Let’s face it, life can be all sorts of hard. The journey is often about moving through the challenges and coming out the other side having learned and grown. It’s easier said than done, especially when you’re not feeling all that good inside of yourself. Finding freedom in daily life can feel insurmountable. But there are things you can do each day to get you there.
Sometimes life can make you feel like a prisoner, and no matter what you do, you’re not able to break from the chains and be who you want to be. But this is a feeling, not a fact, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can fly free and be the whole, free person you are meant to be.
I believe in a holistic approach to moving through the challenges of life. It’s at the root of all my work with people of all ages as a counselor, coach and consultant. There are many different ways of finding freedom in daily life. You have to find what works best for you. Look at this as a trial and error process until you find what works.
Here are some ways to finding freedom in daily life:
Healthy body healthy mind
We can’t overrate the importance of nutrition. What you put into your body has a huge impact on the way you feel, both physically and mentally. It’s so important that you give yourself all of the good nutrients, minerals, and vitamins so that your body can function to the best of its ability. A good way to ensure you are getting all the phytonutrients that help your body and your brain work together is to eat the rainbow. Choose a wide variety of colorful vegetables and fruits as the foundation of your dietary choices. And it does not mean we have to forego all the tasty treats! Raw honey, for example not only has tremendous health benefits but it’s one of Nature’s most delicious treats. You can buy raw honey online or visit your local farmer’s market.
Don’t take moving and breathing for granted.Finding freedom in daily life means keeping your body and lungs moving regularly and consciously. It’s all too easy to fall into a sedentary way of life as we drive our cars everywhere rather than walking or biking and we spend so much time hunched over our computers and smart phones. There is research that suggests that sedentary behavior is linked to depression. An antidote to this risk is to set a timer every 30 minutes if you are sitting at work all day and get up and do 5 minutes of brisk moving activity. Go for a walk, run in place, stretch your body in alternate directions. Additionally becoming conscious of how deeply and fully you breathe can also be helpful. Try my bubble blowing breath exercise when you feel your stress level spike or just to ensure you are engaging with your breath regularly.
Negate the negativity
Negativity comes in all different forms, from the things you see in the media, the music you listen to, the people you associate yourself with, and even your own mind. Have you ever noticed that when you allow yourself to become wrapped up in a negative discussion on social media or with a group of people you feel heavy afterward? Or notice if you watch hours of bad news on the television you might feel anxious or depressed? While it’s not healthy to avoid the challenges in front of us, we do have to be discerning as to what we can do to improve a situation and if it’s beyond our control, it’s healthy to move on and away.
Life is too short to be consumed by negative things – so let it go. Choose to walk away and not engage with negativity. This doesn’t mean the negativity completely disappears, it just means that you’re not willing to give it attention anymore. There are techniques and strategies to help you redirect and shift negative thinking. Cognitive-behavioral therapy with a qualified psychotherapist can be very effective for learning particular techniques for turning thoughts around and developing ways to intentionally live a more positive life.
Be playful
Play is not only for children. In fact, we all have a little child within at any age and stage in life. Play is for all ages.
Making a conscious effort to build play into your day will lift your mood, help you to connect with others in a meaningful way and improve your overall health. When I work with couples I encourage playful activities to support bonding and growing the relationship in a healthy direction. You can read more about how to bring play to your love relationship here.
Finding freedom in daily life is more of a conscious decision than a chance happening. Take your life by the reigns each day and make daily choices that support your own freedom of mind, body and spirit.