Summary

The web content discusses daily habits for maintaining mental well-being and balance, emphasizing the importance of breathing exercises, walking, reading, and journaling amidst personal and global challenges.

Abstract

The article "Easy Daily Habits For A Balanced Mind" explores the significance of self-care practices during tumultuous times. It acknowledges the anxiety induced by personal career shifts, creative endeavors, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. The author reflects on the effectiveness of deep breathing, body-scanning meditation, daily walking, morning reading, and journaling as tools for staying positive and maintaining mental health. These habits are presented as accessible ways to find calmness, presence, and self-understanding, with the author sharing personal experiences and recommending resources such as specific meditation videos and reading trackers.

Opinions

The author believes that intentional deep breathing can significantly contribute to a sense of calmness.
Regular walking is considered essential for health, with the author using an app to track and encourage daily movement.
Reading, particularly in the morning, is portrayed as a meditative and enriching practice.
Journaling is highly recommended for its meditative writing and reflective benefits, despite initial skepticism from the author.
The author endorses using technology, such as YouTube meditation videos and reading trackers, to support these daily habits.
There is an endorsement for joining Medium and following the author for more content.
The author promotes an AI service, ZAI.chat, as a cost-effective alternative to ChatGPT Plus(GPT-4), suggesting its value in providing similar performance and functions.

Self-improvement I Well-being I Balance

Easy Daily Habits For A Balanced Mind

What they are and how they can help you.

We all need to take care of ourselves.

Take time.

Reflect.

This past year has been anxiety-inducing. Changing career with all the financial implications and rejection that it brings; trying to establish creative side projects; hoping that my dear ones will make it through the pandemic; the war in Ukraine which is so close to my home country.

It’s hard to stay on track and be positive when there is so much going on around you.

Nonetheless, the only option is to continue and as things are starting to show positive signs (especially career-wise), I’ve been reflecting on this period and the daily habits that helped me the most.

You might know some of them, while others will be new to you. Whatever the case, I hope it brings you some degree of balance.

Breathe

Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

Of course, you breathe, you wouldn’t be alive otherwise. But do you take deep breaths throughout the day? If you do, you know the difference. This feeling of calmness takes over you (even if just for a second) when you take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

Because of anxiety, at times, I felt like I was not getting enough air in my lungs and had to take a moment to breathe.

Along with breathing, there is another exercise that I’ve been following which is a 10-minute body-scanning meditation, or at least that’s what I call it. I basically follow a video on Youtube called Daily Calm | 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation | Be Present and those 10 minutes are the best relaxation exercise I have experienced, except for journaling perhaps which I will talk about later.

Walk

My partner was telling me the other day how crazy it is that we have to make time in our schedules to go walking when as humans, we are made to walk.

It’s true but it is what it is and we have to adapt. And one way to adapt is to use an app.

For about 3 years now, I’ve been tracking how much I walk daily and this has helped me keep a good daily average of 5k. I’m using the Health app on the iPhone, but there are others you can use like Pacer.

Some days I’m shocked at how little I walk (because I’m stuck to my computer), and that’s why the app is important. It reminds me that I need to make it up for the days I don’t walk (much) to reach my goal.

Read

I didn’t read as a child. It was only in my early 20’s that I started reading and it was for a practical reason: to learn English. Later in life, I discovered the wonderful universe of books and have been hooked ever since.

One of the best reading habits of this past year has been reading in the morning, as soon as I wake up.

I only check my phone for the time and then I immerse myself in reading.

It’s almost as good as meditation.

BTW if you want a way to keep track of your readings, find new books, and get inspired to read more, check out my article👇🏻.

How To Find Good Books, Keep Track Of Your Readings, And Get Inspired To Read More

When someone mentions this great book they’ve read and you make a mental note to look it up, but you end up forgetting…

medium.com

Journal(ing)

I was not keen to start journaling as I had the impression that it was an Instagram trend and had little consistency to it. I was wrong.

Journaling is like writing meditation.

Not only does it allow you to take a break from your computer screen, but it will make you more present. It will also allow you to go back to a certain moment in your life that you maybe didn’t fully comprehend. Writing how you feel in a particular moment will help you assess that feeling later on and understand it and yourself more.

For those of you wondering what journal(ing) is, here’s the official definition:

“A record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use: DIARY”.

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” Anthony J. D’Angelo

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