Ditch These 5 Things Today to Instantly Improve Your Life

by Dorothy Watson and Dr. Howard Chusid

Nobody in the world is perfect, and we all have things in our lives we know aren’t good for our physical, mental, or emotional health. Maybe it’s a manipulative friend or spouse, unhealthy junk food habit, a job we’re burned out from, or negative thinking patterns. Maybe it’s clutter and disorganization at home.

Whatever the case, The Helping Place, LLC with offices in Hallandale and Coral Springs, Florida recommends ditching the five things below to instantly improve yourself and your personal life.

1. Poor Eating Habits

Poor nutrition isn’t just bad for your physical health; it has also been linked to depression, anxiety, and impaired cognition. However, ditching poor eating habits for healthier ones reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, boosts your mood and energy levels, and helps to prevent diabetes, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease.

To help you build better eating habits, start by incorporating one additional fruit or vegetable into your diet each day. Instead of reaching for an unhealthy snack in the afternoon (like a bag of potato chips), grab a handful of kale chips, a few apple slices with peanut butter, or carrot sticks with hummus. Other healthy snacks include cherry or grape tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, and snap peas.

2. Work You Can’t Stand

Some stress is good for you, especially when it’s motivating you to perform your best and achieve your personal and professional goals. But if you’re experiencing work-related stress, irritability, or anxiety that’s interfering with your ability to think, sleep, focus, or get motivated each day, it may be time for a career change.

3. Negative Thinking

Like ditching poor eating habits and quitting a job you can’t stand, saying goodbye to negative thinking patterns can do wonders for the mind and body. So the next time negative thoughts start creeping in, try a few approaches from Mike Souheil of Thrive Global:

●?????Observe and improve your body language.

●?????Put your thoughts into words.

●?????Meditate to clear your mind for a minute or two.

●?????Think from another perspective.

●?????Write, draw, or paint as a form of self-therapy.

●?????Separate yourself from the situation by taking a quick walk.

●?????Create a gratitude list that details the things you’re most thankful for.

If you’re still having trouble thinking more positively even after trying these different approaches, several mobile apps can help. Elizabeth Scott of Verywell Mind recommends Live Happy, Happify, Think Up, and Thought Diary.

4. Excess Clutter

Living in an overly cluttered home not only causes a myriad of negative feelings and emotions, but it also has a negative effect on your physical health and personal relationships. Try turning your home into a more positive space by keeping it organized, clean, and de-cluttered, as the benefits of de-cluttering include reduced allergy symptoms, improved focus and productivity, and fewer conflicts between household members. And if staying on top of clutter is a challenge for you, it might be worthwhile to hire a house cleaning or organizational service.?

5. Toxic People

Toxic relationships affect our mental health in many ways, which is why it’s important to eliminate the people in our lives who are manipulative, judgmental, unapologetic, and unsupportive of who we are and how we choose to live our lives. This could mean cutting ties with a toxic friend, relative, co-worker, or spouse, especially those who are unwilling to work on themselves and the relationship.

For those who need help getting rid of spouses from marriages that no longer serve them, divorce mediation is a good starting point. The Helping Place, LLC works closely with couples to make joint decisions affecting their families, such as how the couple’s assets and liabilities will be divided in the divorce. A mediator can also help couples to determine child and spousal support amounts, and create a plan that outlines how children will divide their time between each parent.

The Bottom Line

Change is hard and you certainly don’t have to ditch all of these five things at once. Take the time to evaluate your situation and consider the things you want and need in order to live your best life. Once you’ve done so, you can start thinking about the positive changes you’d like to make!

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Howard Chusid, Ed.D., LMHC, NCC has a doctorate in Counseling Psychology, Board Certified Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family and Circuit Civil Mediator. He is a member of CHADD and of ADD.org. He is a member of AMHCA, FMHCA and a FMHCA ethics committee member. He works with children and adults with ADD/HD and with veterans with PTSD. He has written many articles on ADD/HD and Divorce Mediation. With offices in both Hallandale and Coral Springs, Florida Dr. Chusid can be reached at our website at; www.TheHelpingPlacefl.com and www.PTSDSolutionsTherapy.com Call 954-455-0388 for any questions.