Lifestyle changes unrelated to diet / exercise page

[primallawyer]

Good morning, all! I'm just wondering what non-diet / exercise lifestyle changes people have made that have made them feel calmer / happier / better. I have been working to cut back on my iphone / internet usage and to live more in the moment - playing with my daughter without also trying to get 3 chores accomplished, etc. I think that for me, these things are just as important as the food / movement changes in terms of having an overall happier life. Anyone else?

[AdamC29]

Good morning, all! I'm just wondering what non-diet / exercise lifestyle changes people have made that have made them feel calmer / happier / better. I have been working to cut back on my iphone / internet usage and to live more in the moment - playing with my daughter without also trying to get 3 chores accomplished, etc. I think that for me, these things are just as important as the food / movement changes in terms of having an overall happier life. Anyone else?

Nice thread!

One big stress for me was driving and anything car related so I downsized my car and bought a bike.

I walk to the shops so that it at least feels like I am hunting and I leave my car at home wherever possible. I also think that spending more time with the people that you care about is important.

[teach2183]

We're working on selling our house so that we can move to shorten DH's commute and be closer to parks and shops so we can use the car less and walk more. When we move we'll be walking distance to Lake Michigan, several parks, the library, and various shops. We'll be getting a smaller place as well, which will mean giving up some of the toys that my 2 and 4yo have amassed as gifts. We are very excited to make this change.

[sbhikes]

I quit careerism. I have a job, I do my best, but I am not interested in competition, climbing ladders or chasing career-related things.

[Paleobird]

I think I've relaxed a whole lot on the scrubbing and sanitizing aspects of life. Like if a pan can just be wiped out, fine, it doesn't need antibacterial soap and hot water. Since I've cut my hair shart I have also found that this whole "no-poo" thing actually works.

[Knifegill]

Probably a lot of things I still need to work on. I do spend too much time sitting and stressed, and my employer just "upgraded" me to, essentially, a desk job. I spend my breaks outside walking up and down stairs.

I also have a silly tendency to look ahead in the day, see my next scheduled event coming, and decide the whole day is shot so I might as well just sit here for four hours waiting for the hammer to drop.

Wild foraging is food-related, but it's largely just an excuse to be outside. Love it.

Remembering that I'm not going to learn too much from the internet in one day. I can miss stuff. It's okay. I've got the basics.

I don't have a cell phone. I got rid of it years ago, when I saw people almost dying all the time, stalling in front of forklifts and so forth to send texts.

I also meditate when walking and before sleep.

Anytime I'm sitting, I breathe as slowly as I can, often holding my exhale until I feel strong compulsion to inhale again, or about five heartbeats. This has definitely led to a slower heart rate and calmer thinking. I read some stuff that made sense about body pH and breathing too much causing unnecessary oxidization to the body. Even if half of it is horse-hooey, the truth is that breathing as slowly as possible has been very good for me personally.

[trekfan]

Now with my health in good shape (and getting better by the day) I'm trying to be more productive with my time. Not so much focusing exclusively on one thing to the abandonment of all else, but trying to use the time wisely. I've taken up reading again, after a few years where I just didn't want to (thanks college... you suck). I play more with the younger members of my family, try to teach them things I've learned that I hope will help them in the future.

I'm trying to put others before myself... I find that doing good things for other people is rewarding. I'm trying not to worry so much about the future or the regrets of the past, but rather focus on the best I can do today. These things have made me feel better/happier/more fulfilled than other things.

I don't succeed every day on all these things and sometimes I fail at them all on certain days. But on the days I do succeed I feel a profound sense of calm and I like that.

[jenn26point2]

Because of the energy I have been gifted by changing up my diet, I find myself doing more around the house. I used to wash last night's dishes while making tonight's dinner. Now I was dishes after dinner and actually clean up the kitchen whereas I didn't before.

I read more because it's relaxing - I do this before bed - often fall asleep reading my Kindle.

I spend more time playing with my kids. It's hard to put the to-do list aside some days, but I'm trying. We're going to be running short on evening sunlight soon, so we need to take advantage of it.

I still spend too much time on the computer at night, catching up on Facebook. I need to find something else to do. Lord knows there's plenty.

I would LOVE to get a bike and bike everywhere. Financially we're strapped so I can't, and even if I had one, I'd still have to drive to work (70 mile round trip commute - same for DH) but having a bike for the evenings or weekends would be awesome!

This is kind of diet related, but I changed my son's diet (he's 5) to improve his behavior (he's very defianant, mouthy, talks back a lot, blatently ignores directions), which reduces my stress and anxiety.

[JBailey]

I quit careerism. I have a job, I do my best, but I am not interested in competition, climbing ladders or chasing career-related things.

Word!
I work for a university library, and talk about turf-battling pretentious snobbery! With budgets so tight, everyone is clawing at each other for workflow that might lead to a promotion, and it's like a shark pit. It's easy to get sucked into the mindset, so I just let it flow over like water off a duck's back.

My energy, mental/physical/emotional, goes to my farm. The job helps fund that, and that's how I am able to be primal. It feels good to detach from that competitive pointless crap and laugh at all the stress junkies.

[jenn26point2]

I don't have to worry about the career ladder. My job is dead-end... and I'm over qualified for it with a bachelors and having nearly completed my master's degree. I'm working on finding a job elsewhere that offers more opportunities. I work for the Federal Government and some position categories don't allow for upward mobility, while others do. I'm at the top of the pay grade for my position category, so I can't even sit here and expect to bring in more money as time goes on. I'm stuck. So, to lessen that stressor, I'm looking for other jobs that offer more opportunities. It's proving to be stressful, however, because most of the jobs around here require travel and I can't travel easily with my husband's job being swing shift and having two young kids. Might have to look outside the Army for this one...

Luckily, though, there's no shark pit business going on around here. The only way to get promoted is to put in a new application when something opens up.