As the world slowly comes out of a pandemic-struck world, people are more keen to find balance in their life after having experienced long-term fatigue. This means finding the perfect amount of time to allocate to work, socializing and to yourself. For a lot of people, that is focusing on themselves in their own space - wherever that may be. It is not a secret that exercise is good for you. If you are reading this, you already know all of that.
Everyone has a different motivation to incorporate exercise into their lives - all of which are fair and in their own right. Coming out of being locked indoors for almost two years with no consistency or stability, the focus has been shifted doing what makes the mind healthy. Exercise has a brilliant and profound impact on your mental health - as of recent, there has been progress made by researchers in terms of understanding where exercise comes into play when referring to mental health. The general benefits are that it gives you focus, helps with erratic sleeping patterns, a sense of accomplishment and even stimulation for any further activities. But, exercise has also been found to affect the regions of the brain that are greatly affected by depression and schizophrenia. It gives you an almost instant boost, and with consistency - the results become permanent. If anything, one 20 minute walk a day can work wonders.
When we get older, we tend to lose touch with the elements of life that are implemented to aid with your personal well-being. Other things start to take precedence - work, relationships. Not that these are things that are to be ignored, but sometimes they do not leave room for you to focus on you. We get very caught up in hustle culture that we forget to take a step back every once in a while and give time and attention to our health. Our health is of the utmost importance. It is imperative to be taken care of every day - not only when you crash. It should not take you hitting rock bottom to realise how important you are. Having an active lifestyle does not mean do not take a break. It means take the time to take care of yourself. You could be doing a myriad of things between giving 100% of yourself to your job, and then taking time to go see your loved ones, indulging in things that make you happy. At the end of it, if you feel an overwhelming sense of fatigue, or stress - you are not taking care of yourself.
Of course, this is easier said than done. A good first step is understanding that the results will be ever-so rewarding; while you may not see it or feel it as quick as you would like to, it will happen. You will find yourself feeling more at ease, sleeping better, enjoying your time more and being more present with yourself and your loved ones. The motivation will be a domino effect - one good result, and more will come your way. Do something, do anything. All you need to do is start.