Basic Hacks for Maintaining Your Best Self During Challenging Times
My wife and I just recently welcomed our second child a few weeks ago and needless to say, it’s been an adjustment.
Our lives have once again been completely blessed but our little world has been turned upside down at the same time.
Throwing a newborn into the mix completely throws you off your game. You’re left defeated, overwhelmed and forced to prioritize everything but yourself. At the same time, it’s a rewarding experience like nothing else because it forces massive growth.
But if you’re anything like me, you love a good routine.
I enjoy the anticipation of what comes next in any given day, week or time block. It keeps me grounded and I feel as though there is more of a natural flow to life.
A good routine provides structure and predictability in a world that is frequently the opposite — uncertain, even chaotic.
Routines promote keystone habits backed by systems to ensure you stay on track with your goals.
But we all experience times in life when things start to feel out of sorts.
You start a new job. Move to a new city. You suffer a loss. You finally start that side hustle. Put on a big event that consumes all of your time. Move in with your significant other. Start a family.
Big life events happen. Most of the time it’s a healthy change and good thing that is shaking up your routine. Good or bad, it’s a new situation that takes time to iron out and integrate into your life.
Managing Expectations
People manage adjustments differently. When life gets hectic, I’ve found there are certain things we can do to help keep us grounded and operating at a relatively solid baseline.
Getting back to basics and making sure you are staying in a good headspace and energized can make a world of difference.
Focus on what you can control and slowly move from one thing to the next.
Keep yourself healthy and in a positive frame of mind in order to tackle the new things that are coming your way.
The best way to stay focused on what you are looking to achieve is to do the small ordinary things really well.
It helps you get out of your own way and avoid paralysis by trying to do too much.
Meeting basic needs is easier said than done. That’s because it’s the little things that we don’t think are making a big difference that get neglected first. But the little things stack up. And they have the potential to build a massive amount of momentum.
Here are a few basic things to remember the next time change happens and your world gets shaken up:
1.) Have a bedtime routine
It’s so easy to get caught up scrolling through social media or binging Netflix to wind down your day. These activities may feel like you are winding down but in reality the high resolution imaging and blue light keeps our minds highly active.
Instead, try working in a meditation, mobility, stretching or some breath work. These modalities will help down regulate your nervous system and better prepare you for a more restful state so you can more easily fall asleep and drop into REM. Try to shoot for 7–9 hours of solid sleep.
An energized, productive and focused day begins the night before.
2.) Eat whole foods
Focusing on getting high-quality nutrition is one of the best ways to keep a positive mindset and operating at a high level throughout your day.
That said, we are inundated with marketing ploys that appeal to our scarcity mindset.
Highly processed foods with excess sugar, sodium, saturated fats that are utterly absent of nutrients continue to monopolize our communities.
These food options are highly altered and so easily accessible. But with a little homework you can apply some working knowledge to how you approach food choices.
One of the easiest ways to identify highly processed foods are by long ingredient lists that are full of hard-to-pronounce substances.
Opting for natural, whole food sources that are inherently more nutrient dense will keep you feeling less full and more energized throughout the day.
Our diets also have a direct correlation to our mental health. When in doubt, I like to focus on eating single ingredients, especially if I’m traveling or somewhere the options aren’t great.
For example, at a hotel breakfast instead of sugary cereal options or pancakes, it could be a few hard boiled eggs, some fruit and half of an avocado. Or a bowl of oatmeal with nuts, dried fruits and some chopped veggies on the side. Skip the fruit juices, pastries and meats and instead pick a protein, a healthy carb like fruit and a fiber source to build your plate.
Eating this way will ultimately allow you to consume more nutritious foods but less calories overall, and you won’t be feeling like a sack of bricks dragging yourself around all day.
3.) Stay properly hydrated
An extension of the last point, staying properly hydrated is one of the most important things we can do for our health.
What most people don’t realize is that there is more to staying hydrated than just drinking plain water.
If you are particularly active, it’s especially important to supplement with electrolytes to regulate an appropriate fluid balance throughout our systems.
Electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium are responsible for a host of chain reactions throughout our bodies including: regulating blood pressure, moving nutrients and waste in and out of cells, nerve firing, muscle function, maintaining a healthy heart rate, and so much more.
Our bodies are incredible machines but require the right nutrients and electrolyte balance to operate at a high level.
4.) Movement
I hope I don’t need to convince anyone of the countless benefits of exercising everyday.
Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve our ability to do everyday activities.
But when life gets turned upside down and you’re experiencing an overwhelming season of life, moving our bodies just a little bit can work some big magic into our day.
Walks, short runs, biking, swimming, light yoga — anything that gets us preferably outside and moving, allows us to take a break from everyday challenges and responsivities, relieves anxiety, and helps us process emotions.
Don’t overthink it. Get out and move.
5.) Lean into a creative outlet
A creative outlet or hobbies can serve as a powerful tool for maintaining mental health during times of struggle.
Journaling for example, has been shown to relieve stress, boost confidence, regulate emotions, and improve awareness and perception of events that take place in our lives.
Gratitude journaling is one of the most potent ways to enhance our well-being. Through focusing on positive aspects of our lives, helps support cognitive integration and further understanding of our situations.
Gratitude can drastically improve our moods and encourages a mindful acceptance of what’s happening in our lives — a valuable and effective way of getting unstuck and freeing ourselves to move forward during challenging times.
Wrapping it up
When things get hectic, there is still hope to not only survive but thrive.
When you are moving through a challenging season of life, you can still play on the offense and win at the game of life.
The basics serve as “low hanging fruit” to keep yourself in a positive frame of mind and grounded throughout challenging times:
- Get proper sleep
- Eat nutritious, unprocessed, whole food sources
- Stay properly hydrated
- Move your body
- Embrace a creative outlet
They say change is the only constant in life. The basics help keep your center. Having a system, habits and rituals in place that are centered around these basic principles can be the difference in losing control and breaking down or continuing to thrive in the chaos.
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