Holistic methods of taking care of yourself have been proven to show benefits in several parts of your health. Yoga, acupuncture and other popular forms of holistic health practices have been used by people for decades, but are often expensive and inaccessible. Pushing yourself to your limits is a more accessible way of working on your health and can be practiced in almost any situation.
Testing your physical and mental strength inherently makes you feel more accomplished and proud of your tenacity. Knowing that you could have given up earlier during a workout set or chosen the more comfortable option in your daily routine, but instead went harder, should provide a sense of pride. VALLEY has made a list of a few ways you can start working on testing your limits in your daily life.
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Cold Water Immersion
You can easily modify a part of your morning or night by taking cold showers (or cold plunges). Besides benefits like being energy-inducing, pain-relieving and better for hair health, cold showers are a true test of self-control. A 2021 study found that young individuals feel more positive self-esteem and vigor after 20 minutes of cold water immersion (just about the length of a shower!). We all love hot showers because they relax us and feel like a warm hug, so forcing yourself to switch up your routine for more long-term benefits will be difficult, but more advantageous.
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At the Gym
Working out is physical exercise, but also mental exercise, too. Even just bringing yourself to the gym for a day or keeping a routine is challenging, but sticking to your commitment is one of the most rewarding things about the gym. Besides feeling better, being more healthy and stimulating the release of natural painkillers and mood elevators (endorphins), pushing yourself harder in the gym can leave you feeling more proud of yourself than if you went easy on your sets.
If you are trying to see improvement in the gym, it’s important to be mindful of how you’re working out in order to stay safe. Practicing safe limit-pushing at the gym will prevent you from getting injured and feeling sore afterward.
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Personal Responsibilities
Whether you’re someone who is taking a full semester or has a full-time job, is involved in a lot of extracurricular activities or not or someone who has a lot of responsibilities outside of work, we’ve all felt there are times where we could be more productive. It’s so easy to get sucked into our phones and shows when we could be taking care of responsibilities that we put off. If you push back doing chores like cleaning your home, doing laundry and grocery shopping because they don’t affect the work of others, it might be time to start holding yourself accountable. Testing the limit of your productivity at home can give you a cleaner and less stressful space and, once again, make you proud that you accomplished something.
Reframing how you view the stimulus of responsibilities and self-care methods in various situations can be as effective as using mental health medication. By proving to yourself that you want to take care of your body and mind holistically by pushing your limits in different parts of your life, you can feel pride and see long-term effects by sticking to it.
Let VALLEY know what you do to test your limits by tagging us @valleymag on Instagram!
