As the saying goes, health is wealth. But keeping ourselves mentally and physically healthy these days has become a challenge due to ongoing global crises affecting our livelihoods and the high cost of wellness and healthcare these days.
But the good news is, there are many activities out there that you can do to take care of yourself. One more bit of good news is that you wouldn’t need to spend so much money to do them.
Keeping Fit With A Twist
Exercising and eating a balanced diet are basic things people can do to keep their bodies healthy. Of course, exercise is crucial, and when it comes to a nutritious diet, dietitians focus on eating the right food. However, you should not limit wellness to physical wellness alone. It’s a concerted effort to keeping your mental faculties sharp and your body active.
Alternatively, the following section is a quick list of mental wellness practices that you might have overlooked. These activities also don’t require you to spend money because practicing wellness doesn’t have to be expensive.
Learn a New Recipe
The sudden increase of people who are suddenly into cooking and baking is not surprising because it is very therapeutic to make your food. There are also some websites and apps that you should check out to have more recipes to try out. Some websites even give you recipes based on the ingredients you already have in your pantry. Not only will you save money if you cook your food, but you can also lessen food waste while you entertain yourself in the process.
Learn a New Language
Studies have constantly proven that learning a new language is good for our long-term and short-term memory and problem-solving skills. It can also improve your creative thinking, verbal skills, and spatial abilities. Some free apps like Duolingo can help you start your journey to becoming multilingual. Next time, you can thank everyone in Finnish.
Start Writing
You don’t have to be a talented writer to give writing a try. You can write something simple like poems, short stories, journals, lyrics, a list of things to do for the day, and a list of things to be grateful for. As Robin Moore once said, people are natural storytellers, and each one has a story waiting to be told.
Read Something
American psychologist Laurie Helgoe once said that reading is like traveling that allows everyone to live vicariously until the last pages of a book to have a renewed perspective in life. With that in mind, let yourself travel through books. You can read a book, a news article, or a poem. On paper, reading might seem insignificant, but it does wonders to your mind.
Take Time to Discover New Hobbies
There are many movies, books, music, stories, and ideas waiting to be discovered. With just one click on Google, you can access an entire galaxy of them. Give it a try—you never know one of your discoveries could become your new favorite thing.
Otherwise, Rediscover Old Hobbies
Discovering something new is cool. But rediscovering your old passions can give you a good dose of nostalgia to counter negative feelings like boredom and loneliness.
Maybe you can play with the building toys you had as a kid with your kid now or listen to a band you haven’t heard in a long time. Maybe you can pick up the guitar again and play the tunes you listened to in your youth. Going through the motions of life can sometimes make you forget about these things that give you happiness, so it’s not a bad idea to do the things you used to love.
Give in to Your Guilty Pleasures
Unfortunately, the world is full of judgmental people who call the things that please us tacky. But life is too short to base our decisions on those judgments.
If you feel happy listening to K-Pop and Taylor Swift, then, by all means, play them out loud. If you enjoyed “50 Shades of Grey”, then read and watch them all again. It’s time to live our lives according to what brings us happiness.
Give Yourself a Break
Sometimes doing nothing for a day has benefits for the mind and body. It can help you reset your brain and become more energized and productive after a bit of respite. So don’t feel bad about not doing anything. You can slow down and be idle. You’re not lazy for taking time to do nothing. Just stay still and savor a slow, uneventful day.
There are more wellness activities you can do that won’t require you to spend a dime. The more you take care of yourself, the more you will discover more of these things. So make sure you spend time appreciating the simple things in life.