This mental health awareness week we’re talking about the 5 ways, the things we can do to keep us healthy. Not just healthy though, I believe it’s the things we do here that keep us at our best performance wise too.
I’m also a fan of keeping things simple (it’s one of the S’s in fact) so I thought it’s a great time to talk about my 3 key things that keep me at my best and things that are so simple they’re often overlooked, yet I believe can have the biggest impact for us where mental health and our performance and peak cognitive function are concerned.
Whilst we’re talk about mental health awareness week and ways to wellbeing I thought I’d share my top 3 S’s for wellbeing and not just that but peak performance too!
1. Space.
This is by far the most important and more under rated way to wellness. When we create space we create time. This allows us to connect to the present and to ourselves. It gives us space to reflect and contemplate, to be still and quiet in a world that’s busy and noisy. It’s here we have our best ideas, hear the voice within of our intuition and so often our wisest guide. We find it easier to solve problems and make decisions form this space and it also promotes a sense of calm that overcomes any overwhelm. It helps order our thoughts and gives us time to focus on some of the activities we never get around to (think journalling, reflection, self-care).
2. Solitude
When we get space we often also create time for ourselves and regardless of whether we’re introverts or extroverts we all need a few minutes to ourselves, for ourselves. I love Julia Cameron’s concept of Artist Dates in this space. Designed for creativity but critical for wellness she advises taking yourself on a date somewhere different to stimulate thinking and give yourself some space. The only condition is that it has to be by yourself. How often do we ever take ourselves out for coffee or lunch or just a simple bush walk to a new beach? Quite often the only time we do this is if it’s for and with others. Of course it doesn’t have to be a date, it can be a hot bath when everyone is in bed or a cup of tea by yourself with your own thoughts before anyone else in the house is awake. Whatever works for you, where do you get your ‘me time’
3. Simplicity
Another underrated concept and one I love is simplicity. It’s the smallest things that often make the biggest difference and I believe the less we have in our diary the less stress there is. The less we have in our house the less there is the clean and move and insure or worry about breaking. It’s often the difference between quantity and quality, less can be more and I believe less is better.
This flies in the face of what we’ve been taught though. We’ve been encouraged for decades that more is better and the more things we do the more successful we’ll be and yet what we’re seeing when that’s applied is simply an increase in burnout. I believe we should be focusing on value and impact (quality) rather than hours worked or number of things on our list (quantity).
It’s why minimalism and the kondo method of having a clean out and simplifying our wardrobe got so famous. Simple feels good, it reduces our mental load and therefore our stress. So often we overcomplicate things and add to our stress. We make the mistake of thinking that simple is not as impactful because it’s not hard and yet so often the opposite is true.
This doesn’t mean we all need to go and have a clear out but a clean desk is often a more productive space for that reason. The same applies to our minds and the baggage we carry around in there too! Simple can be how we approach our wellness goals. For example stirring spinach into our meals to get more veg rather than planning an entire detox. Getting out for a walk rather than waiting to sign up for the next personal training boot camp at the gym. Doing a few stretches at home rather than having to commit to a 10 week yoga course in the city. Using a meditation app to get some stillness rather than planning that 6 week trip to India.
With goals we’re often looking to add things constantly, what about if we took something away? Letting go, stopping bad habits, disposing of limiting beliefs, delegating and asking for support are all examples of doing less rather than more that get us closer to success.
So what are your keys to wellness and how can you use space, solitude and simplicity to help you achieve your wellbeing goals?