Looking for easy, effective ways to glow up mentally?! Look no further than this mental glow up checklist that will guide you through how to positively shift your mindset to achieve a glow up!
If you want to glow up your life, you may think all you need to do is get your hair & nails done, put on some self tan, whiten your teeth, and you'll instantly feel better about yourself.
But, the truth is, a complete glow up takes time to see positive changes both physically AND mentally in your life. You can't expect to improve your appearance and immediately feel better & more confident about yourself.
I know a physical glow up can seem quick, easy, and fun. However, if you're looking to make major changes to feel more comfortable and confident with yourself, that starts with your mindset.
Unfortunately, there's no "quick fix" to glow up your life overnight.
In this article, you'll learn about how to glow up mentally so you can consistently practice these positive habits to glow up.
This post is all about how to glow up mentally to improve your life & mindset.
What Is A Glow Up, anyways?
Before we dive into the nitty gritty of how to mentally glow up, let's talk about what's a glow up.
A glow up is when you make major, positive change in your life.
This could be physically changing your appearance to look better.
Or, taking the time to work on yourself and your mindset to be more confident .
Essentially, glowing up is when you make positive improvements in your life: appearance, mindset, talent, intellect, etc.
How To Have A Glow Up
Commonly, when you think of "glowing up" your mind may instantly jump to all the physical changes you can make in your life.
Lose weight, wear more makeup, change your wardrobe, dye your hair... you get the idea.
However, a physical glow up, though it can make you feel good about yourself, isn't and shouldn't be the end all be all to your complete glow up journey.
Mentally glowing up is essential to feeling genuinely more confident in yourself and who you are as an individual.
Unlike many physical glow up changes like dying your hair or getting your nails done, to glow up mentally, you need to consistently work on yourself.
By consistently working on your mindset, you'll gradually notice yourself gaining more inner confidence which only helps boost your physical glow up journey too.
Mental Glow Up Checklist: How To Glow Up Mentally
A mental glow up takes plenty of time, effort, and persistence. However, through daily practice, you can glow up your life & evolve your mindset for the best.
1. Set (Realistic) Goals For Yourself
Goal setting is essential to improving your life.
Not only setting goals for your glow up journey, but life in general.
Try to set consistent goals for your glow up journey like journaling for at least 10 minutes each day, or not going on your phone first thing when you wake up.
Try to also set goals to strive for in your life such as getting a certain grade in a class, promotion at work, or budgeting to save a certain amount of money each month.
Goals ultimately help simplify and focus our actions to align are daily schedules around achieving those goals.
2. Journal
Journaling is a great way to reflect on your life, get your thoughts down on paper, and learn more about yourself.
Whether you're an avid overthinker, or are struggling with negative thoughts that spiral in your mind.
By writing all your thoughts out of your mind onto paper, you can more effectively work on those toxic, negative thoughts then allowing them to keep catastrophizing in your mind.
Even if you aren't struggling with any negative, spiraling thought patterns, journaling can be great to record what's going on in your life. This way you can look back on past journal entries and see how far you've grown as an individual.
3. Organize Your Space
You know the saying: "messy room, messy mind". This saying is soooo true!
If you feel like your life is chaotic and overwhelming, one simple way to ease your mind is having a clean, organized space.
Start cleaning your desk, room, and other spaces in your home. Try to get rid of anything you no longer need/ don't use as they will only take up space and serve as potential distractitons.
Also, try to have a specific spot for all of your belongings. For instance, putting all your nail polish in a certain corner of your bathroom.
This way, when you go to organize your belongings, you'll immediately know where to put things away which will help motivate you to organize things when they have a certain space.
4. Use Less Social Media
There's a fine line between the pros and cons of using social media.
Although social media you can connect with friends and find inspiration.
Social media can also be toxic by your feed being flooded with other people's highlights, resulting in you comparing yourself to other people.
Therefore, consider using less social media. Not only can social media make you feel bad about yourself, but it can be a MAJOR time sucker.
Think you don't have time to glow up?! Check out your screen time on your phone and how much time you spend on social media each day!
5. Consistently Practice Self Care
Self care isn't just something fun to do in your free time.
Self care helps you relax and restore your body to look and feel your best.
In order to achieve your greatest potential, you need to intentionally set aside time for self care.
Otherwise, you risk burnout and not feeling rested and restored to achieve your goals.
Self care looks different for everyone.
Consider trying beauty self care activities: painting your nails, face mask, hair mask.
Or other self care activities like reading, taking a nap, going for a walk, etc.
6. Spend Time Outside
Whether you are being active outdoors or just sitting outside to journal in the morning, the outdoors are great to reset your mind.
Often, we can get caught up and overwhelmed over trivial things that aren't worth getting worked up over.
By taking a break and going outside consistently to appreciate nature, this can help you reset your mind to focus on what's truly important in life.
7. Use A Planner
You'd be surprised how much time you waste in a day.
It may seem like you never have enough time to get all the things you want to do done.
But, try planning out your days and tracking where your time goes.
You'll be surprised to find that from watching TV to scrolling on your phone-- you can waste A LOT of time.
Time that could be better spent working on yourself and glowing up!
8. Positive Affirmations
Saying aloud or writing down positive affirmations each day is a great way to glow up mentally.
Toxic negative self-talk can sometimes manifest itself into our lives. This repetitive negative talk essentially sabotages you from achieving your goals and what you want out of life.
Therefore, positive affirmations help quiet this negative thinking.
For instance, if you are about to interview for your dream job, rather than thinking "I don't deserve this job, I'm not qualified", you should say "I deserve this job because I'm a hard worker and am qualified to do this job".
By reframing your negative self-talk you can manifest positive situations from positive self-talk.
9. Learn Something New
Aim to learn something new (and that you're interested in!).
Is there a language you've always wanted to learn? Is there a topic like self help or psychology you want to learn more about?
Consistently strive to learn something and that actually excites you.
Some great ways to expand your knowledge are:
- Read Something You're Interested In
- Take An Online Course
- Listen To A Podcast
10. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone (try new things!)
Don't be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone.
If you have things you're interested in trying, don't let your fear of uncertainty hold you back.
Try that workout class. Learn that new instrument you've always wanted to play.
Not only will you gain self-confidence, but you may find a new passion or next best hobby you never would have discovered if you didn't go outside your comfort zone.
11. Spend Time With Yourself
Life can be filled with distractions. Work, relationships, personal life, social media, and the list goes on and on!
Intentionally set aside time just for yourself to reflect on your life, and truly reflect if your life is going the way you want it to go.
It can be easy to just go with the flow of life. However, if you have a constant voice in the back of your head that you've been pushing to the side because you were too busy with life, now's the time to listen to that voice (and act accordingly!).
You may find going for a walk by yourself, journaling, or just listening to music to be great ways to just spend time with yourself.
Even if you don't have anything major to reflect upon in your life, there's something restorative and calming about being with yourself and your own thoughts.
12. Grow Genuine Self-Confidence
Mentally glowing up is a great way to boost your self-confidence.
Not only will you know more about yourself, but you'll have done the work and set up consistent healthy habits to help you feel your best.
It can be easy to just fake confidence. However, genuine self-confidence takes time.
But through consistent effort and practice working on yourself and glowing up mentally and physically, you'll soon see how far you've grown as a person.
13. Surround Yourself With Positive People
Have you ever heard the saying: "You are who you surround yourself with".
Surround yourself with positive people that lift you up and motivate you to go after your goals.
NOT the people & relationships who are toxic and compete against you.
It can be difficult to cut ties with people who have been in your life for some time, but aren't the best for you and who you want to be.
However, not only are the those relationships making you feel bad, but you are wasting your time when there are people out there who can and will love and support you to be your best self.
14. Practice Gratitude
Whether you're having a bad day or are just feeling stuck in life, it can be easy to forget all the amazing things going on in your life.
Consistently practice gratitude in your life to glow up mentally.
Consider getting a gratitude journal or just writing down in your regular journal a bullet list every day or once a week what you're grateful for (i.e. relationships, family, lessons you've learned, etc.).
15. Prioritize Yourself (don't be afraid to say NO)
If you're a people pleaser (like me!) it can be easy to constantly say yes to favors or requests others may want from you.
However, though this may seem harmless, eventually you'll find your spending all your time helping others, and not prioritizing yourself and your goals.
It's not selfish to say NO. Especially if it's a favor or thing you don't want to do.
All you'll do is waste your time and potentially resent the person who asked you for the favor.
Instead, consciously make an effort to spend more time on YOU and achieving your goals.
16. Embrace Change
Change can be scary. But sometimes change is necessary in order to glow up your life.
I'm not talking about necessarily drastic changes. However, small changes, or new healthy habits you start will over time compound and you'll find you're well on your way to glow up mentally.
17. Stop Making Excuses Or Procrastinating
Excuses & procrastinating can be tempting. However, all excuses do is hold you back from glowing up and achieving your goals.
For instance, think about how much time you scroll on your phone procrastinating when you could spend all that time starting that new hobby you've always wanted to try.
Or, when was the last time you thought to yourself: "I'll start this new hobby when I have more time".
You're never going to have enough time. Start today glowing up. Even if it's just a little change like going for a walk after work instead of watching TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a glow up natural?
A glow up can be natural, such as when you reach puberty.
Or, a glow up can happen when you make intentional positive changes in your life (typically towards your appearance and mindset).
In terms of making changes in your own life, it's best to gradually work on glowing up in a natural progression to form healthy habits that can stick with you for a lifetime.
What age do you normally glow up?
There is no specific age you should expect to glow up by.
Everyone is unique; therefore, don't force or put pressure on yourself to make all these changes in your life by a certain age.
Especially when it comes to mentally glowing up, these changes take time and consistent effort.
For a physical glow up, many people tend to see improvements in their appearance in their mid teens to early twenties.
This post is all about how to glow up mentally.
Other Posts You May Like:
The Ultimate Glow Up Checklist To Be Your Best Self
35 Easy Self Care Kit Ideas To Instantly Feel Better
Best Shower Routine For Glowing Skin
