By Jack Parsons, Big Youth Group

We all know that life is or can be challenging, there is no doubting that.

We’re flooded with responsibilities from looking after our family to keeping on top of work, doing all this can feel overwhelming at times, however, to have a good relationship with the world you need a good relationship with yourself.

Jack Parsons, a young entrepreneur who is publicly sharing his thoughts and struggles with mental health while running a growing business developed the following 5 tips to help manage one’s mental health.

1. Exercise

You have probably heard this one before, but regular exercise can have a real impact on one’s life. Working out gives you confidence in your own body and strength, which then directly links with the trust you can have in your thoughts and decisions. Even if it’s just for 20 minutes a day, exercise gives you an extra boost when it comes to facing the challenges of life. It’s hard to focus on your responsibilities if you feel fatigued and weak in your body, exercising allows you to focus for longer periods of time and it’s just good for your general wellbeing.

2. Managing your workload

While working, it is important to distinguish what activities are worth your time and what are not. At the end of each week, take time out of your day to sit down and define what you are proud to have achieved over the week and then designate value to them. Perhaps setting daily goals will increase your feeling of achievement and confidence in yourself.

Sometimes it’s easy to take on too much work or sometimes it’s easy just to work without a sense of direction. Figure out where you want to go, then break it down into manageable steps that way your daily planner doesn’t look like a long daunting list of tasks to complete.

3. Get people around you who want the best for you

If you take anything away from this article, let it be this. You want people in your life, or you want to find people who want to see you be successful and the higher version of yourself. Try to call up your close friends and speak to the family when you’re feeling stressed out, these people will give you perspective, let you realise your value & give the confidence and wisdom to keep moving forward. These people will also tell you when a break may be necessary, or how you should go about tackling an issue that you’re facing, but more important than these things is the fact that the people that are invested in you, your well-being and your relationship with them will always ask how you’re feeling. Sometimes venting for 10 minutes over a coffee with a close pal can help reframe and give energy to focus on the whole week. You matter to these people, get in touch with them.

4. It’s okay to say no

If your quite an agreeable person, you may feel the need to try and please people. You may be someone who wants the best for others, but sometimes you need to know what is best for yourself. If you feel overworked and you have other areas of your life you have to attend to it’s okay to reject people’s requests, now this obviously isn’t always an option, however, it’s important to consider your time and energy because you only have so much of it.

5. Having some ‘me time’

This one can be so overlooked in our busy lives, but sometimes it’s important to just turn off your phone, go on a walk, connect with nature, read a novel you love or spend time cooking your favourite meal. We tend to get caught up in our work and everyday life, that sometimes we forget to think about what we enjoy doing. It’s important for us to sometimes take a step back, reconnect with ourselves through doing something we love or just simply spending time alone. The time spent alone allows you to regain energy and to appreciate the small things in life which are so often overlooked.

Conclusion

So that’s the 5 tips Jack has to offer for you to manage your mental health. Hope this little reminder bought value to you and more importantly, hope this can help you throughout your everyday life.