Using the "nice" things, especially if they're tools for hobbies/chores I spend a lot of time doing. I cook a lot, and got myself a nice chef knife a few years ago. It makes prep just a little bit more enjoyable, and I feel like that's actually added up to quite a bit of happiness over time! I don't mean to recommend that anyone go ham upgrading everything indiscriminately, and I don't think a nice thing necessarily has to be the best or most expensive; maybe it's even something you already own. I'm using the nice dinnerware knowing I will definitely break or chip everything eventually, and I'm wearing the nice clothes until they snag and stain instead of saving them for a moment that might not come.
It's definitely a treat! As someone living in a really cluttered home, it really makes a distinction to use the "nice" item for a change. It's about focusing on the now rather than hoping there'll be a better time.
Recently, I realized some markers had dried up and didn't even get to use them once! Or the time the cool stickers didn't even stick...
It has somewhat changed my perspective of the stuff I really want to keep, and what I keep because I feel obligated to.
Itās about focusing on the now rather than hoping thereāll be a better time.
Thanks, that really resonated with me.
I started trying to humanise people who pissed me off. Over time it chilled me right out.
By which I mean; say you're on the motorway pulling 80mph in the outside lane and some asshole in an Audi comes screaming up behind you, flashing his lights, trying to get you out the way so he can get back up to 110mph.
In the past, I'd make a wanker gesture at him, then gradually pull across, making him all pissy with me. I'd get that momentary hollow feeling of victory that I'd got one over on a prick. Then I'd realise that I was mostly just angry and I'd achieved nothing.
So I started trying to humanise those people. Maybe he's driving his Audi like a twat because he really needs a crap, or his wife's having a baby. I don't know, and I don't need to know. Little by little this has helped me to chill out, and not just while driving. It's carried over into other areas of my life, where I attempt to provide a justifiable reason for shitty behaviour at times when I just couldn't know the truth.
This is what my partner and I do! Shit drivers must be in a rush to shit. Has reduced a lot of the stress of driving when we encounter them.
ok, but...
No sir, I won't fall for your ruse.
Little slights like that, I just sigh, if anything at all, and keep doing my thing. They're not worth stressy thoughts when I can just keep to myself.
Enough sleep, and at consistent times. So important and makes such a huge difference.
I stopped smoking a year ago. Visited a psychiatrist and took my anxiety under control. Recently switched to vegan diet. Life's been better.
I decided to stop stressing about when i get to places. I'm pretty much time blind and have all kinds of body things slowing me down, so stressing about it wasn't actually helping anyway.
I'd struggle to leave the house and let it put me in a mood, which only made getting out the door harder. I'd be sitting in traffic just wanting to be where i was trying to get that moment and waiting was uncomfortable because i felt like i was supposed to be somewhere else.
But the reality is, I'm always really the only place i could be. There are times when being slowed down by life's little obstacles has been immensely beneficial. I've learned to let go a little and have a bit more faith that I'll get there when it's time for me to be there.
It makes it a lot easier to take life in stride, and to apply to other little cognitive barriers that might make things worse if i let them take hold of me and carry me away.
I realized that i enjoy myself and my life more when I strive to be that more accepting and relaxed version of myself, and that feeding into that whining sniping selfish petulance that sits opposite it just makes me miserable.
Antidepressants.
One little capsule once a day makes all the difference in the world.
Likewise. They may not work for everyone but it can have a huge impact for those who do
Scattering a few 5-minute resistance band exercises into my day. Theyāre easier, more convenient, and less dangerous than weights, they can provide a workout in small spaces, and they offer feedback that can help improve proprioception (which is an issue for me). And by doing a set here and a set there, I donāt resent working out, because I never have to spend an extended chunk of time bored af. Iāve never been evangelical about an exercise before. I have disabilities that can make working out difficult. But given my recent expeiences, I think government-funded resistance band sets with QR codes for free online instruction videos should be available at every public library in the country on request.
TL; DR: Resistance bands build strength and improve health with minimal risk of injury, and their convenience makes it easy to spread workouts over the day to avoid boredom and resentment.
Exercise, weightlifting namely has done a lot for my mood and physical appearance(sadly nothing for motivation, I still gotta drag myself to the gym).
I made a concerted effort to pick up a hobby so Iām not just sitting around watching YouTube or playing video games. Painting is pretty fun.
Sleeping is a big one that lots of people mentioned, Iām not afraid to take a nap in the afternoon.
Lastly, cognitive behavioral therapy. It gives me the insight to see my emotions and how they interact with my thoughts and actions. Itās done a lot for helping manage anxiety, which is a lot better than it used to be, where now I donāt feel ruled by my frets and fears. It sucks trying to find a good therapist, but itās worth the struggle. Iām so much happier than I was before I started.
seconding and thirding weightlifting
also, those days when you drag yourself to the gym are the days when your motivation is on point. it doesn't take any motivation to do anything easy, and it doesn't take any motivation to not do the thing at all. motivation is when it's hard but you do it anyway.
I stopped that voice in my head that would constantly pop up and say "I'm so stupid" or similar variations.
It took me some time to understand that mistakes are just mistakes and everyone makes them. It easy to take all the blame and demean yourself for every little thing, but it feels so much better to stop those words in their tracks and reevaluate.
Doing ~20min of yoga every day I can, which works out to about 4-6 days a week. All my random aches and pains disappeared and my body feels way less stiff.
If I skip a week or so, I definitely feel noticably worse than I do when I keep it up.
A few!
First, keto. Not for the weightloss (although that happened, 45 lbs down and holding there 4 years in), but for the incredible way it made me feel. All my back and knee pain was gone, brain fog cleared, energy levels shot up, high blood pressure episodes went away. It was amazing
Second, electrolytes. Especially on keto but really so many folks are dehydrated and water alone doesnāt always help. Itās super cheap to make your own electrolyte powder with a 2:1 mix of Natural Calm magnesium and Mortonās lite salt (sodium and potassium). Put a teaspoon in a big glass of water with mio lemonade and it will fix headaches, hunger crankiness, and hangovers.
Third, drinking. I took a break and never went back. It was adding nothing to my life, and Iām so glad to be clear of it.
Fourth, taurine supplements. Im in my early forties and this popped my energy back up - I no longer feel wiped and low energy after a day of work/kids. I have time and vigor for projects or whatever else strikes me. Itās also been studied as a longevity enhancement and increases both healthspan and lifespan in test animals. Itās an amino acid we produce less of as we age, and supplementing it helped me.
Started cycling as an adult with a road bike.
You didn't say whether good or bad impact...
I bought a good city bike and started cycling, overexerted my piriformis muscle and got it inflamed, oppressing the sciatic nerve and leaving me in bed in agony for over a month and losing my job, after which a combination of the pain meds and lack of exercise got me a heart infarction, after which I got prescribed blood pressure meds, but the computer system only printed half the dose on the recipe, so by following those instructions I got a spike of blood pressure that caused a bleeding in one eye and left me half blind, making me lose another job, which lead to severe depression, with the meds and lack of will to live causing a second infarction, which lead to open heart surgery, after which the wound got infected, leading to debridement surgery and forced approximation, which had me in pain for a month even after passing out with the max dose of morphine, which got me addicted to opioids, making me fall apart with my SO, and by the time I got clean it turned out my back was whack, with severe herniation which would make me lose control over my legs after about 15 min of walking or 30 min of sitting, which... ugh, let's just say the story turns for the darker after that, and I still don't know how it'll end.
Worst thing is, I'd still get on that bike if I could.
Morning walks/runs
