4 Wellness Investments You Can Make This Week
4 easy things you can do to invest in your hollistic wellness
I like it when things are easy.
Life is already pretty damn hard. Ever had those days when you wake up and go, damn, here we go again.
I’ve had plenty of those days, and I anticipate having many more of those days in future. That’s why I’m so passionate about wellness and personal growth. In order to combat and mitigate those days becoming my life, I want to make it as easy as possible to feel and be, better.
Wellness doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be the definitive 30-step morning routine, the 100-day-workout challenge or require a degree in personal development. It can be simple, effective, and pretty straightforward as well.
Here are four of my current favourite wellness investments that you can make this week.
Key Summary (TL/DR):
Start a ‘Wellness Budget’
Implement the ‘1 hour rule’
Add a vegetable to every meal
Express your love to a loved one
Start a ‘Wellness Budget’
When we think of financial investment, our minds drift to property, portfolios, stocks, cryptocurrency and all kinds of tangible and intangible assets. It’s incredibly ironic that we rarely consider the most important asset of all - ourselves.
We’ve framed wellness investments as ‘frivolous’ spends - getting manicures and going on holidays are seen as extras which are the first to go when money is tight. However, it’s important to remember that wellness activities don’t look the same for everyone, and everyone needs to invest in wellness activities.
Think about it. Our health and general wellbeing is necessary for increased performance in our work, our relationships, and to show up as our best selves in pretty much any sphere of life. I’d recommend testing it out this week by setting out as much as you can reasonably afford to allocate - even if it’s as little as 1% of your monthly income. It might be for a deep tissue massage, a good self-help book, or even an indulging nice meal as a solo date.
Investing financially in your wellness is a powerful signal to your brain and body. It lets your innermost self know that you are a priority, boosts your general sense of wellbeing, and gives you something to look forward to throughout the month.
Implement the ‘1 hour rule’
1 hour. That’s all it takes.
Depending on your commitments, it might feel as though it is difficult to allocate one hour in a day, or even a week, to anything outside of your ever-growing responsibilities. But where you can, try to allocate either one hour a day or one hour a week working on something you absolutely love. It can be something super productive, like a side hustle or a new business. Or it can be something that is simply a hobby. I do both - I spend an hour per week, usually on the weekends, baking. I spend an hour every day, usually in the evenings after work, working on building my brand and my projects.
The 1 hour rule is pretty arbitrary. It can be any length of time to fit around your lifestyle. But 1 hour feels both short and long enough, and a good place to start getting used to protecting your time. Oftentimes, feelings of stress arise from the perception that we lack control in our lives. Reclaiming your time to work on what you actually care most about, is one of the ways you can proactively start to reclaim that control, and decrease your stress levels.
Add a vegetable to every meal
I’m not trying to get all ‘green giant’ on you, or sound like anybody’s mother. However, I’ve definitely come to realise the importance of nutrition to wellness. For those of you that are quickly overwhelmed and overloaded by information, start small - eat vegetables (and if you can, protein) at every meal. Protein has a satiating effect, making you feel fuller, and contributes to building healthy muscle tissue needed to boost your metabolism.
As for vegetables? Well, the vitamins, minerals and general goodies provided by vegetables simply can’t be beat. Our body needs helpful fuel and sustenance to be able to function well, and beyond aesthetic goals of toning, and looking healthy, it is far more important to prioritise being healthy.
Express your love to a loved one
Sappy, I know.
If you’re lucky enough to have at least one loved one in your life, express your love to them on a regular basis. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the pressures of life, and so inside our own heads, that we forget to express gratitude for the love we receive from other people. Human beings were never meant to do life alone, so if you do have folks around you that are currently making a difference in your life, let them know how much you care about them.
My friends know I am prone to making sudden, random admissions of love - and it has always been well-received and incredibly timely. Plus, sharing the loving with someone else improves their happiness and wellness, and there’s no greater sense of fulfilment that comes from the act of servitude.
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That’s all from me this week folks. As ever, if you found this useful, feel free to share Optimise Me with a friend.
Let’s all become better humans.
-RK
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