A compilation of the wellness team’s top motivational advice and pointers for starting 2023 off right.

Continue scrolling even if you detest motivational sayings. Just kidding, the CNET Wellness team has created a collection of useful sayings or daily “mantras” we keep in mind when we need to make a small adjustment to our approach to health. We hope you stick around and peruse this one. This covers one’s emotional, mental, and physical wellness.

Everyone is their own worst and greatest critic, and the messages you give yourself can influence how you feel about food and exercise, how well you do at work, and how you interact with other people. It might be challenging to sort through the noise and figure out what will genuinely connect with you at this specific time when there is an infinite supply of wellness advice on how to live your “best life.”

Here is a collection of sayings that have inspired us. We hope you find one here that also speaks to you.

Do it in fear.

Due to my anxiety, I frequently feel uncomfortable when assigned new obligations or obstacles. Do it Scared helps me remember that while it’s normal to experience these emotions, they don’t have to prevent me from moving on. Even if you scream the entire time, just do it.

— Taylor Leamy, writer for wellness

You cannot lead a full life while fasting.

Eating has always been difficult for me because of food sensitivities, digestive problems, drugs that reduced my appetite, and the sporadic fixation with calories. This phrase serves as a reminder that food is nothing more than fuel for my body, enabling it to perform activities that I find enjoyable. It is therefore imperative that I ensure I have enough fuel.

— Sarah Mitroff, Wellness’ managing editor

What desires does my future self have?

You know when you should do something because you know it’s essential, healthy, and would improve your mood, but you really don’t feel like doing it at all? Yeah. In this TikTok by @simplifying.sam, she discusses the dangers of waiting until you “feel like” taking action and suggests consulting your future self rather than asking your present self what to do. For instance, if I decide against going grocery shopping, will I still desire food in the refrigerator? She does, for sure. She’ll feel ready, at ease, and relieved after hearing that.

I’ll go even if I don’t feel like it. These days, I always ask myself this when I’m too exhausted to take care of myself. It’s the antithesis of procrastination in that I strive to make life a little simpler for my future self rather than adding more issues for her to solve. Future me is always grateful, and it feels like a really kind way to push myself.

— Kim Wong-Shing, Editor for Wellness

Optimism is not a tactic.

What was once a moderately unpleasant phrase my Dad would use to encourage my sister and me to work toward our objectives has evolved into a mantra I repeat to myself when I need encouragement to be more proactive in pursuing an accomplishment. It serves as a reminder that success does not just happen to me; I have to work hard for it.

I need to put my plans into action and be more deliberate with my thinking; hoping won’t help. Instead of stating, “I hope I win my game,” I should do everything in my power to succeed and adopt the attitude, “I’m going to win,” in order to forward my objectives.

— McKenzie Dillon, Editor for Sleep

Every living, gorgeous cell in my body is mine.

Simple yet empowering, it is. It serves as a reminder that my body is both my home and a source of constant vitality. My body is made up of countless billions of interconnected cells. This mantra enables me to view my body as a gift rather than a liability. Despite everything, the fact that my body is still keeping me alive and that my heart is still beating makes me happy.

— Caroline Igo, Editor for Health

Be kind to yourself.

This one-sentence saying that I inherited from my mother has helped me more than I can possibly express, especially during my time in college and the past year since I graduated and started working full-time.

I acknowledge that my family is Type A. And while being ambitious and well-organized are qualities I’m grateful I acquired, they can soon become tiresome when I start to feel too much anxiety and self-criticism. To remind me that I can’t always be everything to everyone — and that’s okay — this sentence resounds loudly and clearly (and in my mother’s voice) in my head even in my darkest periods.

And it IS alright. You must be patient with yourself. Furthermore, you must look after your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. To do this, you must learn to let go and extend forgiveness to yourself. Overachievers and those who naturally place themselves last may find it difficult to practice self-compassion, although doing so is essential to our welfare and capacity to handle life’s many difficulties.

— Macy Meyer, Associate Editor for Health and Home

Always strive to improve

It’s taken from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Now, when you first hear that term, you would assume it pertains to hustle culture and the idea that we should always be doing well. But if we look a bit closer, we can completely comprehend that your finest might fluctuate from one instant to the next. Your best now might not be the same as your best tomorrow, and that’s okay. Making the best possible effort using the tools available in the given situation is what matters.

Every time I think there was something I could have done better, I take a step back and consider whether there was actually anything I could have done differently. It keeps me in the present and enables me to be compassionate with myself when things are difficult.

— Nasha Addarich Martinez, the Wellness Editor you currently have access to.

You are you,

For me, this mantra means different things. It serves as a reminder to do the things that make you happy with confidence, regardless of what others may think of you for doing so. It serves as a warning to not become preoccupied with how someone else chooses to spend their life, whether or not you agree with it.

And finally, I use it when I want to affirm someone else who is struggling with self-confidence. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if someone disapproves of what you’re wearing or doing as long as it doesn’t do harm to others (of course).

— Sarah Mitroff, Wellness’ managing editor

Done is preferable to flawless.

When I find myself worrying excessively about a job assignment or creative endeavor or when I’m debating if it’s still too late to get a workout in, I like to remind myself of this. It takes away from the actual energy required to complete the task when I’ve invested so much time in planning or visualizing the “ideal” version of it in my thoughts. Thus, it is comforting to know that physical action is the only thing preventing anything from being completed. The details can be “perfected” afterwards.

This approach not only helps me with mental or creative endeavors but also with moderation in making better decisions. Your body simply needs the nutrients it needs in the bulk of your meals; not every meal has to be completely healthy. Even though it wasn’t the ideal 30 minutes you had in mind, the 15 minutes of mild exercise you accomplished would still be appreciated because your body demands movement.

— Jessica Rendall, health journalist

The information in this article is only intended for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as health or medical advice. If you have any concerns about a health objective or a medical issue, always seek the advice of a doctor or other trained health expert.