We eat more non-food than ever before in human history. More than 75% of the supposed food in your favorite grocery store is highly processed. Unnatural, lab-grown meat has been approved for sale in the United States and other countries.
We are products of nature, but we are detached from Mother Nature. Nature of Americans reports that more than 60% of adults spend less than five hours outside in nature every week. The numbers are similar in other first-world countries.
These statistics highlight just a couple of the modern challenges we face daily. Civil and political unrest, environmental issues, and job insecurity due to technological advances like artificial intelligence (AI) also challenge us to enjoy fulfilling, rewarding, healthy lives.
All is not lost. Use these tips to establish more control over the modern challenges that threaten to lower your quality of life.
Understand What You Use
Read labels. Do you know what's in the food you eat? Perform research.
What harmful chemicals are in the clothes, linens, lotions, cleaning supplies, and other products that contact your skin?
Understand what you allow into your life.
Strive for Balance
Measure your time. Do you invest too much time in one area of your life while other aspects are underserved?
If so, emotional and mental burnout could be right around the corner.
Imbalances in essential areas of your life create challenges you can avoid with better time management.
Control Your Stimuli
Stimuli is the plural of stimulus, which refers to anything that causes a physical, mental, or behavioral change.
Stimuli and stimulate have the same base letters for a good reason. Stimulate means to encourage interest or activity.
That's what the modern stimuli in your environment do. The many distractions you face daily beg for your intention, encouraging you to get involved.
Your senses are stimulated, and focusing on what you need to do can be challenging.
Managing the many challenges of modern life is easier when you limit the number of stimuli that engage and distract your sensory network.
Look at your life. Minimize the number of things that get the attention of your primary senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Manage Your Expectations
Social media is a modern creation that influences self-esteem, and not always positively.
You expect too much when you compare yourself to the unrealistic personas of so many online users. Fostering unrealistic expectations online and in the real world can do much harm.
