HOW TO: Improve Your Wellbeing through Challenges & Responsibilities

When we think of ways to increase our wellbeing, we almost always think of ways to inject
self-care into our schedules. We might identify opportunities for more hot baths with essential
oils, moments when we could fit in a bit of reading, or a cheeky weekend spa session here or
there. Of course, self-care, rest, and relaxation are obviously very important. If your life is
constantly busy and you’re in a state of being perpetually highly strung and burned out, you’re
unlikely to feel very good about yourself or very positive about your life. Having a good
selection of skin moisturizer for face care, and a selection of scented candles for
evening-unwinding is a great idea. However, what if the key to improving your wellbeing was
actually taking on more challenges and responsibilities, instead of taking it easier? Everyone
is different and for me personally, I think challenging myself helps to maintain positive mental
health and high spirits.

Here are some reasons why that might be the case.

It will give you something to focus on outside of your own
mind

The more you’re busy engaging with external problem-solving tasks, the less you’ll have the
time, energy, or inclination to dwell on your own problems and internal dialogue. Of course, it’s
important to be in touch with your emotions, and to know what’s happening inside your own
heart and mind. However, from experience, if you’re in a pretty dark place and lack self-esteem,
it may be that you’re doing too much rumination, not too little. In these cases, taking on more
challenges and responsibilities can give you something to aim towards and invest yourself in,
that removes you from the immediate context of your own concerns.

Incrementally overcoming obstacles naturally builds
confidence and self-esteem

Have you ever noticed that whenever you overcome an obstacle that used to stand in your
way, your self-esteem and your sense of confidence just increasingly grows?

When it comes down to it, a lot of having “self-esteem” or “confidence” is feeling that we have
the ability to achieve meaningful things and to overcome hurdles. If you lack that kind of
self-belief, consciously taking on more challenges and responsibilities can put you in a situation
where you manage to achieve more victories, both large and small, over time. This can
honestly go a long way towards building your confidence and self-esteem, which will

definitely increase your sense of wellbeing.

You feel more in control when you accept more
responsibility

A lack of wellbeing is often driven by the sense that we simply aren’t in control of our own lives,
and that we’re not the captains of our own fate.The more responsibility and accountability you
accept for yourself, though, the more you step into the position of someone who actually is in
control. Sure, external circumstances are what they are, and you might not be able to just work
them into the form you’d most prefer; however, by focusing on your own actions and reactions
to things, and by holding yourself accountable, you might be amazed by how much power you
actually can wield over your own life.

What do you do to improve your wellbeing? Are you
looking to challenge yourself more in 2019?

Lots of love

#AD