It's easier said than done waking up in the morning feeling like you're ready to take on the world and every obstacle it makes you face. Dodging all-time lows and experiencing near misses with ultimate breaking points. Learning to deal with your emotions and laying all the cards out on the table.
It’s far easier waking up in the morning facing yourself in the mirror and realizing your stuck, you're stuck in a place you don’t want to be in; whether this is mentally, physically, or spiritually. The hardest part of it all is allowing yourself to become unstuck and starting the movement of change. No matter what place you're in, or what stage in life you might be at, you can always level up and become a better version of yourself: here's how.
Navigate Your Situation
You can't level up your life if you don’t know where to begin. Ultimately you are the only person able to determine what leveling up means for you. This article is guidance on what leveling up per se could look like.
Everybody interprets it differently, what is written in black and white and read between these lines may be interpreted differently by each person who reads this. Life stages and situations differ between everyone, feeling the need to level up may be caused by a shake-up of events in your life, or perhaps you feel as though you're in a rut or cycle you want to break away from. Step into your mind for a minute and figure out what it is exactly that has caused you to initiate the feeling to level up and what aspects you want to work on.
Do you want to become a happier version of yourself? Someone who’s more content with their daily habits, content within themselves. ‘Leveling up’ is essentially a push into doing things that better our mind, body, and soul. Pushing ourselves to evolve and create a better, positive, and happier version of ourselves.
Filter What You Hear
A big part of leveling up is managing what you feed your brain into hearing. Stop wasting hours binging YouTube or Netflix and start replacing those with podcasts, documentaries, Ted Talks, and most importantly, positive music. Make playlists of all the songs that make you want to get up and dance and push while you get ready for your day or cook a meal.
I’m currently obsessed with listening to podcasts, a few I’ve been enjoying right now are: Emma Chamberlain's Everything Goes, Girls with Goals, and Rise & Conquer. Putting these on in the background or listening to them on a walk allows me to switch off from reality for a while and gain knowledge and a change of perspective on a variety of topics. Make it a goal for yourself, aim to listen to a podcast daily or weekly. Ideal topics for leveling up include Self-love, self-improvement, motivation, processing emotions, goal setting, and being present.
Spend Time Moving Your Body
Leveling up does not mean losing weight unless that is a personal goal of yours that you’d like to achieve during this “leveling up period”. Any type of exercise where you're moving your body with or without the intention to lose weight is a good starting point for becoming a better you. Exercise releases endorphins which leads to a better mood.
Visit the gym after work, start your morning with a sunrise run or walk… try yoga or Pilates. Whatever type of exercise you enjoy most, pursue it as often as possible and try to include it into your day-to-day routine. Make it enjoyable by listening to music or a podcast, or perhaps you prefer silence to think.
If you're a walker, runner or jogger try out new routes and pick up a smoothie or coffee after your workout. I recently have loved getting up early in the morning and going for long dog walks; stopping occasionally and grabbing a coffee on my way home.
Raise Your Spirituality
Look, I’ll be honest here and say I’m not entirely knowledgeable about spirituality. I haven’t dived deep into it yet but like everyone, I’m learning! I do think that it’s important though to connect with inner peace, and it’s an appreciation I have for those that practice it and can frequently do it.
I find mediation the best way to do this for me, but it may look completely different for everyone. A few moments of deep breathing, a pause in your day to journal and think about gratitude or even something like a walk on the beach may be a few ways to connect spiritually. Think about what spirituality means to you and how you feel like you can include it into your life, start with a guided meditation if you can’t rack your brain for any ideas!
Detox and Disconnect
Disconnecting from social media and detoxing from any negativity can level up your mindset in a heartbeat. We are so used to endless scrolling, seeing triggering and harmful content subconsciously, and it’s awful for our headspace. Put the phone down and detox for a bit, limit your phone or social media usage.
As hard as it can be… you’ll feel better for it. Think about what causes you to feel drained or impacts you negatively, push yourself away from it. Unfollow, delete anything or anyone that doesn’t impact you positively.
Educate Yourself
Mental strength is just as vital as physical strength, and it’s always a good idea to keep educating yourself on matters you find important. Make the change from reading celebrity drama to keeping up with the news and political matters. Learn about what’s going on in the world and stay on top of ongoing worldly matters.
Take a trip to the bookstore and stock up on self-guidance books, books that fuel you. Pick up a book you usually wouldn’t, you’ll find you’ll more than likely enjoy it and learn something useful from it. Authors like Sarah Knight and Gill Hasson are great for self-awareness and self-improvement.
Leveling up means you're continuously working on yourself and educating yourself is a great way to level up mentally. Aim to set aside some time in your day to read a little, whether this is in your free time, before bed, or during a meal.
“Leveling up; to increase or improve something.” We all want to improve our lives and make our days brighter. How about we stop thinking about what it would be like to improve ourselves and put our thoughts into action. Get unstuck, get out of the cycle and make tomorrow count.
