My 9 tips for 365 days of wholehearted living

Many start the new year with good intentions: work less, feel more relaxed, become healthier, be in better shape, ….and I share with you my 9 tips for 365 days of wholehearted living!

1. Be mindful To be mindful simply means that you pay attention on purpose, that you are aware what happens around you. Much of our lives are spent on auto-pilot and multi-tasking that lead to mediocre results. It’s a conscious choice to focus your mind on the here and now, and you have to make this choice every day anew. The benefit of becoming mindful in your everyday life is that you actually increase both your physical and mental health, and it is scientifically proven to increase the grey matter in your brain, in other words…it makes you smarter!

2. Book Me-Time “Me Time” is any activity that you love to do, that energizes you, from going for a run, painting, reading, taking a bath, or just sitting quietly on your own… whatever it is that YOU love doing. Most people have trouble getting “me time” in their frantic everyday life but if you do not make time for it, who will do it for you? So I encourage you to take ownership and schedule ‘me-time” in your diary like an appointment with your best friend. Taking “me time” reduces stress and allows you to really understand and appreciate who you are.

3. Tune your self-talk Words are powerful and it’s in your power to choose them wisely towards others and even more importantly towards yourself. It makes a difference if you address hardships and struggles as problems or if you address them as challenges and opportunities to learn. It’s also important that you are kind to yourself, that you love yourself instead of beating yourself up, doubting yourself. So tune your self-talk and you will experience that your positive, encouraging self-talk will make you feel better and happier … and it will also lead to better results outwardly.

4. Breath away Breathing is one of the easiest and fastest ways to reduce stress and puts you in a better mood. The great thing about breathing is that you can do it anywhere, anytime, and just 1 minute of breathing exercise can take you from stressed out, to “I can handle this.” When you practice breathing, pay attention to your breath and body as the air fills your lungs on the inhale and slowly releases as you exhale. This exercise will not only relax you, but helps you become more focused and mindful in general.

5. Listen up Active listening is one of the coolest things you can adopt into your life and it’s an ongoing challenge for me, I admit. Normal listening is when you are talking with someone, they’re speaking, and you are thinking already about what you are going to say next. Active listening is where you listen without that chatter in your head. When you listen intently by paying attention consciously to what is being said, how it is said …. And not responding right away but leaving some space for you to form a response. The great advantage of active listening is that the relationship with the other person will become deeper, more respectful, more trustful. Try it with the next person you speak with…it will amaze you!

6. Detox Socially

Detoxifying stands for getting rid off the bad, the toxic, and letting in the good, the energizing. Detoxing socially means that you identify which relationships give you energy and which ones are toxic and de-energizing. This exercise will allow you to cherish the fact that it's all about the quality of relationships, not the quantity. And it's your choice with whom you surround yourself, whom you eliminate from your social interactions or at least reduce to a minimum level. And this exercise does not only refer to your circle of friends but also to your professional relationships. It might take quite some courage and effort to purge your social circle but it will allow you to invest even more time and more love into the people whom you really care about and who give back as well.

7. Feed yourself well Food gives us the fuel to keep going throughout the day but very often we eat because of stress or frustration, and not at all because we are hungry. Being mindful of what you put into your body will affect your energy level as well as your mood. So, start paying attention to what goes into your body, how it makes you feel and try to eat less of what does not do you good.

8. Keep Moving We all know we need to exercise and keep our bodies fit. But our lives are already so hectic, demanding, overloaded with must-do activities that many struggle to keep to regular exercise routines. Whatever your excuse, throw it out the window. Make time to exerce regularly, because there is no excuse not to do something that decreases your stress, improves self-esteem, gives you a natural high, makes you feel and look younger, and allows you to live a more vibrant life – no excuses ;-)

9. Get your Beauty Sleep Sleep is one of the most underrated activities that each one of us does every day. When you sleep, your body and your brain rejuvenate themselves and the average person needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. If you don’t get enough sleep, you don’t give your body or your mind enough time to fully recover and you will build up a “sleep debt”. So I encourage you to recognize the importance of sleep, to make an effort to understand your sleeping patterns and make the necessary adjustments to get to your optimal sleep schedule. As a result you will have more energy, think clearer, handle your emotions more intelligently, and just be more productive in general. Basically, you will be a better you :-)

Take care & live, love, laugh in 2017!