3 simple rules for a better (mental) hygiene
Unconventional, organic and independent
Umm, mental hygiene?
Cleansing and giving sufficient nutritional value to your body isn’t enough, or so I have realized in this quarantine journey.
We pick up cues; essentially the narratives, stories, and habits, that weave the thread of our thought processes. And in these cues — is where we find the power to balance our mind and body.
But what is this thread hasn’t been stitched well?
It breaks our power — it leads to a loss of self-control.
Tell me if there haven’t been times when you knew something that you were going to say or do is harmful but you did it anyway. Tell me if there haven’t been times when you know you aren’t feeling too good about yourself, no matter how much confidence you emit on the surface. Tell me if fitness of the body and a healthy lifestyle gives you a sense of direction and hold on what makes your day.
You’re a genius if your answers say otherwise because I surely learned my lessons hard and made a side note in my ocean palm.
Simple and sweetly baked 3 strands of layer — that gives out the tastiest cake in the whole wide world.
Rule 1. Take the 21-day challenge: I swear this is the most underrated measure of things in the long term scheme. Whatever, and I say that again in bold — whatever weaknesses you think you have — take them one by one, peel them off raw and put it in a mixer with the 21-day challenge. Any human weakness/problem statement occurs because of some pre-designed pattern that can be cracked by the mind when you break it purposely, one shred at a time. If you are lucky, you will be able to do it in one go. But history suggests otherwise and the mere fact that its a weakness will make you bend on your knees and you’d fail. And not just once, or twice. Several attempts and a crushing smile at the bottom, you will find yourself slightly better and rising at the top.
Rule 2. Put the Screen Time on your phone, just like right away: It is easier to say that your screen time must be 4/5/6/7 hours when you just have to estimate. But when you practically see yourself submerged under the water, all day, every day, for weeks — it changes how you feel about yourself, your life and everything that you do on your phone. With the lockdown in place, its in fact harder to stay away since work, study and even free time — all end up leading to digital nativity. Where is my peace of my mind? Nowhere. No matter how many calories I am burning every day — I go back to my bed thinking about the last post I saw on Instagram and if I should open WhatsApp again and do that reply now or later in the morning. I am captivated by every external factor that can possibly exist and doing things that the internet says are going to help me. Do they? My screen time will surely reflect.
Rule 3. Create a journal: This is obviously the most unlikable feature of the cake because of the immense hard work and exploration that comes with it as baggage. Problem isn’t writing. Problem is reflecting about yourself and then spilling it out loud. Journals are the medium where we channelize our true energies with maximum vulnerability. It proves to be the matchstick to ignite all the suppressed energy that the body has forgotten about. The difficult part? Consistency. Not just in routine. But in the hard work that comes in thinking about your actions and day in retrospect; especially the parts you would conveniently forget otherwise. It builds your metabolism to avoid the same bullshit that your negative self might feed you everyday and also encourage you to uplift yourself on days when you don’t have your shadow around.
Cherry on the cake? A bombshell mix of all three things happening together and not in isolation.
But you try one, and tell me if this didn’t make your life better? Because it’s a tried and tested thing. It works because our mind functions in a specific way, irrespective of our differences.
Challenge — Calculate — Create
So, 3Cs for some peace, and your mental health would really never seize
