The daily hustle and grind of young professionals may unconsciously produce hard-to-kill habits that will actually hurt them in the long run. And while most believe that it's different for everyone when it comes to maintaining their wellbeing (and pursuing their happiness), here are 8 tips that have been shown to work time and again.
1. Listen to your body
Cutting down on sleep or postponing meals to finish tasks can be quite commonplace when it comes to those who are booked and busy all the time, like medical professionals, 9-to-5 corporate employees, and even celebrities.
Sacrificing health-related activities has reached a level of normalcy where dozing off for even just a couple of hours or eating while juggling tasks are deemed as signs of laziness or poor time management.
And while movements to extend break times are still in the works, you can be intentional with your pro-health initiatives for the meantime. Instead of spending your time on social media for hours, use them for catching up on sleep. Pre-pack your lunches or set an alarm for meal times so you don't forget to eat on time.
2. Ask for help
It's alright if we don't know everything, even when it comes to the things we're mostly good at – we're left with room for growth, and heaps of new knowledge to encode and store in our memory for us to retrieve the next time it comes in handy.
Not knowing how to do a certain task (or maybe even something simpler like not knowing what a word means) is completely fine, and we can always ask for help from those who know more than us, especially in fields that are outside our scope of expertise.
Some good questions if you'd want to ask other people for help are the following:
- -Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what exactly that word means.
- -Excuse me, could you repeat the question?
- -I don't understand. Could you explain that further?
Treat lack of knowledge as an opportunity to learn instead of something that's a blow to your ego. Asking for help is great, even if you were brought up to be overly independent and couldn't rely on anyone. After all, champions are built and not born, as Vince Lombardi puts it.
3. Savor the good stuff
Our minds don't think in absolutes; we are wired to base on our reference points, especially when it comes to our happiness. This means that no matter how successful you are in your career, the fact that your friend who's running his own startup or your cousin who just moved to a new city with a higher-paying job can unintentionally steal away the happiness you currently have.
A good way to combat this seemingly never-ending unhappiness is by savoring the here and now, especially the moments that make you happy or grateful. Extend the duration or intensity of a happy moment by recalling, journaling, and/or taking a video of it. Feel your gratitude for the life you have now – relationships, career, health, and every aspect that you feel full and satisfied in.
4. Give therapy a shot
Tired employees go to therapy. People who have clinical depression go to therapy. Strong-willed leaders go to therapy. Unloading your emotional burdens and personal troubles especially to those who are willing to carry that load, empathize, and just listen to you unconditionally works wonders for your mental and emotional health.
Different from life coaches or counselors, therapists are experts who have spent a good chunk of their adult lives to listen, understand, empathize with, be genuine to, and hold their clients accountable too so that they go through their needed growth, develop emotional maturity, build self-esteem, pick up coping strategies to deal with life's many trials, and maintain their overall mental wellness.
5. Make time for your passions
Perhaps the reason for the lack of satisfaction in one's work life is because they aren't doing the things they like enough. Make time for things that you are passionate about by setting your priorities straight, especially when it comes to your schedule.
One way to do this is putting all that weekend energy into something you love doing, like sports, arts and crafts, or music instead of spending your Saturdays and Sundays in the club or catching up on backlogs you can easily do on a workday. Time spent on pursuing your passion are little treats that are interspersed in your adult work/business life.
If you really want to live a full life, take it up a notch and make your job or business related to your passion. If the current circumstances don't allow this, you can save up and wait it out for a few years until you can be financially settled enough to pursue the things you like.
6. Wholeheartedly believe that rest is a necessity, not luxury
If you want to improve your concentration and memory, boost your immune system, make your mood lighter, reduce your stress and speed up your metabolism, then rest is your best friend. Aside from these scientifically proven benefits, you have to take to heart that rest is part of your work life.
Rest is not optional nor it is luxury. Undo all previous beliefs that demonize rest by educating yourself on its advantages, and enjoying periods of stillness. You can also meditate, do breathing exercises, and stop overstimulating yourself like multitasking or piling up the things you need to do.
7. Consider getting a pet
Having pets around the house can improve heart health and mood, relieve anxiety and depression, and reduce stress, as shown in multiple studies. Getting a little furball full of energy and sunshine can help you maintain your wellbeing and happiness, and train you for something to be responsible for aside from your work or business related obligations.
8. Go natural
One interesting finding is that nature can change you for the better – improving kindness, creativity, and happiness. Going natural when it comes to food, sources of entertainment, and just immersing in nature can all help you have a more positive disposition, make your holistic health better, and overall help with your wellbeing. So go ahead – stop and smell the roses!