8 Self-Care Practices That Will Make You Unrecognizable For The Next 6 Months

In a world that promotes quick fixes and fast changes, micro-shifts are oftentimes overlooked and underrated. We might think we’re not evolving because our changes are so subtle, yet when looking back a year later, we find ourselves in a completely new place. That’s the magic of tiny changes: they seem unnoticeable, but the reality is:

Improving 1% everyday is us becoming 364% better a year later.

We often think that our big life changes come overnight. However, more often than we think, big changes come through tiny shifts, which compound over time, altering our life trajectories, making us unrecognizable. And it is through the disciplined habit of making these small shifts happen that we will truly experience transformation.

Micro-shifts consist of walking an extra 5 minutes everyday or cooking one healthy meal instead of ordering fast food. They consist of practicing one positive affirmation everyday or writing down two things you are grateful for, or checking-in on your loved ones. Overtime, you will find that this extra five minute walk has helped you lose those 5 pounds you were struggling to lose, or repeating affirmations daily has dramatically improved your self-perception. Maybe that one extra home-cooked meal everyday unleashed a cooking hobby you were unaware of, and allowed you to feel your best in your body.

Taking it from there, here are five self-care practices that will make you unrecognizable for the next 6 months when done consistently:

1. Exercise, Healthy Nutrition, And Prioritizing Sleep:

Exercise:

A common and popular self-development tip which most of us hear on the daily, yet have high tendencies to neglect: exercise. Indulging in sports of all kind not only makes us look good aesthetically and build muscle, it is also a major contributor to uplifting our mood by releasing dopamine and endorphins in the brain, also known as the ‘happy hormones’. Exercise has also proven to have anti-aging benefits, making us look younger as the years pass by. It also strengthens our bodies and immune systems, making us less prone to sickness. While strength training is highly beneficial in helping us build muscle, cardiovascular exercises such as walking, jogging, running and swimming have a great power in reducing heart disease.

Healthy Nutrition:

Prioritizing gut health through nutrition is among the most vital thing you can do for your body. The gut affects pretty much everything in our bodies, ranging from how our skin looks like to our moods to our hair. When our gut is healed, we are healed. We feel better, lighter, we get things done, have more energy throughout the day and are able to think clearly.

We can all agree that ‘unhealthy food’, in other words food that are high in calories tend to taste good, however the pleasure we gain from having a certain meal for a couple minutes might feel good in the moment, however can backlash at us on the long-run. We soon crave looking leaner and skinnier like the old days, starting to indulge in unhealthy body-image. Compromising our body-image, self-talk and confidence to a couple of tasty meals will harm us on the long-run.

Among healthy nutrition is of course, good hydration:

Water is the elixir of life, and for good reason. It makes up around 60% of our body weight, playing a crucial role in virtually every bodily function. But beyond simply quenching thirst, staying hydrated offers a wealth of benefits that can significantly impact your health and well-being. Here's a dive into why sufficient water intake is key:

• Flushes Toxins and Supports Kidney Function: Water helps your kidneys filter waste products and toxins from your blood. Proper hydration ensures these toxins are flushed out efficiently, promoting overall health and reducing the risk of kidney stones.
• Boosts Cognitive Function and Mood: Dehydration can significantly impact your brain function. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can lead to decreased alertness, focus, and concentration. Drinking enough water keeps your brain sharp and can even improve your mood.
• Improves Skin Health and Appearance: Water keeps your skin hydrated and plump, giving it a healthy glow. Dehydration can lead to dry, flaky skin and exacerbate wrinkles.
• Enhances Physical Performance: Water is essential for optimal physical performance. Even mild dehydration can lead to fatigue, decreased endurance, and muscle cramps. Staying hydrated ensures your body functions at its best during exercise.
• Aid in Weight Management: Studies suggest that drinking water before meals can increase feelings of fullness and reduce calorie intake. Water can also help boost metabolism and promote weight management efforts.
• Supports Overall Health and Well-Being: By impacting virtually every bodily function, adequate hydration is crucial for maintaining overall health and well-being. It contributes to a stronger immune system, reduced risk of chronic diseases, and increased energy levels.

Prioritizing Sleep:

Sleep is a non-negotiable part of maintaining good health. When you prioritize sleep, you're investing in your physical and mental well-being for the long term, playing a vital role in numerous bodily functions. Here's a breakdown of why sleep is important:

• Recharges your brain: During sleep, your brain consolidates memories, processes information, and flushes out toxins that build up during wakefulness. This allows for improved focus, concentration, and learning ability when you're awake.
• Boosts physical health: Sleep is essential for cell repair and tissue growth. It also strengthens your immune system, helping your body fight off illness and infection.
• Regulates hormones: Sleep helps regulate hormones that control appetite, metabolism, and stress levels. Insufficient sleep can disrupt these hormones, potentially leading to weight gain and mood swings.
• Improves emotional well-being: Sleep deprivation can negatively impact your mood, making you more irritable, anxious, or prone to depression. Getting enough sleep promotes emotional stability and resilience.
• Enhances physical performance: Sleep is essential for muscle recovery and repair. Adequate sleep improves athletic performance, coordination, and reaction time.

2. 20 Minutes Walk In The Sun Daily

According to science, sun exposure daily may alleviate symptoms of depression. Sunlight exposure was shown to regulate the production of serotonin, a brain chemical linked to feelings of happiness and well-being. Increased serotonin levels can elevate mood, reduce stress hormones, and promote feelings of calm.

Vitamin D Boost: Our bodies naturally produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in bone health, immune function, and muscle strength. A 20-minute walk can be sufficient for most people to get their daily recommended dose of vitamin D, especially during the summer months (depending on location).

Enhanced Sleep Quality: Sunlight exposure helps regulate your circadian rhythm, the body's internal clock that controls sleep-wake cycles. Regular morning sun exposure can signal to your body when it's time to wake up and be alert, leading to better sleep quality at night.

Weight Management: Studies suggest that morning sunlight exposure may be linked to weight management. While the exact mechanism isn't fully understood, sunlight may influence hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.

Increased Physical Activity: Even a short daily walk is a form of physical activity. Regular walking can improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles and bones, and boost overall fitness.

Improved Cognitive Function: Studies suggest that regular physical activity, including walking, can improve cognitive function, memory, and focus. The combination of sunlight exposure and physical activity can be particularly beneficial for brain health.

Stress Relief: Spending time outdoors can be a mood booster and a stress reliever. Walking allows you to connect with nature, get some fresh air, and appreciate your surroundings.

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3. Invest In Your Physical Appearance

While how we feel within has a huge impact on our physical appearance, taking the time to truly look our best has a great impact on how we feel and think, and how we carry ourselves. It also impacts how other people perceive and treat us, though our self-perception is always more important, earning respect from the people around us increases our chances of attracting more opportunities and networking with people who may benefit us on the long run. Some practices that will make you look best include:

• Indulging in a morning and night skin care routine: learning about our skin type and picking products that would fit our skin can highly transform our skin, making it radiant and healthy. A good cleanser, moisturizer, eye cream, and SPF, backed up with serums that would help with acne goes a long way in making our face radiant and achieve a glass-skin effect, while reducing the process of aging. It is of course always better to consult with a dermatologist for accurate prescription on what would work best for your skin type.
• Building a capsule wardrobe: Taking the time to discover your own personal style and clothes that reflect who you truly are rather than following fast-fashion and trends can highly impacts how you look and feel, making you have a strong sense of identity. Investing in high-quality basics, paired up with high quality pants tailored to your own body type allows you to build a timeless closet that will last you a long time, grants you more outfits, and make you look more elegant and stylish.
• Hair and Make-Up For the girls reading this article, taking care of your hair health by having a consistent scalp treatment routine can have a huge boost on your confidence. Indulging in scalp-health practices by hair oiling your roots once a week will leave you with soft and shiny hair, promoting hair-growth and reducing hair loss. Consider oils like rosemary, castor oil, jojoba oil, and almond oil have the power to drastically change your hair within 3 months of consistency.

As for your make-up, learning how to enhance your natural features rather than opting for a heavy make-up routine not only is better for your skin, but will make you glow differently, and look your best

4. Prioritize Self-Care

Self-care can look different for many people. We can take care of ourselves by having weekly bubble-baths and eating chocolate and lighting our candles to set up the mood. But for some, self-care includes leaving toxic environments and relationships, taking care of your hair and skin, or practice your favorite hobbies. Sometimes self-care is saying no to a Friday night out to binge watch your favorite series. And sometimes, it is deciding to come face to face with that heartbreak you have been avoiding, and cry your heart out so that you can finally be free and open your heart to the love of your life. Point is, making time for yourself will allow you not only to feel better, but to connect with yourself on a deeper level, and become your very own best friend.

5. Journaling

Journaling has always been a popular practice since the early days. People always kept a diary where they let all of their feelings out, and write things they could probably never speak about to anyone. But why? Because journaling is known to release trapped energy within our bodies, leaving us enough room to create and feel at ease, because letting them all out, writing it all, eases and soothes our hearts and mind, brings us greater focus and clarity, and allows us to step back from our thoughts and see things from a clearer point of view. Make the time to journal about your thoughts, emotions, dreams, aspirations, the things you are grateful for, the things you love most about yourself. Make it a habit to highlight the good things in your life, and writing uplifting, affirming positive statements about yourself, and with practice, you will be able to rewire your brain on seeing the good in your life, and attract more positivity.

To learn more about the effectiveness of journaling, check our blog post on the science behind journaling here.

6. Read Books and Develop That Beautiful Mind of Yours

I cannot emphasize enough on the importance of reading books. They are amongst the greatest gifts we humans have ever been given, as they allow us to access someone’s accumulated knowledge and wisdom acquired in a lifetime. Reading helps us perceive the world differently, find part of ourselves we forgot existed, or more, were unaware of. The more we develop knowledge the more we become more interesting and mentally attractive, and the more we become interesting, the more we are able to engage in conversations with other people. And when we least expect it, opportunities start coming our way. Nothing is more attractive than someone who has a wide background of knowledge, and who could openly run conversations with other people. Nothing is more attractive than someone who is mentally attractive.

I firmly believe that everyone can enjoy reading, only if they find the right book and the right topic that would interest them. So research about topic that scratch your curiosity, pick books that would educate you. You never know how far you can go until you try.

7. Find What You’re Passionate About, And Work On Making It A Skill

Once you have done the disciplined practice of reading books and educating yourself, you will be more in tune with yourself and the things you are passionate about. And perhaps, you might discover a hidden passion you have been delaying its pursuit. Observe what comes naturally and effortlessly to you, the things that make time fly by fast. Ask yourself what are some of your natural gifts, what you liked doing in your childhood. Find that fire burning within you, and work on making it a skill. Putting 1 to 2 hours a day is enough to make you develop a skill that may transform into a business.

8. Meditation

Meditation isn't about achieving a state of perfect emptiness or blanking out your thoughts. It's about training your mind to be present and aware, allowing you to respond to life's challenges with greater clarity and calmness. Meditation offers a range of benefits for both your mental and physical health. Here's a breakdown of why meditation is important:

Stress Reduction: This is perhaps the most well-known benefit. Meditation techniques like mindfulness practice can help calm the fight-or-flight response, lowering stress hormones like cortisol. This can lead to feelings of peace, reduced anxiety, and a better ability to manage daily stressors.

Improved Focus and Concentration: Meditation trains your attention to stay present in the moment, reducing mind-wandering and improving your ability to focus on the task at hand. This can benefit all aspects of your life, from work and studies to personal relationships.

Enhanced Emotional Regulation: By observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment, meditation can help you develop emotional intelligence. You'll be better equipped to manage difficult emotions and respond to situations calmly and thoughtfully.

Increased Self-Awareness: Meditation allows you to cultivate a deeper understanding of yourself, your thoughts, and your patterns of behavior. This self-awareness can empower you to make positive changes in your life.

Improved Sleep: Chronic stress and anxiety can significantly disrupt sleep. By promoting relaxation and reducing stress hormones, meditation can help you fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly, and wake feeling refreshed.

Boosted Immunity: Research suggests that meditation can strengthen your immune system. Studies have shown that regular meditation practice can lead to an increase in immune cells and a decrease in inflammatory markers.

Overall Well-Being: By incorporating meditation into your routine, you can cultivate a sense of inner peace, improve your mental and emotional well-being, and enhance your overall quality of life.

Keeping a balanced lifestyle while pursuing a career or an education can be tough, however, doing small micro-shifts to your everyday routine can be truly life changing. Make a self-assessment on your daily habits, evaluate the ones which may be detrimental to your well-being, and work on replacing them with the habits listed above which will actually help you move forward. Every change is hard as a start however you will notice with time, those micro-shifts will make you unrecognizable for the next 6 months if you stay consistent. And we can guarantee, that you will look your best, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.