Here are 7 tips to update your wellness routine for autumn.
I love the change in seasons, every different season brings its changing perspectives and focuses. As we are preparing to step into the season of fall, it encourages a space of change and transition. Autumn reminds us of the beauty of letting go, so that we can transition forward and release the things that are no longer working or serving us.
In all honesty, I had been feeling hopeful and optimistic as we are closing off the summer. Yet continued observations of all the things that I am seeing take shape around us, to the state of politics, the doom and gloom of a potential recession, rising costs of fuel and living can feel incredibly challenging to remain optimistic. I’m so over it all and dwelling in the doom and gloom doesn’t serve anyone.
It’s in these moments that I am always reminded that life is always going to be full of challenges, in fact, isn’t it overcoming challenges that makes us thrive the most?
We cannot control what is going on in the world around us, but we can take control of how we respond to external influences and nurture the world that is within us.
“Everything in life can be taken from you, except for your freedom to choose how you respond.” — Victor Frankl
You can choose to be beaten down, to give up and give in, or you can choose to go within and see just how strong and powerful you really can be. To remain connected to your goals and dreams, to make you, your family and your inner world a space where you remain hopeful and optimistic.
The world needs you to keep on doing and being your best, and that starts with doing the internal work first. To strengthen your mindset, work on improving your health, vitality, energy, and to manage stress.
Here are 7 practices to help you make the shift for Autumn and to allow you to continue to thrive even through continued uncertain times.
1 Reset Your Goals
If there is one thing that gets my creative and feel-good juices flowing it’s a good ole goal-setting session. I love dreaming big, exploring the possibilities in my own mind and maybe even being a little bit delusional as I commit my dreams and goals to paper. Believing in something, imagining and envisioning your dreams can be the difference between showing up, or giving up.
I may not always hit all of my goals all of the time, but continually working towards something bigger means that when I look back I feel pretty proud of the person that I have become and the things that I have achieved so far.
Setting goals will cause you to adjust behaviours and aid decision-making. So get clear on what it is that you want for this season of life and the season of the year.
As the season’s change, so may your priorities and goals. So take a moment to consider:
- What’s important to you right now?
- What’s the goal in this area of your life?
- Why is it important to you?
- What will it take to get you there?
You can CLICK HERE and get access to my free goal-setting mini-course and downloadable life planner to help get you started.
I’ll be hitting 40 next year so I have some goals that I feel pretty excited about that I would love to see come to life before I enter the next decade of my life.
2. Align With Health-Positive Affirmations
Once you have your goals in place, don’t just set them and forget them, remind yourself about them on a regular basis. Having some go-to affirmations will remind you of the reason why you are doing what you are doing at the moments when the going gets tough.
Because it will get tough, change and transformation take intention and effort, and you are going to have to break through patterns that have held you back in the past.
Here is a list of some of my favourite affirmations to help you out.
Write them out in your diary each day, have one set as a screen saver on your phone or have post-it notes stuck to your computer. Whatever method works for you to remind you to believe in your goals and yourself.
3. Daily Walking As A Habit.
Walking is a massively underrated tool for physical health and mental health. It’s powerful for weight loss, can support better sleep, help you to manage stress, the list could really go on.
Soon the nights will be closing in, so it’s essential to get out in natural sunlight to support your circadian rhythm as much as you can. Circadian rhythm is your natural wake and sleep cycle and getting outside early in the day and also as the sun starts to dip down can help support sleep.
Walking is your opportunity to ruminate on thoughts, make sense of them, to work things out, to de-stress and decompress.
Even if you only get out for 10 minutes, take a moment on that walk to notice your surroundings, be present with yourself, take in some full long and deep breaths. Then in the mix of your busy day, remember to be grateful for those two legs that actually give you the ability to go out and walk in the first place.
Commit to this practice daily, or as much as you can.
4. Try A New Recipe
If there is one thing I loathe about adulting, it’s the damn decision-making of what to eat each evening for tea. I often get stuck in a food rut, making the same things over and over again. I’m not passionate about cooking, I’m not particularly good at it, though I have definitely improved over the years with a little bit of effort.
I think that’s why I really loved using a service like Hello Fresh, as it takes away some of that decision fatigue and gives you some new things to try out.
Even the simple act of revisiting a cookbook, having a search on Pinterest to find something new to make can spark your cooking inspiration once again. It’s a process of nurturing your body with the nutrients that it needs to thrive and you are worthy of eating foods that make you feel good, and that taste good too.
Autumn also sparks the reminder to dust off the slow cooker and get some good hearty meals planned, set a plan for the week, write a shopping list, look at what you already have in your cupboards. You could even do some batch cooking. Though batch cooking is certainly not my favourite thing to do, my mid-week self is always thankful for it.
Choose foods that are in season such as your root vegetables carrots, parsnips, and sweet potatoes. Use warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger and cumin.
Here are a few examples that I am looking forward to trying out:
5. Plan Something To Look Forward To.
What are the things that you love to do? Is it get-together party night or pamper night at home? Even get yourself signed up early for some fitness challenges next year.
The things that I look forward to the most are holidays and also fitness challenges. I’ve already signed up for next year’s Spartan race, and then I’m also I’m committing to trying something new and am going to attempt my first triathlon. Mainly to overcome my fear of deep water and swimming in the sea. My main objective here is to not get eaten by a shark, in the hope it will cure my of the fear of the sea since my first viewing of jaws. I have been mentally scarred ever since.
So what are the things that you feel really inspired when you know you have them to look forward to? Start making those plans now, get them down in the diary.
6. Organising, De-cluttering And Clearing Out.
Clearing and decluttering are not just for springtime. Before you know it you will be thinking about Christmas and all of the new things that come with that, and so between now and then is a great time to be clearing and decluttering, ridding your space and letting go of the things that you no longer want or need.
We are due to be getting a new roof installed this November and so all of the junk from upstairs has to go, and the rest is being put in storage. There is a lot of stuff up there that we just don’t use and probably never will so it’s time to sell, donate or just bin.
Clear space equals a clear mind!
7. Re-establishing Your Sleep Schedule.
I won’t lie summer has completely destroyed my sleep schedule and I have some serious bags under my eyes right now to prove it. Holidays, events, going out, drinking, hot summer nights causing uncomfortable sleeping, mixed in with a 15-year-old bed that has just given up on us, means I have not been sleeping well at all.
I have always been such a good sleeper, but it’s become very clear just how impactful poor sleep can be. It affects everything, my mood, my productivity, concentration, not to mention being a grumpy ass bitch and wanting to eat everything in sight. I know I need to revamp my own sleep schedule to see improvements in sleep quality and experience more energy in the day times.
I have started first of all with buying a new bed, its due to arrive this week and I cannot wait. I have also decided to treat us to some new pillows too as back and neck ache seems to be becoming a thing in our household, so I’m hoping the bed and pillows will have a huge impact on my sleep. I’ll be sure to give an update on how this goes over the next couple of months.
Other things that are shown to help improve sleep that I’ll also be adding to my schedule:
- Creating a regular sleep and wake cycle for me that’s 10pm-6am
- Bedtime routine of coming off devices and tv 30 minutes before bedtime, meditation or breathwork
- Magnesium before bedtime
>>>>> Read More about how to improve your sleep here >>>> 5 Habits For Better Sleep
These are just subtle shifts that can help you to re-evaluate your own wellness routines.
Which one of these would you like to implement first?
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