From Boring to Blissful: The Joys of Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle.

I get why people would feel and believe that being healthy & living a healthy lifestyle is boring.

It means eating green food only and sleeping earlier than usual to wake earlier to make a super-smoothie to kick start the day. It means swapping a hobby or making time for exercise. It means less partying, alcohol, late nights, junk food, more meal planning, veggies, early morning runs and an organised sleep routine.

They fail to see all the fab feels that come with focusing and prioritising health! A fair share of work goes into living a healthier lifestyle. No, it doesn’t have to be complicated and most certainly doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it’s not.

How I see it is, you get out what you put in. For me, alcohol leads to anxiety, inadequate sleep, a day destructed and regret. Why do that to myself? It’s tedious and frustrating when I can’t do the things I so badly want to do or need to do, like think clearly.

A good night’s sleep is vital not only for my energy levels but also for my health, well-being and body. My body and mind need rest to reset, rejuvenate & recover.

Being healthy doesn’t have to be boring, and it doesn’t have to be something you throw yourself in overnight. If living a better, healthier life is on your mind, start by making minor changes.

Find an exercise you enjoy – yoga? Running? Kickboxing? Find what you like and do that! Drink more water, and if water bores you (how? it’s delicious!), add some flavour to it. Choose a few days per week that you commit to sleeping early, and Friday may be your Netflix binge night (something to look forward to). Change your eating habits by choosing 3-4 meals per week that will be super healthy, then make it seven days per week (or, again, have a takeaway night on Friday, something to look forward to). 

Start small, but do start somewhere because our health is our greatest gift – truly. Feeling good, having energy, being happy, thinking clearly & effortless breathing is exciting. Doing the same thing over and over and over again and feeling terrible is not- (i.e. binge drinking week-in week-out, eating MacD for lunch because its the closest thing to working and it’s cheap, fast and does the job or falling asleep on the sofa every night due to exhaustion without getting in PJs and sticking to a sleep pattern). Well, it is for me.

Once you make a healthy change – no matter how small – it very quickly becomes addictive, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this before! So for you, you need to decide, really & truly, what’s essential for you. Does the idea of living longer and better bore you or excite you? Does having more energy and brain power inspirit you, or doesn’t phase you? Does the idea of having a rush of endorphins lift you or bore you to death? If not, carry on as you are. No judgement whatsoever. You have to do what makes you happy. You need to find what that is.

Hanieh Vidmar, 2023.