5 Scientific Ways to Spring Into a Healthier Mindset

I don’t know about you but my energy is like popcorn kernel popping in a popcorn bag. I’m ready to pop and spring out with caution and spunk. 

I know things aren’t back to “normal” and I plan to be safe, but this mama is stepping out and bringing my full energy, identity, and quirkiness because I’ve been cooped up for way too long. 

Can you relate?

It’s time to step into spring with open arms and I invite you to implement these tips to help you embrace and appreciate the new season while supporting the health of your mindset. 

I’ll be the first to admit my that mindset and sanity could use a recharge—and I bet I’m not alone. 

As a Mom of twin toddlers in the 1st grade, they are constantly learning about growth mindset. And of course, I love that subject as a mindset coach. Like many of you, I’m was new to the cyberschool Mom role and we were able to adjust and adapt the best that we could during the past year. We were practically forced to have a growth mindset, right? Looking back, I appreciate that because my six-year-old twins are super independent and I’m in awe at how capable they are. 

So let’s dive in! These 5 tips will help you refresh and reignite your energy, mindset, and success.

Get outside: 

The birds are chirping and this year I’m singing along with them. For me, I know the positive energy I gain from fresh air, but who doesn’t love a little science to back it up?  According to many sites like Fepblue.org, fresh air has many benefits that include natural vitamin D, improved concentration, healing, and oxygen. When you’re exposed to oxygen increases, it causes the blood vessels in your lungs to dilate, which improves cleansing and tissue repair within them. I’m always up for a cleansing, vitamin D, and moving my body. I challenge you to reignite your energy by getting outside for at least 10 minutes every chance you get.

Water: 

Did you know that when you drink water it literally triggers the release of stored fat? Yea, did your jaw drop as mine did when I first read this? I know how important water is for our mindset, especially staying hydrated because when you’re dehydrated, you lose focus, clarity, and your productivity goes out the window. With this knowledge according to the Obesity journal read from the book, Eat Smarter, written by Shawn Stevenson,  I have an even stronger reason to drink more water. Science even claims that drinking water increases your metabolic rate through a process called thermogenesis. Now I’ll leave the rest of the research up to you, but they had me at “release stored fat” and “increase your metabolic rate”. It’s a new season, you need a water jolt, so go get your H2O game on!  

Spring mix: 

I’m not talking about flowers here, I’m talking about creating your spring music playlist. I’m sure you can recall songs that make you dance and songs that make you want to cry. There’s tons of research that share how music connects with the automatic nervous system (brain function, blood pressure, and heartbeat) and the limbic system (feelings and emotions). I have a playlist for almost every mood, experience, or memory I want to relive. So a great way to perk up and shift some old energy is to go through all the latest hits and browse through the music. I listen to the beats more than the words, but I always create a fresh mix of tunes to infuse more fresh energy. I challenge you to do the same!

Dance:

Now take that new music and DANCE my friend. Set your mind and body free from your day-to-day routine. It doesn’t have to be a long dance party, 5 minutes can make all the difference. You can even dance in the shower. Truth be told, I’m not shy when it comes to dancing, but there’s something about dancing in the shower. It feels more freeing for me and my creative juices flow even more. 

Spring clean your content: 

This is one of my favorite tips and it’s just like spring cleaning your house and closet. You’ve got to spring clean the content you consume. Who are you hanging out with, what are you watching and reading? Who are you following on social media? Take inventory and be sure you’re set up for success with all the content you consume from day-to-day. 

Now you have 5 ways to get you ignited into a successful spring season. I’d love to hear if you implement any of them or if you have any other spring tips to add.

Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement.

We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.

1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re not talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.

This was a challenging year for us all and I’ve used my “A-Game” formula to survive and thrive through it all. I accepted responsibility to be resourceful, to ask for help, to fit in self-care so that I could take care my my emotional and physical self. I knew that with adding cyber schooling to my normal busy life, It could potentially be a disaster if I didn’t stay on top of my mental health and self-care.

2. Appreciation is everything. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?

I laugh saying that I actually appreciate what we all experienced because I sound crazy. However, I am so much stronger, wiser, and adaptable and the same for my twin toddlers. I mean, at 6.5, they can do everything on their own, breakfast, brushing teeth, setting alarms for their classes, using a computer and the scanner. It’s amazing.

3. Share with us one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.

I’m so proud of how we handled the pandemic and the teamwork our family put in. We took the optimistic route and made the most of what we could.