Eight Activities To Help You Renew and Shine [Fast]
5-minute read
Hi friend,
This is another one of those newsletters to tell you that it’s always, always the small acts that make a world of a difference.
A ‘life-changing’ moment isn’t actually a moment. It’s a consequence of a series of events that occur because of committed effort.
It’s not one big realisation.
Here are eight activities that your future self will help you for. While some require bigger action, others only need a few seconds of your time each day. That isn’t so bad, is it?
I hope you can integrate some of them into your days.
1/ Ten squats 3x a day
They prescribed me this in physiotherapy after my ACL reconstruction surgery in both my knees.
18 months later, I still do it today.
Why? Because my core and legs have become stronger. I overall feel so much more powerful because of having a strong lower body.
It also gives me an excuse to get away from my desk and get moving.
2/ Breath Check
When you are stressed or anxious, you hunch + take shorter breaths.
Here are two fun facts:
Fact I: Emotions change your breathing patterns.
Fact II: Changing your breath can change your emotions, too. If your breath is shallow, straighten up and take a deep breath.
So yay, you can start feeling better the moment you change how you breathe. The catch here is to be alert when this happens so you can recognise it.
So time for a bit of mindfulness? That brings me to…
3/One-minute meditation
Is better than zero.
Headspace offers meditation for as little as 1 and 3 minutes.
A minute a day for a better tomorrow in *all* spheres of your life is a good trade-off.
Nothing more about this, because I’m assuming you’re tired of reading about it already.
4/ Writing
Do it to:
think clearly
improve self-awareness
Doesn’t have to be online, don’t worry. Your journal is just fine if that makes you comfortable.
Writing online has its own benefits, like learning and building in public, but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Writing your journal or just doing a weekly reflection writing about how your week was in short bullets may help you get closer to yourself.
5/ Less alcohol
You’re living with all your senses to be in your senses, yet you’d want to get out of them?
Alcohol is empty calories and sugar.
Since I was 24, I realised I got anxious every time I was a little tipsy. It just stopped being fun for me. I don’t know why.
I’m in a culture where my family and friends love alcohol and celebrate it. I don’t enjoy it as much, so I limit it to one glass of wine in two weeks or so.
Moderation is the key here for most of us.
Your sleep and abdominal fat will thank you later.
6/ Eight hours of sleep
Isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
Read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, and you’ll be scared not to get 8 hours of sleep.
Give back the rest and nourishment to the body that works for you unstoppably.
7/ Find what makes you feel alive
The race will never stop.
Do more things that make you feel alive.
The entire point is to be happy more often, right? I say that because our time here on this blue ball is limited, yet we wander through our days not even thinking about this reality.
We’re ready to trade our time for misery when we should feel as joyful as we can.
Take out time to feel that way more often. This could be as simple as reading or playing a sport.
8/ Do what sets your soul on fire
Most people don’t know their purpose because they never take out time to find it. Don’t be like most people.
You’re here for a reason — find that and use it to help others.
The simplest way to do this is by getting to know yourself. Now, you may say I sound like a fluff self-help guru. But no, really, we’re too hyper-connected and hyper-stimulated.
This is making us lose touch with ourselves.
If you don’t know yourself entirely, and are influenced by social media or the people around you, how will you find your purpose?
Well, this is the reason many people don’t.
Summary:
I hope this can add value to your life. Even if it helps you in the tiniest possible way, my purpose to leave you healthier and happier is fulfilled.
Here’s what we discussed in this article:
Ten squats, 3x a day
Breath Check
One-minute meditation
Writing
Less alcohol
Eight hours of sleep
Find what makes you feel alive
Do what sets your soul on fire
Maybe start with one, and then move on to others? Let me know what you think.
See you next week!
Love,
N
PS: Not sure if you know, but I run a live cohort-based course on helping writers be consistent. It’s called Summit 21 and we start this summer. I also have a LinkedIn Playbook and LinkedIn Ultimate Content Mastery which is a self-paced course if it aligns with your goals + you’d like to learn at your own pace.
Mentioning some of my offerings because I rarely talk about them in this space and I believe it could really help some of you out there :)
Thank you for writing this.