My 10 Efforts to A More Balanced Life
In my previous article, I’ve mentioned that I am step by step changing my habits to help me move forwards. Not only to find myself a new hobby and set a boundary between the past and the now, but it is also to help me move forwards with achieving the life I want. It doesn’t need to be a perfect life at all! It just needs to be balanced and more discipline.
I think being a more balanced person both physically and mentally, can help one focus more on finding opportunities and achieving personal goals. For me, my two biggest goals in life are quite simple: land a job in Europe and start a family before I turn 30.
And here are my 10 small steps to help me get there!
Disclaimer: These steps are helping me progress from a perfectionist control freak to a more relaxed person.
- Snoozing My Alarm
I am a very strict person when it comes to timing. I feel like I have to constantly be in control of time, most of the mornings I wake up jumping out of my bed, shocked. These days, I let go of a little bit of this “strictness” and let myself wake up more relaxed.
Hack: Make the alarm 10 minutes earlier than the “real alarm”. This helps you trick yourself to have 10 minutes of snooze!
Snoozing waking I know it’s not supposed to be but when you used to be a workaholic and always on time like me you’d relax a little bit. Hack: make the alarm 10 minutes earlier than your real alarm.
2. Morning Podcasts
I listen to music from time to time to wake my body up. These days, I’d change my music to a news podcast. Being in the field of work that I am in, I need to know lots of global updates, hence the news. But, sometimes when the news is getting too devastating, I would allow myself to change it to other kinds of podcasts to learn something new in the morning. The last alternative is music, especially during days where I just don’t have the mood.
3. Drinking 2L of Water Everyday
I am used to drinking three cups of black coffee every day and replaced my water with that. But obviously, it wasn’t a healthy habit at all so I bought myself a 1.5L bottle and keep filling it up every morning. By the end of the day I have to at least recall refilling it once and I’ll think I’m good. I don’t force count my numbers as it will reinitiate my habit of wanting to always “be in control”.
4. Cutting Sugar and Alcohol
I thank God that I am not a sugar addict therefore it was easy for me to decrease my sugar intake (yes, even from hidden sugars like rice). For alcohol, I have never been a beer lover as it makes me bloated. These days I stick with the transparent one: Vodka. I drink it neat for a long time ago too! Mixers like coke are really bad for my stomach acid.
Hack: I let myself binge on sugar on PMS only for one day! Small steps, right?
5. Eating Super Foods
I am obsessed with legumes, nuts, berries, also milk and yogurt these days. I like the fact that I can actually make nice snacks without having to add in too many processed food to my body. Also, every night I drink mix fruit or veggies juice, or just plain green tea when I’m too lazy.
Hack: I let myself eat my cravings such as McD maximum twice a month. Or, when I’m trying to celebrate small wins! Self-appreciation is the key!
6. Yoga, Meditate, Affirm, and Manifest
You can call me crazy but I am a firm believer that we are one with the universe. We are made out of its atoms, taking God’s figures, come back to nature to find answers and medicines, and dies rotting inside the soil. Therefore, to keep me connected with the universe I yoga and meditate afterward. Guided meditations help the most! Sometimes I do guided-meditations to help me sleep too.
In times I doubt, I listen to positive affirmation podcasts. It helps me manifest the right traits that I’m seeking for myself, and it helps me imagine the life I want. More on this topic soon!
7. Look At The Skies
I seek for answers in the skies. It’s vast, it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s gloomy and solemn but it always knows how to cheer me up. The skies have always reminded me of many things, but one thing for sure is to be grateful.
I often look at the skies and think to myself what a life I’m living, and felt warm inside about it.
8. Taking Breaks Every 3 Items Done
Every day I have a to-do list for work and personal development. For every three items or so done, I take a 5–15-minute break depending on how hectic the day is. Breaks are important to help me recover from thinking and prevent me from busting my mental health. Usually, I watch TikTok! Oops!
9. Working Out Only 10 Minutes Per Day
For a lazy person like me, working out 30 minutes 3x a week is too much effort. I think it’ll be more feasible if I break it down to 10–15 minutes per day! I do it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and work out of 30 minutes on Sunday like a jog or yoga. I could always enjoy a nap after it!
Last but not least,
10. Celebrating Small Wins, and Forgiving Small Step Backs
In the very beginning, I always blamed myself if I have small setbacks. It makes me feel weak so I keep pushing on until I actually burnt out and spend 2 days in total silence and a state of dormant.
What I failed to understand was this is a journey and not a sprint. It will be challenging, but it will keep ongoing as long as I let myself learn from time to time. Abrupt changes will never be sustainable, at least for me!
For small wins, I treat myself with something nice like a long nap, an off-workout day, more TikTok time, binge-watching Netflix, or McD.
I hope some of these small efforts will resonate with you and help you feel more balanced about yourself. With the fast-moving world we live in, it’s incredible how we can survive each day! But, again we need to take a look at ourselves and pay attention too.
I now understand that I am a survivor of my traumas. So, now I’m going to start acting like one.
