20 Essential Tips for A Healthier Lifestyle

Sharing my 20 essential tips for a healthier lifestyle. These 20 essential lifestyle changes can really help you become more mindful of how you are living.

Over the past couple years, I’ve wanted to be better. I wanted to be a better daughter, sister, friend, partner, & I wanted to live an even healthier lifestyle than I already was. With this urge to better myself mentally, physically, & emotionally, I made changes to my life & my lifestyle. Some hard. There were some that were easy. And some…a no-brainer. 

In life, I always want to feel like I am challenged by something. I want to feel accomplished & empowered, I never want to feel like I am drifting or just going through the motions. Although, not every single day is perfect, there is never a moment where I think “what am I even doing”. Which is a question I have asked myself in the past.

I transformed my lifestyle to better myself & those around me.

When you make an effort to take care, listen, & love yourself, you are in turn able to love, listen, & take care of others better. I wanted to create more meaning in my life & become more mindful of the choices I was making.

That’s all. There is never any harm in wanting to be better. Healthier. Smarter. More mindful. Or more in tune with YOU & what you need in order to promote your own individual growth.

With that said, here are 20 essential tips, that I have applied towards my own life in the effort of creating a healthier & more mindful lifestyle.

20 Essential Tips for a Healthier Lifestyle

1. Don’t become discouraged when something goes “wrong”

Things are going to go wrong. Let’s face it. And it’s SO easy to let it control our mood, our day, our week. I’ll be honest, I’m STILL trying to move past backing into someone’s car LAST FEBRUARY! OMG get over it girl I know, but it was crappy & expensive & I’ll get over at my own pace LOL!

But really though, we are far better off when we provide ourselves with a healthy outlet for when things go wrong. It’s certainly not the end of the world.

Devin likes to remind me “Girl, we don’t cry over split milk”.

We get caught up thinking we have to have it all together ALL THE TIME. We don’t. The quicker we realize this & give ourselves some grace…the better off we are.

2. Think twice before saying “I’m sorry”

I always think about this one! When Lee From America mentioned this on her Instagram stories a few weeks ago, I found it very relatable which is why I wanted to include it as one of my tips.

For example, if someone bumps into me at the grocery store, I am always the first to say “Oh, I’m sorry!”. Why is that? Even if it wasn’t my fault, I am the one always apologizing!

We as women resort to apologizing even when it’s not necessary. So why do we say it. When we want someone’s attention, why are we so quick to say, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you” or simply start a sentence with “sorry”.

It doesn’t make any sense but it happens & the next time it happens to you, think of this! We have nothing to be sorry for, so let’s stop using it as a filler word! (Unless you are actually sorry for something…forget this & say sorry!!! LOL)

3. Make getting a good nights rest a priority

There was a time in my life where my sleep schedule was horrible. I think it’s really important that once a healthy sleep schedule is established, it can do the body & mind a lot of good. If you struggle falling asleep, there are many things you can do in order to help along the process. There is nothing better than getting a good nights rest…& it makes for a very productive day & mindset!

4. Put forth an effort to decrease screen time

Here is an area where I have to consistently remind myself to put my phone down. It’s insane what I can get accomplished when I leave it on a table & forget about it. It’s become second nature to just start scrolling.

5. Pay attention to what you put into your body…the food you eat affects a lot

You are what you eat. You can heal your body through food & you can also destroy it…the choice is yours.

6. Take care of your skin

Let’s face it. We are all going to get older. The sooner we take care of our skin, be mindful of the products we use & be responsible with tanning & sun exposure, the better. I quit tanning in tanning beds over a year ago. And to be honest, I wish I never even started.

7. Make time for yourself

The relationship you have with yourself is the determinant for all of your other relationships. Making time to take care of yourself is important & often forgotten. Due to such busy lives & endless responsibilities, it is SO easy to put yourself on the back burner to take care of others, work an extra shift, cook, clean…you know the deal. Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day. It adds up. Self-care is a form of self-love.

8. Practice saying “no”

I am sure you all can relate to a time in your life where you really wanted to say “no”, but some form of guilt resulted in you saying “yeah, I guess I’ll do it”. This can really be applied in all aspects of life.

Say what you mean & mean what you say. If you want to say no, say it. We live in a crazy busy world, where we have a ton of responsibilities that need to be met. When we stretch ourselves too thin, nothing gets accomplished.

9. Face your fears

Push yourself to go outside of your comfort zone. Nothing will happen for you unless you go out & do it.

Make the move. Take the job. Launch the blog. Start the business. Promote yourself. Start a conversation.

You will never know until you try.

10. Stop comparing your life or journey to anyone else

In this crazy world of social media, it can be very easy to compare & to dwell on an idea that might not even be real! No one is you & that is what makes you special. Not even your best friend has a similar journey to you.

Everyone is on their own path & you will never reach your full potential as an individual, partner, employee, athlete, or friend, if you are always playing the comparison game.

11. Is the non-stop partying worth it?

I’ve come a long way from my crop-top partying days LOL! I fell into a really negative cycle of partying during my first two years of college. At the time, I didn’t see an issue with it, & that’s disturbing because now I look back & I’m like OMG what was I doing.

Devin & I met at a party & we only went to I think two more & that’s it. For me, I didn’t feel the need to go out & I still have no desire. I’m not writing this to make you feel bad about going out & drinking, but for me, I noticed a HUGE difference in my mental & physical health once I stopped drinking & stopped going out.

For me, alcohol turned into something really negative & brought me back to a place where I wasn’t my best self. There was one day that I was just done. I haven’t drank in 2 years.

Drinking is a complete personal preference. But sometimes you don’t realize it’s playing a negative impact on your life until you take a step back.

12. Learn to enjoy quiet time by yourself

Learning to be still with my own thoughts is something I do really well & to be honest, I have always done this well since I was a child, so I guess I got a head start LOL.

Learning to be still without the need to reach for a distraction (phone, laptop, music, etc.), can be truly beneficial for relaxation, anxiety, mental health, & the relationship you have with yourself.

13. Embrace creativity

A healthy mind embraces creativity.

Whatever you enjoy doing, make more time for it! Whether it’s crafting, painting, playing an instrument, writing, drawing, cooking, painting, photography, sewing…the list goes on & on! Find what makes you happy & do more of it

14. Read!

This is an area where I am still improving. I used to read, not often, but I did read. Then I got busier & busier & I haven’t picked up a book in YEARS. Until this past month actually. Throughout this year, I need to make reading more of a habit.

Knowledge is power!! Be sure to check out this reading list!

15. Don’t be afraid of vocalizing your needs

Communication is an area where I am always looking to improve. Ever since I was little, I would have these in-depth conversations in my head. So I definitely have outstanding communication with myself LOL! BUT those around me cannot hear my thoughts, so when I need something or need to voice my opinion, I need to remind myself to be actually VOCAL.

If you never vocalize your needs or wants, they are never going to happen. I love the Secret Deodorant commercial (even though Secret is toxic! lol) where the woman is in the bathroom, rounding up the courage to ask her boss for a raise & another lady overhears from another stall & says “DO IT”!

I’m sure we have all been in a similar situation, where our needs needed to be heard…but we were nervous or scared to vocalize them! So let’s get over that fear & express our wants & needs.

16. Get your body moving

Everyone feels better when they exercise. Exercising doesn’t have to mean hitting the weights 6x a week. If that’s what you enjoy. FABULOUS. But know it’s not for everyone.

Go for a walk. Take a class. Do some yoga.

You can be gentle on your body while still getting in a good workout. This is what I have learned after retiring from being a collegiate athlete. Be sure to check out this post on ways to stay active & find motivation when working out at home!

17. Make an effort to learn something or do something new

When you learn something or do something new or something out of your comfort zone, you are given the opportunity to grow as an individual. That reason might be so tiny, but it might ignite a passion or something in you to drive you to accomplish something.

18. Invest in healthy relationships

Cutting out negative & toxic people from my life was one of the best things I could have ever done for myself. You really notice a difference in the shift of energy once you make necessary changes.

If the relationship or friendship isn’t healthy, I assure you, you don’t need it.

19. Learn to take feedback from others in a constructive way

I could go on for days & days about what being an athlete taught me in the grand scheme of things but this is up there in the top 5. Once you are able to take constructive criticism in a way that is healthy, meaning you aren’t going home & crying it about for hours, the better off you are.

If you can’t learn from your mistakes or utilize feedback in a positive way, you aren’t going to be able to grow as a person.

20. Love yourself for exactly who you are

Clique. I know. But really, like I said before, all of your other relationships/friendships stems from the relationship you have with yourself. Be kind, constructive, honest, & patient, towards your own self-love journey. Be sure to check out this post on how to welcome more self-love into your life!

Implementing positive lifestyle changes can really help you become more mindful of how you are living & will contribute to more meaningful choices in all aspects of life.

Can you relate to anything I shared within this post? I’d love to hear your thoughts!