4/9/25- How to Actually Feel Good Every Day (Even When Life Feels Like a Lot)

Written by: Guest Blogger Marjorie McMillian

Let’s be real: most of us don’t have the time or bandwidth to “optimize our wellness” like we’re starring in some slow-motion, pastel-tinted self-care ad. You’re juggling work, texts you forgot to answer, people who need things, and your own overthinking mind. But feeling your best doesn’t require some sweeping overhaul or a personal chef who makes kale taste like cake. It’s more about the little shifts that build on each other, quietly, until your day starts to feel less like a grind and more like something you’re choosing. The aim here isn’t perfection. It’s about stacking a few doable strategies that help you feel more like yourself.

Start Before You Scroll

You know how it goes. You grab your phone “just to check the time” and 45 minutes later, you’ve seen three engagement announcements, two global catastrophes, and someone making a seven-layer lasagna in a cabin you’ll never visit. The tone of your entire day is hijacked before you’ve even gotten out of bed. But if you start with something quieter—breathing, stretching, journaling, or even just staring out the window—you give your brain a moment to boot up on your own terms. It’s not about shaming screen time. It’s about creating a small buffer between you and the noise.

Move Like You Mean It

Let’s drop the idea that exercise has to be miserable or extreme to count. Some days, a long walk around the block with music in your ears is enough to change everything. Movement that feels good—whether that’s dancing in your kitchen or doing push-ups during TV commercials—taps you back into your body and out of your anxious swirl of thoughts. The best kind of exercise isn’t the one your friend swears by; it’s the one you’ll actually keep doing because it makes you feel more alive.

Give Yourself Permission to Pivot

There’s nothing noble about staying stuck in a job that drains you just because it once made sense on paper. If your work leaves you feeling flat, boxed in, or like you’re constantly waiting for the weekend to feel like yourself again—this is a good one to pay attention to. Online degree programs make it easier than ever to level up or shift directions entirely, even while managing a full-time job or family life. And if you’re already a nurse looking to deepen your impact, earning an online RN or BSN degree can be a powerful way to sharpen your skills without stepping away from your current role.

Eat to Support, Not Punish

Food isn’t a moral issue. It’s fuel, yes, but it’s also pleasure and connection and ritual. And when you reframe it from something to control to something that supports you, everything softens. You don’t need a complicated diet or expensive powders. You need meals that give you steady energy, moments of joy, and the kind of fullness that doesn’t make you want to crash an hour later. A little prep goes a long way—chop up fruit ahead of time, keep go-to snacks on hand, and let yourself eat things that actually taste good.

Design Small Pockets of Peace You don’t need a full spa day to unwind. You need five minutes on your porch, or a shower with music that makes you feel something, or ten minutes of silence in your parked car before walking into work. Think of peace as a pocket you carry with you, not a destination you need a vacation to reach. The trick is noticing when you’re spiraling and giving yourself permission to pause, breathe, and recalibrate. Micro-recoveries matter more than you think.

Protect Your Yes

Saying yes to everything is a fast track to burnout, resentment, and low-key rage-texting your group chat. Protecting your energy means learning how to say no without explaining your entire life story. You don’t have to justify boundaries. You just have to trust that your well-being is worth guarding, and that overcommitting doesn’t make you more lovable or reliable—it just makes you more exhausted. The world doesn’t benefit from your depletion. It benefits from your presence.

Be Around People Who Make You Feel Lighter

Not everyone in your life is good for your nervous system. That doesn’t make them villains, but it does mean you get to choose who gets front-row seats. Make space for people who laugh with you, ask how you really are, and don’t make you feel like you’re too much. Joy is contagious—and so is anxiety—so be deliberate about which energy you’re absorbing. Sometimes feeling your best starts with subtracting the noise, not adding more to your calendar.

Let Your Night Self Take Care of Your Morning Self

It’s wildly underrated, but setting yourself up the night before can shift your entire morning. Lay out your clothes, fill up your water bottle, plug your phone in outside your bedroom—these little rituals can make waking up feel less like sprinting into chaos and more like gliding into your own rhythm. Think of it as future-you leaving behind breadcrumbs. You’re not trying to be a productivity guru; you’re just making your next move a little easier.

Here’s the truth most “wellness hacks” forget to mention: You already have what you need. You don’t have to transform your entire lifestyle or become some version of yourself that doesn’t even feel real. You just need to pay attention. Pay attention to what fills you up, what drains you, what feels like home in your body and what feels like a performance. Feeling your best is less about striving and more about returning—to yourself, your needs, your breath, your boundaries. You’re not broken. You’re just overdue for your own care.

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#EverydayWellness

About the Author

Marjorie McMillian has been studying, practicing, and sharing the concept of whole health and wellness since “before it was cool.” She could not be happier with the strides the health and wellness community has made, including the increased popularity and broadening definition of self-care, the de-emphasis on weight loss and its relationship to overall physical health, and the long-awaited welcoming of spirituality in the world of wellness. While she doesn’t share medical advice on her website, comeongetwell.net, visitors will find reliable resources intended to help guide them on their journey to whole health.