Cheer Up, It's Springtime! Wellness Tips For the Spring Season

The Huffington Post offers us a few tips to cheer up and get well during the spring season. Apply a few of these tips into your life for a better and healthier mind, body, and soul!

1. "Spring Up" Your Diet

Eat foods that are fertile in the spring season. This is a healthy way to eat that naturally helps you shed those winter pounds. Foods that are in season during the spring include leafy greens, strawberries, baby asparagus, and seasonal fish and shellfish.

2. Get In A Springtime Mood

Scientists have estimated that we have up to 60,000 thoughts a day, the vast majority of which are negative! For one week, every time you catch yourself having a negative thought, which robs you of energy, state it in the opposite way. Replace "I can't" with "I can." Make that shift over and over until you begin to see more and more time pass between negative thoughts. Watch how much more spring you have in your step at the end of the week. 

3. Commit To Outdoor Time

Studies have indicated what shamans have known for millennia: that being outdoors in nature makes people happier, calmer, healthier, and more energetic. Make a conscious effort to spend at least 30 minutes outside daily doing anything. You will feel significantly less stressed, more connected, and more energetic as you get in step with the spring light, spring smells, and spring activity. 

4. Try Something New

Springtime is a time for renewal. To get into the mood of change and forward momentum, try a new sport or an old one you haven't done for a long time. Often, when we engage in new activities, it's especially motivating. The more types of activities you engage in, the more energetic you'll feel.

5. Sprout Some New Eating Habits

For one week, cut out all sweets, pasta, and breads. Then slowly add more carbs back in -- but only complex carbs with lots of fiber (whole grains, whole fruits and vegetables, beans, etc.). Notice how much lighter you feel.

6. Refresh An Old Workout Routine

This spring, don't let workout boredom squelch your motivation to get in shape. Change your workout course. Do the familiar course in the opposite direction. Or find a workout partner. Or work out at a different time of day. 

7. Take A Springtime Trip

Pick a wildly beautiful place in nature. Schedule a weekend to go camping or hiking. Or simply take some extended time to relax in a wonderful outdoor place where spring is showing its colors and beauty. Taking a trip in nature will jumpstart your springtime energy and will shake off the hard work, restlessness, and stagnation from winter.

8. Accept That Challenge Is Normal

Lots of us this time of year look in the mirror and think, "I'll never get in shape by swimsuit season." Think of a fragile crocus pushing its way up through the frozen earth. Challenge is a normal part of striving, growing, and overcoming obstacles. Realizing this will help you manage your fear and negativity and propel you forward.