Question for IH: "What do you do for your mental well-being on a regular basis that would have surprised yourself 5 years ago?

Morning meditation practice has made a huge difference to me. It's amazing how much more grounded I feel in stressful times as I can recognize stress signals better.

I have been a couch potato for over 20 years. I would go to the gym maybe 5 times a year.

I started developing stress related issues after I quit my job to work on my side project full time and also had an incident (story for another time) that caused me to look for ways to feel better, mentally and physically.

@trulykp mentions developing habits and routines. They are spot on!

I knew I needed to do things that I could do forever as part of my daily routine. I started by going to a gym and hiring a trainer to help develop a simple power lifting program that I could easily follow 3 times a week.

I did that for a few months, and saw a lot of gains. Then I stepped it up and started doing Crossfit 1-2 times a week on top of the power lifting. I eventually stopped power lifting and kept doing CrossFit. Now I’ve added kickboxing into the mix as well.

I feel generally more stable and my mood swings have gone away. I sleep better and can focus a lot more in the mornings when I’m trying to do some deep work.

If you have kids: I love that I can run around with my 5 year old for hours and not get tired. Because I’m physically more active, my kid can be more active with me. So that positive impact on my kid brings joy to me as well.

For me, it was important to accept that I’m a beginner, forget about how others perceive me and be happy with being terrible at it. That took away the stress of learning something new. I took it step by step, started slow doing things I know I can keep doing forever, and then when my body told me to ramp it up, I went for it.

Changing work environments often: coffee shops, hotels, parks, ski resorts, cabin, etc

Have a nice lunch rather than eating at your desk. I work partially from home, partially from a co-working space, and when possible I go out for a nice, slow lunch and enjoy the food. Sure, all the personal finance books say make your own lunch, but not only is this a refreshing mental break, it can also act as motivation: "When I've completed this task, I'll treat myself by trying that new noodle place."

Building a crowd-sourced database of well-being habits and routines from real people. For ex: "I meditate daily 20 minutes on my commute (train) to work".