4 Things to Nurture More for Optimal Well-Being

Yourself

YOU. You are the most important person in your life. What a strange concept? So often we are taught to fill up other peoples cups before our own. But if we’re empty, how do we give? While it is rewarding to nurture others, we need to keep in mind that balance is key for well-being. As much as we want to love and support those around us, we cannot effectively do this unless we are addressing our own inner world of needs. Self-love and nurturing does not mean that you need to make enormous life changes – start by choosing one thing to change- something significant, yet honestly doable for you. Maybe you’re someone who perpetually says “Yes” to any task that is given or asked of you, even when you know you are spread too thin. A positive change in this situation could be to simply reply with “Let me get back to you about that.” You’re not over committing yourself and you’re also not saying no, you are just giving your body and mind time to digest what was just asked of you so you can make a responsible decision. As one of my favourite women’s health guru, Christiane Northrup, M.D. says “ If it’s not an immediate yes, it’s almost always a no.” This is just one example of how you can begin to practice reserving more time and energy for you. With more moments saved for ‘you time’, you can begin to explore what fills you up. Every individual is unique and what nurtures you may not feel nurturing to the next person. For me, an Epsom salt bath with beautifully aromatic essential oils, candles, and a good book does the trick like nothing else. Yet my twin sister hates baths and would rather go for an hour run! So in the upcoming days seek out whatever healthy habit it is that fills you up and start to make more room for it in your life. Not only will you feel a shift within yourself, but you may also experience a positive change in your relationships simply because you feel more grounded and whole.

Your Connection With Nature

For me, nature is the cheapest, most effective therapy. In our world today, most of us have a constant connection to electronic gadgets. Our phones or computer monitors are always turned on, we thumb through pictures, emails, and news stories all throughout the day, and then when we get home we hunker down in front of the television for the evening. It’s as if our screens have conditioned us to live with tunnel vision, only paying attention to this inner cyber world. What happened to our connection with the outside world? When was the last time that you went for a walk, a hike, a swim in a stream, or just planted the soles of your feet on the grass? Remember how calm and collected you felt in those moments? Our environment can either reduce or induce stress. Our stress levels have a direct impact on how well our nervous, endocrine, and immune systems work- directly relating to our well-being. A daily connection with nature has been shown to reduce blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. It also has shown to reduce the feelings of fear, anger, and anxiety while increasing pleasant sensations. Nurturing a connection with nature is something that everyone and anyone can benefit from- and the best thing? It’s all around us and it’s completely free! Studies have shown that just incorporating more plants in a home or workspace can have positive effects on mood and energy levels.

Your Anxieties

Anxiety is uncomfortable and exhausting and almost everyone you know deals with it to some extent. Why does everyone have anxiety at some point? Because it’s there for a reason; it’s our bodies inner guidance system. It is so easy to numb out and ignore what makes us uncomfortable. In fact, you might not even be aware that you do it! Many of us may do this through addictive habits such as over indulging in things like shopping, drinking, drugs, sex, television, even internet surfing! Although you may not feel particularly addicted- an addiction is anything that we use to escape from the feelings and situations that we don’t want to face. Anxiety arises when our inner guidance knows that we are putting off facing these challenges. Something that I have found extremely helpful in coping with this sensation is just sitting with my feeling of anxiety and questioning it, and moving into that feeling. Once I have explored why it’s there, what triggered it, and options to resolve it, I feel like I have more power over the anxious feeling than it has over me. Another practice that can help you to nurture your anxious feelings is finding an outlet for that pent up energy. Sometimes having anxiety feels like you’re buzzing on the inside with a strange type of energy. Finding a creative outlet such as singing, dancing, painting, drawing, or a kind of body movement like kickboxing or yoga, can help you release that pent up feeling. So I encourage you not to tiptoe around your anxiety anymore – explore it, question it, and find out how you can use that sensation to discover a new talent.

Your Dreams

This may sound easy but investing in your dreams is one of the harder things in life to stay on top of. We are faced with many obstacles along the way; self-doubt, other people’s opinions, your dream losing priority on life’s “to do list” etc. So what are some ways that you can nurture you dreams to help make them a reality? First, practice patience. We’ve all heard that nothing worth having is easy. Achieving long-term success takes time, and when one understands this, it allows you to be more comfortable with where you’re at instead of you beating yourself up over it. Secondly, don’t get caught up in comparing yourself to others. Life is never as perfect as others make it out to be. It’s a hard habit to quit but when you stop constantly comparing the worst of what we know about ourselves to the best assumptions that we make about others, the unfolding of your dreams will be much more enjoyable. Lastly, never think that your dreams and aspiration are too silly, too extravagant, or too selfish for you to accomplish. This is contrary monkey chatter that is distracting you from getting what you ultimately want! Move forward with confidence, focus, and drive.