The 21st century is full of progress, scientific discovery, and innovation. As the pace of modern development is so rapid that it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that increased convenience sometimes comes with new risks to people’s health, which may be overlooked for the time being but won’t go away permanently.
The implications of convenience are so detrimental to our well-being that suffering has become our immediate neighbour out of which mental health problems are at the forefront of the list, leading to a crisis in a person’s life.
Mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and chronic stress are affecting and plaguing humans day by day. In one word, the reason is our lifestyle and the growing competition to survive and thrive. Some call it the hustle culture, and others call it a productive life, but all these terms are just ruining the natural essence of living because not eating a healthy meal the whole day and completing three projects a day may sound like a productive life, but it cannot be considered as a healthy life in respect to physical and mental aspects.
Therefore, it’s important to continually prioritise mindful living despite one’s many responsibilities. Healthy habits like going for a walk in nature, meditating for five minutes, and eating three balanced meals a day will help you to be more fulfilled, happy, and powerful throughout the day in the long run.
Now, advocating that people should practise mindful living and having them actually do so are two very different things, and from my own personal experience, I have found that consistency is the key to creating a mindful life. So, it’s not possible to adopt a healthy lifestyle in a single day or even a week, but you may do it by taking baby steps and staying the course.
Begin by meditating for five minutes a day and then continue for a week and then extend that to one month. Once you’ve been meditating regularly for 30 days, you won’t need any external motivation to do so. Since now it’s second nature to you, you’ll be able to start another good habit with a clearer head and more energy.
As rising mental health issues are a major concern for the modern world and people are well aware of this, putting this knowledge into action is essential for a sustainable life, and I am underlining this again because mental health issues affect not only our minds, but also our bodies, and following the Covid pandemic, it is much more prevalent among the public as they suffer from various life stressors. Also, the stigma around mental health is still very much present among the general population, making it difficult for those in need to seek adequate treatment and care. So, it’s important to let people know that they can talk to mental health professionals for help if they need it.
Keep in mind the old adage, ‘Health is wealth.’ Therefore, handle it like you would your other material assets. You’d never risk damaging your car, so there’s no reason to jeopardise the health that allows you to operate one. It is crucial that you learn to alter your way of life and reprogram your thoughts about healthy living because as you age, you will lose strength and flexibility, but if you take good care of your mental and physical well-being from the start, you will benefit greatly even as you become older.
Taking care of one’s body and carrying out one’s responsibilities is essential to savouring life’s journey. I hope that this article may inspire everyone who is beginning a healthy lifestyle or preparing to do so.
Avni Mishra is a counselling psychologist from Swindon, England.
