Finding balance and the small routines that make up our everyday lives
The way we feel dictates how we spend our days, how we utilize our time, and the way we treat ourselves and others. How we spend our days is essentially how we live our lives. Once I grasped that complex idea, my perspective of how I wanted to approach my day-to-day activities changed by considering the thought-provoking question: how do I want to live my life? Sitting down with that idea brought an insane amount of excitement, as well as an exhausting amount of pressure.
I got into the habit of trying new wellness tactics in my junior year of high school, constantly searching for ways to make me feel better mentally and physically, putting immense pressure on myself to make a complete 180 shift to turn into a completely happy, healthy, and radiant person. I had a difficult grasp on the importance of fueling my body and the concept of “looking good”, inevitably shrinking my physical and energetic body, impacting my mental capacity and every aspect of my life both externally and internally. It took me years to figure out that this radiant, healthy, and happy person cannot coexist with a damaged energetic body. Your energetic body holds the radiance you bring as a person, the personality you bring to conversations, the way you think of and approach others, the outlook you have on life, and the way you perceive yourself and your personal capacity. By not fueling this important part of yourself, you lose your luminosity as a person and damage your ability to enjoy the little things in life that bring joy and happiness.
After years of researching and considering various perspectives on the “right” approach to wellness, I gravitated toward attempting a balanced, more uplifting, and optimistic outlook on life. I realized we have to learn to loosen control on ourselves and our bodies, allowing ourselves to truly live with freedom from the pressures of societal expectations regarding what we should be doing, consuming, dressing like, acting like, or taking interest in.
It took me a while to recognize that it is important to fuel our bodies with real foods to feel good and promote well-being (this I could write a book about), but ultimately OK and necessary to indulge in the little pleasures of life, free from guilt and shame. Social media is filled with people telling us the only way to be healthy is to eat healthy, consume only specific foods, and engage in specific workouts. This causes immense pressure on ourselves to have full control over our bodies, taking away from the little pleasures that allow us to feel good both physically and mentally. The key to a healthy lifestyle is the idea of balance which I cannot stress enough. Going to school near a beach, I found so much joy in running almost daily to the beach and back, which was a fun way to move my body and mentally escape. Small acts like these, finding what brings you joy and incorporating this into your daily routine can significantly influence your everyday life, your outlook on existence, and broaden your perspective on how you want to live your life. The lesson of balance became a guiding principle in EVERY aspect of my life and truly shifted the way I think, act, and approach various situations. The little moments of grabbing drinks with my friends, getting dessert with my mom, and making cookies with my nonna are moments I would never trade for the world. Recognizing the importance of balance and what feels right for you completely shifted my perspective on life and the way I approach my day-to-day activities.
Once I learned the importance of loosening control of myself and focusing more inward, I focused on finding other small things to incorporate into my day-to-day life to bring me joy and enhance my well-being. Fashion has always been a key outlet to brightening my day, and beginning in high school and starting with a good outfit established a “look good feel good” mindset. Personally, giving myself extra time in the morning to sit and curate a routine by crafting a cool look has been an important part of creating a positive routine. Adopting a mindset with loosened control distances you from concerns about others’ opinions, and the freedom that comes with letting go allows you to authentically pursue what brings you joy, allowing you to find the little things and routines in your day-to-day life that stick and make up an idea on how you want to live your life. So take some pressure off yourself, ignore what other people may be thinking, and find the little routines that bring joy to your everyday life.
P. S We are still so young and I promise you I don’t nearly have it all figured out or know what I truly want to accomplish in life, but I know I will take these small positive habits with me forever to continually change and grow.