Becoming A Healthier You: Improving Physical, Mental, & Emotional Health
Discover transformative habits for a healthier lifestyle in this insightful article. From practical fitness tips to mindful nutrition choices, explore essential strategies for achieving a balanced and revitalized you. Incorporate these habits into your daily routine to enhance overall well-being. What are key habits for a healthier lifestyle? Explore practical fitness and nutrition tips for a balanced and revitalized you in this insightful article.
How It All Began: My Journey Toward A Health Lifestyle
How In 2007 my life took a drastic turn. I was teaching that day, and during my prep hour, I had a brief follow-up meeting with my doctor. While in his office, the doctor gave me the news no one wants to hear, “I’m sorry to say this, and there’s no easy way to put it, but you have cancer.” My heart sank. My wife was speechless, and I didn’t hear anything else the doctor said that day.
Since I wasn’t expecting this news, and I hadn’t yet made sub plans, I went back to school to finish teaching. Still to this day, I have no idea how I taught. I was in such a daze. I’m sure my students could have asked me anything, and I would have said yes. As that week went on, I learned of my plans to proceed forward with chemotherapy and radiation treatment. You can read more about my cancer story here.
Thankfully I survived cancer! However, my body was a mess after the harsh treatment. Over the last decade, I have learned so much about life and health. I want to pass along anything I can to help others be as healthy as possible and feel their best each and every day. Whether you’re a teacher like myself or have another purpose in life, I don’t want unnecessary stress and poor health to limit your joy and potential.
I’ve been there, and it’s not fun. I want you to feel good and be less stressed in order to succeed and prosper in life! When you are at your best, you can help your students and those around you become better as well. Below are five time-tested, lifestyle practices to manage stress and become a healthier version of you!
1. Think Healthy, Be Healthy - (Improve Mental Health)
Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. Because of this, healthy thinking may be the most important aspect to improving one’s health. While eating healthy foods can certainly help reduce physical stress, it doesn’t necessarily address mental health and the daily stressors of life.
Mental stress is really a byproduct of how we appraise a situation. For example, a particular confrontation at school may cause one person to become stressed while another person can come away with no stressful feelings. Stress is not the situation in itself; rather, it is the appraisal of that situation that causes stress.
We all have the power to take our thoughts captive and reign them in. How we think about any situation will determine how much stress we put on ourselves. Here are my tips for improving one’s overall mental health.
Think About What You’re Thinking About - Thoughts precede behaviors. If you find that your actions, behaviors, and words are becoming negative, unhealthy, and stressful, start thinking about what you’re thinking about. Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts, so take your thoughts captive. If you can change your thinking, you’ll change your actions and behaviors. Enjoy this book or podcast series on winning the war in your mind.
Live Life Loved - I am a person of faith. Being continually conscious that God loves you is so important. It’s that perfect, unconditional love of Jesus Christ that drives away all fear and uncertainty in life. When fear is absent, so much of life can flourish and prosper into what God has always intended for you! This book is a great read on the power of right believing. Remind yourself and others with a Live Life Loved t-shirt!
Be Present - It’s easy to dwell on the past (which leads to regret) or focus on future uncertainties (which leads to anxiety). Both of these scenarios project beyond the present, which is not your reality right now. Your best self needs you thinking and living in the present—which is right now. Guide your life and thoughts in such a way as to be present in the moment. Whenever you are where you are, be present with your family, your friends, coworkers, etc.
Choose Forgiveness - Everyone is wronged by someone at some point. Granting forgiveness to other people is a gift to give yourself. Regardless of the seriousness of a situation, don’t continue to relive the pain and keep yourself in the bondage of bitterness. Seeing yourself as a victim, and living in a victim mentality, only hurts yourself. Whether you need to forgive another person, people group, God, or even yourself, you have the key to unlock your own freedom. That key is a heart of forgiveness. Think forgiveness over self destruction.
Be Thankfully Grateful - Our natural state is to be negative. It’s so easy to look at what we don’t have, what’s going wrong, and to constantly see the problems of life. It takes a conscious effort to actually cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Do yourself a favor by intentionally seeing and speaking the good into situations. Start and end your day being specifically grateful for what you already have. I love this inspirational video that embraces the idea of appraising situations based on what we have!
2. Eat Healthy - (You Are What You Eat)
Think of it like a car. The cleaner the fuel, the better the performance. Even plants and animals need clean, quality fuel to maximize their potential. Human beings are no different. If you want better performance for your own mind, organs, energy, and more, it’s going to take the proper fuel to make that happen. The quality of food and drink going into your body is going to have a direct influence on the quality of your health!
With so many diet fads out there and a whole host of potential “rules” to obey, I have learned through experience that simple steps are often more effective. So here’s a simple plan to eating healthy that will work for most people - Love foods that love you!
Eat Whole Foods That Are Clean - The less ingredients listed on the label the better, and the least processed, even more so. Examples include plain fruits, vegetables, meats, spices, healthy fats, drinks, etc. It may take a week or two to acquire a desirable taste toward new foods, but when you do, you’ll thank yourself for it.
Choose Organic When Possible - Organic is the best choice when possible. If not, go for “all natural” or as natural as possible to avoid the added preservatives and chemicals. Unnatural toxins stress your body, so why not reduce the number of toxins going into your body when you can? The most convenient plan is to not buy unhealthy junk food. If you don’t have junk food in the house, you won’t eat it.
Eat a Balanced Diet - If you graphed out your food intake, do you overdose in a certain area such as carbs or sweets? Make sure your diet is well balanced and includes all necessary food groups. Don’t avoid the healthy fats either. Including healthy fats and oils is crucial to maintaining your health. Avoid seed oils like canola and rapeseed, and consume healthy fats from sources like organic eggs, avocados, and meats. Enjoy quality meats and save with this butcherbox.com $50 coupon code.
Avoid Added Sugars - There is too much negative information about added sugars to explain in this post, but sugar is not your friend. It feeds cancer and stresses your body. Sugars that are naturally present in food is necessary for brain and body development, but large amounts of added sugars in your body should be avoided.
Healthy Home Products - Whether it’s your lungs that breathe, or your skin that absorbs, give your entire body the foundation it needs. Your skin is by far the largest organ in your body. Anything placed on your skin should also have ingredients that you would welcome into your bodily systems. When possible, choose products that do not cause your body to become overstressed with unnecessary substances. From home cleaning products to personal care solutions, choose natural sources when able.
Drink Plenty of Purified Water - Your body is more than 60% water, so cleaning out your body with 10-12 glasses of healthy, purified fluids is important.
3. Supplement as needed
Getting your essential nutrients through the food you eat is the most important. That is why I highly recommend eating clean, quality food as stated above. However, in today’s day and age, it’s hard to give your body everything it needs through food, so additional supplementation can be helpful for certain individuals.
Maybe your body needs some immune boosting during cold and flu season, extra digestive assistance, additional mood calming support, or just an overall multivitamin and mineral supplement to fortify your body. Whatever the need may be, just make sure the supplements you are putting in your body are also clean!
The supplement industry is not regulated, and having learned from experience, sometimes supplements can cause more harm than good. If you need a quality supplement brand, I highly recommend USANA. My family and I have used USANA supplements for over 10 years, and we love them.
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4. Move, Be Active, & Take Cold Showers
Anytime you want to get from point A to point B, it’s going to take movement. The same is true for your health. Whether it’s your blood, oxygen, digestive, or lymphatic system, getting your body moving is vital for a healthy life. Incorporate these helpful habits into your daily routines.
Take Walks - You don’t need to be a champion runner, but if you are, keep it up! Just find time to get your steps in. Twenty minutes of walking a day will go a long way towards improving your health.
Exercise - Whether it’s one day a week or seven, every little bit of moderate exercise is helpful! Your body will gain energy, and a good sweat will release toxic buildup. Though some exercise equipment is helpful, I prefer to use the cheaper route of exercising to YouTube videos. There are so many free YouTube videos that can guide you through a 15-20 minute workout. A simple search on YouTube will provide a plethora of videos, but here are a few video options to get you going - FitnessBlender or Pamela Reif.
Avoid Lengthy Sitting - Sitting stationary for long periods of time equals stagnancy for your body. Use a standing desk as you are able. Set a reminder at work to get you moving. Get up and stretch. This fantastic posture video gives some practical tips to keep you moving at work.
Enjoy a Cold Shower - This practice took me a while to commit to, but I highly recommend it! After you’ve taken your nice warm shower, crank the faucet to ice-cold and calmly breathe your way through. Not only will this get your blood and oxygen going, but it will stimulate your mitochondria and improve your immune system. It will also teach you how to overcome stress by forcing you to relax in the extremes; in this case, cold temperatures. Ending your shower routine with one to two minutes at ice-cold temperatures will make you feel like a million bucks! Learn more about cold showers with the iceman himself, Wim Hof!
5. Be At Rest - (Sleep, Breathe, and Relax)
In our American culture of productivity and doing, resting and sleep seems counterproductive. However, a quality time of sleep may be the most productive part of the day. Humans sleep for 1/3 of their lives, so it’s extremely important to look at one’s quality of sleep. It’s during sleep that your body relaxes, cleans up metabolic “trash,” and begins the process of providing energy and productivity for the next day. Sleep is not an option, it is a necessity. Here are a few suggestions to improve your mental and physical health by giving yourself the rest you need.
Get Quality Sleep - Make it a priority to sleep 7-9 hours a day. You can help yourself out by putting your phone away from your bed, and stop all screen-time an hour prior to sleeping. Give yourself a little calming assistance with this amazing Mineral Calm drink from USANA. You may even want a subtle amount of added melatonin in Pure Rest, to help you get your ZZZ’s.
Deep Breathing - Oxygen is vital, and if you haven’t heard, your body kind of needs it! In our busy culture, breathing can sometimes take an alarming back seat. Help reverse shallow-breathing by intentionally doing some deep-breathing that will reduce stress and fill your brain and body with the repairing oxygen that it needs. I love incorporating a breathing technique as developed by Wim Hof! You can watch Wim Hof’s breathing video or download the Wim Hof guided breathing app! You’ll love the benefits of deep breathing!
Daily Meditation - Setting aside numerous times throughout the week to relax and collect one’s thoughts is critical. I am a person of faith because my life has been transformed by Jesus Christ. As I spend time with God by praying and reading his word, my mind becomes renewed. I experience new life in Him because I have come to learn that He is the source of all wisdom and truth. The YouVersion bible app is an excellent resource to use for daily meditation!
Take Time to Travel - It’s so easy to get into a routine that can become unknowingly stressful and unhealthy. Sometimes a change of pace and a change of place is the best remedy. My family has learned to love traveling and just getting away. A few years ago we decided to make a family goal of visiting all 50 states. and in 2021, we will accomplish that goal by enjoy Alaska - The Last Frontier! After so many amazing experiences, I highly recommend taking time to travel! Whether it’s to a new destination on the other side of your neighborhood or another country across the sea, you’ll make memories and reap benefits you never knew were available to you. To help make traveling affordable and possible, check out my blog post on how to enjoy FREE travel for your and your family!
REFLECTION ON a Healthier You
These healthy tips have certainly been helpful practices that have improved my own life, and I wanted to share them with you. Whether it’s one new practice, or multiple takeaways, I hope this post was worth your read.
Becoming a healthier you is really about managing stress and leading a healthy lifestyle. There’s not one magic pill or potion to health; rather, it’s addressing the whole of life.
One big error I have been guilty of committing on this journey toward health is creating more stress for myself by making sure I “follow all the rules.” As you continue living life, your road to a healthy lifestyle should not be more burdensome. Incorporate healthy practices as needed, but don’t go so far as to add more stress to your life.
Don’t forget your overall “WHY.” A healthy lifestyle is for the purpose of benefiting your own life, so you can be a blessing to others! How about you? What do you like doing to stay healthy? Leave your tips and advice in the comments below, or contact me! I’d love to learn and hear from you as well! If you’d like to receive future updates, make sure to join the Mister Harms LIFESTYLE newsletter!
Teachers, if you want a lesson to help your students understand this big-picture of overall health, I highly recommend The Wheel of Life Survey: A Guide to Overall Health & Wellness. It’s a fantastic way for students to reflect on their lifestyles by assessing the 8 major categories of life. Explore even more growth mindset resources for your classroom.
