative.
#7 Balance work and relaxation
Life today can be stressful due to various demands on family, work, relationships, and other commitments. That's why it is essential to create a balance between work and time. This will help establish a healthier mental and emotional wellbeing.
#8 Eat healthy foods
Choose to eat and enjoy healthy foods. The foods we eat have a significant impact on our mood and wellbeing. Studies have revealed that a diet mostly composed of fruits, grains, vegetables, and fish contributes to life with a low risk of having depression.
Certain foods can make us feel lethargic since they require a longer time to digest. We must become aware of what we eat and how they can affect our bodies and mind. Choose the foods that are nutritious-dense to feel stronger and healthier.
#9 Be more flexible in your thinking
Do not let yourself believe that you should live up to the expectations of other people. You should not also compare your achievement to the accomplishments of others. Comparing yourself to others will make you feel gloomy and weaker.
Reframe your thoughts by changing the way you view things and life. Accept that life can't be perfect. There will be trials and failures. There can be shortcomings. Learning how to change your thinking to be more positive will make you more flexible in handling tough life situations.
#10 Be grateful and count your blessings
Being grateful and appreciative of what we have in life helps improve emotional wellbeing. There are a lot of things that we should be thankful for. It could be our family who stood by us through thick and thin. It can be a friend who's always willing to offer a helping hand.
Or, it can be a new opportunity to leverage your career. Blessings can come in various forms, such as financial freedom, good health, happiness, and simple things that make us smile each day.
It is a personal choice if people believe this or not, but sometimes blessings come disguised as unfortunate problems. Have you ever heard the saying a blessing in disguise?
No matter what happens, accept it and do your best to find a solution instead of feeding your negative emotions or playing the victim. These might feel good at the moment, but long term, they will derail you from your true purpose.
#11 Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness can help a lot in improving our emotional wellbeing. Make it a habit of being aware of how and what you feel each day. This is important because you need to pinpoint your negative emotions and do something about it. Negative thinking can affect the way we feel towards things and events.
Spiralling into a negative thinking behaviour can lead to feelings of hatred, jealousy, anger, and low self-esteem. Be mindful of those emotions because your emotional health will be affected in the long run if they are taken for granted.
The best thing that you can do is be mindful of your emotions without judgement and accepting their presence. Once you have done that, learn to let me go. Do not ruminate on past actions because they will consume you, and you will feed your brain poison.
Conclusion
There are many ways on how to keep yourself emotionally healthy and sane. You do not have to be a genius to do that. Anyone can do it as long as the person is willing to improve their wellbeing in all aspects.
You should have the desire, will, and passion for being able to accomplish that goal. Start by setting a positive mindset and believe in yourself that it is possible to make dreams happen. You can do many things to improve your mental health, from yoga and journaling to meditation and practicing mindfulness.
It may seem like a lot at first and it may not feel too comfortable sitting with yourself in silence, but it is worth it, and in time you will notice great change in yourself and your mood.
