In the cover image of this post, someone can make out two empty frames and two flowers underneath. Everyone can approach this picture differently and proceed in a different way. Someone can choose to put two pictures in these frames or hose the two flowers. Someone else may choose to put these flowers in a larger pot and let them grow. In any case, the decision that a person will make will define the well-being of the planters and the angle of this wall.
As a young child, I used to dream about my future accomplishments, but as time went on, I noticed that my motivation started to wane. There was even a period in my life when I lost hope and thought that I could not control my actions.
Undoubtedly, I was wrong because by changing the quality of my thinking, I also changed the quality of my life. Just as positive words can make someone smile or a well-timed humorous quote can make someone laugh, in the same way do our thoughts respond to the world in real time.
Many things in life are a matter of luck, but people cannot stay calm and expect everything to be a gift. Each individual is responsible for his quality of life and the way that responds to every possible challenge. For this reason, it is important that each person maintains a positive attitude, balances between positive and negative feelings, and assesses thoughts under stressful circumstances.
It is beneficial to think and act with gratitude, and I practice this with great effort every day by either thinking about or writing down what I am grateful for. These can be big things, like having a place to sleep at night, or smaller things, like getting love from my friends. None of them are taken for granted by me and I always try to develop a sense of purpose and appreciation in life.
How I practice my mental health?
Here I created a video to show how I make my daily routine more creative and happy.
https://youtu.be/RpgXIyt2hHA
First and foremost, I really try to take care of my physical care, either through healthy eating or fitness. This way I can really listen to my body and feel more confident. It also helps me feel better mentally and reduce my daily anxiety and stress. Moreover, I try to deal with times of loneliness and it is not always an easy task. Sometimes I escape my depressed feelings by going for a walk, running, calling my hometown friends, or even engaging more on social media. For example, recently I discovered a platform called “Tik Tok” where I watch funny videos from other users or post my own content. Being involved in such communities, even virtually, gives me a sense of belonging and it can mitigate any negative feeling.
“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
― Steve Jobs
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Katerina! Very inspiring.
Looking forward to your next post
Thank you very much dear Maria !:)
Katerina your post is so inspiring! It feels so good to remember how small changes in our lifestyle can change our lives. Keep up the good work!!
Dear Despina, thank you so much for your lovely words!
In the era of the pandemic, curfew, lockdown, quarantine, uncertainty about the future, and home office, mental health has become a topical subject. Especially working from home, although it may be beneficial and time-effective, can bear mental health issues that arise from socializing less and from subconsciously correlating our home – a place to relax – with our work – a potentially stressful environment.
I like your approach and I find some similarities with my way of thinking. One of the first things that will come to most people’s mind when discussing about improving mental health would be to hang out with friends. This is the easiest approach but can be temporary. The key here is to create a new routine; a routine that you honestly like and can hardly be boring. Taking time to exercise is not for everyone, but I need to confess that when I used to train, I was feeling happy for the rest of the day – for no specific reason. The best day was Sunday, getting up from a good sleep, leaving home before sunrise, participating in an early-morning running competition and then appreciating a full day with a smile on my face and a lot of joy.
I am not a subject expert, but my advice to everyone would be to consume less video streaming content and create a healthy, joyful and productive routine. Good sleep, good nutrition, some exercise and lots of positive thoughts. And of course, friends to ..spice up the routine! You’ll start to see the benefits from day 1 and you’ll thank yourself later.
Thank you for this post! I look forward to reading more from you.
I love the way that you address your thoughts Ioanni!
Thank you for sharing your experience and insights with me. I hope that I provided you with some useful content and I am looking forward to train with you on a Sunday!
Once again thank you very much for your feedback, it means a lot to me.
Have a love evening!
Katerina
Such an inspiring article Katerina! I love the way you write ✍️ Keep sharing your thoughts!!
Thank you Ioanna for taking the time and reading my posts!
Very inspiring!! I am looking forward for your next post.
It such a funny movie. I love the music! Cannot stop laughing ?
Thank you dear! I am glad that I made you laugh!
Thanks for sharing those interesting thoughts. I believe that most of us, at a point in our life, experienced similar feelings and situations. It was enlightening that with few minor changes we can significantly improve our lives.
Before the pandemic we kept complaining about the fast pace of our life, for the lack of work-life balance, the stress caused by the daily traffic, the lack of time to cook healthier foods, finding more time for ourselves or to spend with family and friends etc.. Nowadays, even though people have more time and the pace of life have changed to the better and we have more free time for us and for our friends we are getting more depressed and we still do not use time for us productively. What is interesting is that, apparently, no matter if we have much free time or not, if we live an intense life or not, if we work more or not, the necessity to prioritize our mental health, by spending quality time with ourselves and others, remains the same.
Thank you for your time to read and comment! Such an inspiring feedback!
Thank you dear Stathis!
Very inspiring article Katerina! I loved your video and the choice of music! Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback Vasia!!:)