HM Health & Well-being

It’s the weekend!!! What are you doing?

Serious question, how do you spend your weekends? Do you have a million things to do? Do you work? Do you take time out for yourself?

As well as getting fit and healthy and looking at weight loss, I think it’s important to look at ourselves as a whole. We are not the number on the scales or the size of our clothes. We are not the job we have, nor are we the clothes that we were. We are more than numbers and stats. We are our passions and our goals and we need to remember to make time for these things.

Without passion, love and fun, what do we have? I would say, not a particularly fulfilling life. We need to tend to our passions and nurture the things that are important to us, these things help us to keep a healthy state of mind and look after our well-being.

Little challenge for today: I know many people lose their way with their own passions, hobbies, pass times etc. I want you to reconnect. What do you love to do that has been pushed to the bottom of the priority list? What did you used to enjoy doing that brought you relaxation and satisfaction?

Write a list.

Write it down. All the things you used to enjoy doing that were YOUR interests, and write down all the things you would LIKE to do that are YOUR interests. From this list, choose one activity that you can do today – even if just for 5 or 10 minutes – and go and do it. Don’t find an excuse not to do it, make a point of going and doing it JUST FOR YOU.

These are some of the go to things I always thing of when I think of getting some “down time” or “interest time” in:

• Photography – I love nothing more than getting out into the fresh air with a camera and seeing the beauty there is all around.
• Read a book – getting lost in a good book can take you are far away from your everyday life as you can get.
• Draw or colour – get creative, let your artistic side out.
• Play video games – again something to get lost in.
• Do a puzzle – get your mind exercise in with sudoku or a crossword, try a jigsaw or a mind challenge game.
• Watch a movie.
• Go for a walk.
• Make something – bake, craft etc.
• Spa time – so this one might take a little more planning, and might be more of a treat than some of the others but hey, of you can do it, go for it.
• Coffee at your favourite cafe – I love to do this on my own and just sit and watch the world go by (I very much enjoy time on my own so anything like this is a big win for me).

The list of things you can do is pretty much endless, as long as it something that you enjoy doing, that you feel good about doing, and that makes you feel better once you have indulged in it a little then it sounds like you’re on the right track. Different activities for different people and all that, it has to fit you.

Try and get some of this enjoyment time in as often as possible. Like I said above, even if it’s just 10 minutes that you can fit in, it’s better than nothing and you know you have done something that is just for you. You may feel guilty at first but please try not to, there is nothing to feel guilty about. By looking after yourself and your own needs you become more chilled and able to cope with the stresses and strains that come with life.

Look after you first, you can’t pour from and empty cup.