What lifestyle do you want for yourself? Do you know how to attain it? Read on to find out practical ways to live your dream.
Life is all about choices. Choices change and are usually based on your lifestyle. Every day, you choose what food to eat, what clothes to wear, and so forth. All of this impacts how you live.
Your lifestyle is yours to choose, but have you chosen it? Are you living consciously or simply going with the flow? How do you choose to live your life? What lifestyle do you want? Is it the right kind of lifestyle for you?
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Why It’s Important to Choose a Lifestyle
Knowing what lifestyle you want to live pushes you to establish your priorities and keeps you grounded. Ultimately, the biggest thing you have control over is your behavior. Appropriately adjusting what you do can push you forward to the life you want to live.
With all the information available about different lifestyles, which lifestyle should you follow? What is the ideal lifestyle?
What Is the Ideal Lifestyle?
There is no ‘one size fits all’ lifestyle. The ideal path enables you to fulfill your life’s purpose. It’s the lifestyle that allows you to live your best possible reality according to your value system, priorities, and preferences.
It will take care of your emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is more about quality than quantity of life. Rather than push you to your goals at any cost, it keeps you safe from destruction.
Based on this description, what works for you won’t necessarily work for someone else.
While circumstances differ, lifestyle remains a product of what is around you and what you allow into your life.
How to Choose What Works for You
1. Define Your Priorities
What is important to you? Is it a big job or a career? Is it raising a family? Maybe you feel passionate that you should start a business. Maybe you want a pet.
It may even be that you want to increase your income, become a better version of yourself, learn a new skill, or make new friends and increase your valuable networks.
It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s important to you and adds value to your life. You want it to add value because priorities affect how you live your life. Why would you want things that aren’t building you?
2. Adjust How You Live in Line with Your Priorities
Now you know where you want to go. Do you know what you need to get there?
Do a little research and find out what is required for your priorities to be actualized. Will you have to save more, watch your spending, increase your income, or maybe change your eating and exercise habits?
Dropping old habits, adopting new habits, and sticking to them are complex tasks. It takes a lot of discipline because change isn’t easy. You may start excitedly, but then the fire fizzles out as you go along the way.
That’s not a problem. You simply need to reset and start afresh. The longer you keep at it, the higher the likelihood it will become a part of you. Once you adapt to the new habits, you’ll be well on your way to your new lifestyle!
3. Stay Healthy
How will you enjoy your newfound life trajectory if you aren’t healthy? Good physical health will give you the energy you need to work at your goals and enjoy them when you achieve them.
There are different aspects of health to consider. You will notice they are somewhat intertwined, with one affecting the other. Aim for all of them with time.
Here are some of them:
Nutrition
It begins with what you put into your body. What are you eating? Healthy eating habits impact your wellbeing and can’t be overemphasized. Are you on any diet? Does that diet provide you with the energy and focus you need?
Eating the right kind of food will keep many diseases at bay. Introducing more fresh fruits and vegetables and reducing processed foods will reduce the likelihood of obesity. Obesity, left unchecked, opens the door for heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and many more ailments. The ripple effect is far-reaching.
Rest
No, it’s neither too much nor a waste of time. Rest is an essential aspect of health and wellness. Aim for about seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
Sleep deprivation will mess with your mood and lead to other health conditions. On the other hand, getting enough sleep will leave you energized and feeling refreshed. That’s what you need to get you through a busy day.
Physical Exercise
Movement and exercise are also crucial to physical health. The human body is designed to move, seeing as you have joints and muscles. A recent study showed even choosing to stand up for 30 minutes instead of sitting makes a difference in the older population.
Another study showed physical activity impacts your mental health and wards off depression in the long run. Exercise releases feel-good hormones, boosting your mood and keeping you happy.
Avoid certain detrimental habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, and using drugs. These affect your health both in the long and short term. If you are already using them, gradually reduce your indulgence until you kick them completely.
4. Surround Yourself with People with Similar Priorities
Humans are social beings, and we can’t run away from this fact. As you grow older, you realize the value of social connections, more so when you’re trying something new.
People who understand your choice of the journey are more likely to provide the support you need. They can offer helpful insights and guidance on your path and push you towards it. You can learn a lot from them.
If nothing else, they are less likely to discourage you. Encouragement is necessary because there will be days you will want to quit. Things will become difficult along the way for different reasons, and you might consider throwing in the towel, but an external perspective can open your mind and revive your resolve.
You also need the right support system. Some may know nothing about your choices but still choose to encourage you through them. Keep naysayers at arm’s length because they will slowly chip at your confidence and erode whatever motivation you’ve accumulated this far.
5. Work Your Brain Appropriately
Everything begins and ends in the mind. Your decisions begin with the right thoughts, which then translate to actions. Actions will give you results, intended or otherwise. What do you allow to dominate your thoughts? Try and steer your thoughts towards things that will benefit your goals.
Keep a positive mindset as well. Positivity will improve your mood and creativity. It also offers tons of physical benefits, including improving your resistance to illness and improved stress management.
Good brain health is also necessary to boost your memory and focus. Consider doing proper reading, puzzles, listening to music, and more cognitive activities to keep your brain fit. A focused brain will help you make the necessary decisions coming your way.
6. Be Patient with Yourself
Choosing the life you want to live is one thing, and living it is a different thing altogether. You may encounter some distractions, disappointments, and obstacles along the way. Don’t let these discourage or deter you from working at it.
Failing is part of the process. Look at it as an opportunity to learn and be better. Get up, dust yourself, and keep going. Get up as many times as you need to until you reach your goal.
Remember, building something worthwhile takes time, and this is no exception. Give yourself some room to make mistakes, grow, and build something formidable.
You are best placed to cheer yourself on and boost your self-esteem during this season. External encouragement is excellent, but you need your own more. Nobody else knows what you want in as much detail as you do. You are, after all, the bearer of the vision.
Final Word
Knowing how to choose a lifestyle you can uphold is the first step. Implementing all of it is the beginning of a new chapter in your life. It goes beyond material pursuits. A wholesome life is more fulfilling and what you should be aiming for.
Try it out, one aspect at a time. If you fall off the wagon, try again and aim for better. Progress and genuine happiness and fulfillment are more desirable than perfection.
If you want to start now and create a meaningful, balanced life, check this guide.
Shachar is a blogger and sensitive person who worked in a recruitment company and holds a master’s degree in sociology. After years of struggles to find purpose, he made this blog to help others find their purpose more efficiently. He likes to play chess, walk in nature, and take photos in his free time.