Much of our health can be linked back to a healthy mindset. You never know what curve balls life will throw at you, so being in the best frame of mind helps you cope. A healthy mindset is about using your thoughts to grow and propel you toward a better future rather than letting them bring you down or control you. But, it’s about more than just convincing yourself to think a certain way. Here are practical things you can do to help yourself have a healthy mindset.

1. Find a way to calm down. It’s not unusual for some of us to feel anxious from time to time. But when your thoughts are random and panicked, it’s hard to be in the now and see what’s real. Finding a place of calm in your mind allows you to be aware of what’s going on around you and what your thoughts are about it. This helps you form strategies for coping and sets up a better environment where you can center yourself. It also cuts down on worrying and fretting over unimportant details.
2. Stop comparing yourself. Accepting yourself and finding self-love can be tough in today’s social culture. Most of us are bombarded every day with pictures and videos of other people’s lives. Some of these examples seem worse than our lives and some appear better. Either way, we can easily fall into the trap of comparing our lives and ourselves when we are taking in so many of these images all the time. The key is to just focus on the best you can be and limit your exposure to those things that cause you to feel a certain way about yourself.
3. Notice the small things. Something else about our culture is that most of us are very busy between work, family, home, and social commitments. In this environment, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s truly important. Whenever you find the time, stop and think about all the ways your life is going well. Listen to music, have a tea, read a book. Slow down and take in all the things that are going well for you and the happiness you do have in your life.
4. Think about what you can control now. Staying in the here and now also involves focusing on what you are able to control. For example, we really can’t control how other people think or behave. Even still, many of us sometimes lose our sense of peace over the actions of others. So, make a list of what you can control and what you can’t in your life. To have a healthy mindset, narrow in on those things that are within your power. It doesn’t mean those other things won’t bother you from time to time, but it does mean it will change your focus to think about what you can impact instead.
5. Avoid people who bring you down. This one can be tough as we can’t always have power over who is in our lives. We may have a boss or a relative who is difficult to deal with, but when it is possible, limit your time with people who are a source of negativity for you. It will improve your mindset to the degree you can surround yourself with people who lift you up and make you feel better about yourself and your life. After a while, you’ll pick up on this faster, so those negative people will have less impact on your mindset.
6. Occupy your time with a hobby. It seems pretty simple, but finding something you’re passionate about and that connects you to other people can truly bring you joy in life, and that joy makes it easy to have a healthier mindset. When bills need to be paid, it’s easy to get into a cycle of work/study, home responsibilities, and sleep. But to keep a positive attitude, make sure to set time aside to pursue hobbies and challenge yourself to develop new skills.
7. Take care of your body. The mind and body are interconnected, so taking care of your body leads to a better mindset. This includes eating food that is healthy and nutritious as well as moving your body on a regular basis. Cutting back on processed foods and refined sugars is part of this as well. Have you ever gotten up in the morning and taken a walk in the early sun and felt better the rest of the day? That’s how taking care of your body helps with your mindset.