10 Commandments of Mental Health
Think positively, it’s easier
Cherish the ones you love
Continue learning as long as you live
Learn from your mistakes
Exercise daily, it enhances your well being
Do not complicate your life unnecessarily
Try to understand and encourage those around you
Do not give up. Success in life is a marathon.
Discover and nurture your talents
Set intentions for yourself and pursue your dreams
When you look over this list, it may seem like blowing sunshine up your ass. Or in other words, “toxic Positivity.”
But look closer. Take each one at a time. See if you can pick one or two to focus on this week. Make a commitment to your mental health.
Think positively, it’s easier.
Our brains are naturally wired to look for danger. It takes effort to look at what’s going well, rather than what’s lacking in our lives. At the end of each day, ask yourself “What went well for me today?” Be mindful of your answers. Write them down. If you write down 3 things each day, you will have 90 things that are going well for you at the end of a month. That’s a lot of REAL positivity.
Cherish the ones you love.
It’s so easy to take our loved ones for granted, like they will always be with us. Our partners, friends, kids, parents. In the rush of life how often do we tell people how much we love and appreciate them? How often do we make eye contact and really listen? How often are we present with them? Take some time each day to purposely cherish the ones you love and see how your worry, overthinking and anxiety levels change. Make a list of all the ways you can cherish those you love and make a plan to show them.
Continue learning as long as you live.
Not just book learning or school. Learning a new skill keeps new neurons firing in your brain. Learning more about the people in your life brings more connection. My favorite thing to play with is pretending I know nothing about anything. Doing something I’ve done a million times from a different perspective, talking to someone I know well and pretending I know nothing about them. This brings out my sense of curiosity and playfulness. Experiencing people, places and things with a beginners mind is one of the principles of a mindfulness practice and keeps us all in a curious, open mindset.
Learn from your mistakes
We all make mistakes. Rather than overthink, wish we did something differently, said something else, took a left at that fork in the road of life instead of a right, reflect on the mistake. Accept that it has happened and decide how you want to feel about it. You may have feelings of shame or embarrassment, guilt or anger. Feel those emotions then ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” Try using the 4 L’s when you make a mistake.
1. What can I learn from this?
2. Laugh at it and yourself
3. Let it go
4. Love yourself
Exercise daily, it enhances your well-being
Simply changing your mindset from I have to go to the gym to I get to go to the gym changes how it feels in your body. If you are physically well enough to exercise, even if it’s chair yoga, you are blessed. We all know that after a workout, we feel amazing. Those endorphins flowing through our bodies and brains ensure that we want to do it again. If you are waiting for motivation you may be waiting a long time. Make a powerful decision for your physical and mental health and move your body.
Do not complicate your life unnecessarily
The drama. The chaos. The overscheduling. The stress. The overthinking. It’s all a choice. Learn how to say no. Set loving boundaries. Limit your availability to others. Do less.
Try to understand and encourage those around you
What thoughts do you have about those around you? Pick a few people you interact with regularly and write down a few thoughts you have about them. Notice your thoughts and then decide what you would need to think in order to understand and encourage those same people. Your thoughts determine how you feel. Your feelings determine how you act. In order to understand and encourage others, you need to have positive emotions about them.
Do not give up. Success in life is a marathon.
The only difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t is the fact that they didn’t give up. What if you tried something 100 times and gave up and the 101th time would have been successful. If someone else can accomplish your goal so can you. Maybe you don’t know quite how yet. Maybe you have less time right now, maybe you’re frustrated that it’s taking too long. Set a goal and do not give up on it until it’s done. We so often think “I tried.” Instead, try thinking, I’m doing it. It’s done. It’s a process. I’m committed. Those are the thoughts that will bring success in anything you do.
Discover and nurture your talents
What do you love? What are you great at? It’s not often we think about these things, since we spend a lot of time taking care of others, and wearing the badge of busi-ness. Take a moment and think about what you love. Gardening, Yoga, Music, Crafts…. Once you discover this talent, either learn more about it, participate in it more often or discover something new. Take some time to nurture your love for something. Something outside of work, family or responsibility. Something just for you, that you love.
Set intentions for yourself and pursue your dreams
This is sometimes a hard one to focus on. It is the most important one of all. We get lost in doing and being what everyone around us needs and wants that our own needs, desires and dreams for our lives often gets pushed aside for later, when there is time. When you set an intention to pursue your dreams you are prioritizing your own needs. You are not waiting for someone else to take care of you, you are not putting yourself last. Your dreams can be anything! Write them down, pick one and take one step toward fulfilling that dream. Get a babysitter and have lunch with a friend or coffee by yourself. Start a travel account and look at places to visit. Update your resume and look to see what’s out there. Take a class, meet new people, whatever your dreams are, start living them today.
10 is a lot of things. I get it. Pick one or two from this list that resonate with you. Commit to yourself and see what happens in a week or two. Be intentional with your thoughts and your time.
I know this was a long one, but the significance of our mental health cannot be ignored. Thank you for reading to the end, I truly hope that you will take some time and implement one thing!
With Love and Joy,
Sheila