With all the talks on self-care and self-love, it is no surprise that people are looking to have a glow up.
Especially during the pandemic, where many people felt stagnant and discouraged, and it was generally a hard time for everyone, now more than ever we want to gain back the lost time.
But what does it mean to have a glow up? In my opinion, it means to look after yourself in a way that helps you to become better and improve several areas of your life.
You can have a glow up in so many different areas of your life! However, I think that to make the process easier, we can divide this into two main categories: a physical glow up, and a mental glow up. In this blog post, I’m going to show you how you can achieve both.
10 ways to have a physical glow up
Table of Contents
Exercise every day
I won’t lie to you and say that I’m the biggest fan of exercising, because I’m not. However, I do believe that it has great benefits for your body and your mind. In this case, because I’m talking about a physical glow up, I’ll focus on the results you get on your body when you exercise consistently.
I come from an island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, so I grew up spending 3 to 4 months a year by the beach, and unfortunately, I wasn’t always comfortable in my body.
When I decided to take exercising seriously though, I started to see the results, my confidence started to increase, and now I appreciate it much more because of that.
Just find something you’re happy to do, and try to stick to a routine and be consistent.
A great platform I use (which is free!), is the FitOn app, and I highly recommend it.
Drink 8x glasses of water every day
I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but drinking plenty of water helps us to get that glow up that we really desire!
I always notice that when I drink my water, my skin looks better, I have more energy, I feel good… at the end of the day, our bodies are made up of 70% water, so we need to make sure we drink plenty of it!
If you struggle to drink enough (trust me, I can relate), try one of these tricks:
- Have cups of herbal tea instead (no sugar or anything else, just water and herbal tea)
- Put a glass or bottle next to you when you’re working, that way you’ll always see it and it will be your reminder to drink
- Set a regular timer on your phone to drink a glass of water every half an hour to an hour
- Track your water intake on a journal/planner/list. That will motivate you to remember to drink and get your 8x glasses per day
Cut out on alcohol and junk food
I’m not saying you should cut everything out completely, because I believe that everything should be in balance. However, if you know that you indulge a bit too much in drinks during social outings (or at home) and junk food, then it might be best to reduce the amount or completely cut it off.
Neither of them is very good for you anyway, especially junk food can be terrible for your skin and your stomach. So save it for a day where you want to treat yourself, but don’t make it a habit to eat it regularly.
Look after your skin
I call myself the queen of skincare (as well as productivity) because I have a whole ritual about it.
I started taking better care of my skin when I realised I had rosacea. I was using certain products but I didn’t have a proper regime in place, and I still wasn’t seeing any improvements.
It got to a point where I started to feel really uncomfortable, so I did a lot of research, and then I invested in some natural products which have changed my life!
I have a morning and evening skincare routine and a weekly skincare routine. In the weekly routine, I make sure I use my facial steamer to let my pores breathe, I do a face scrub and some face masks, and then I’m glowing!
I also take care of my body, so I do a body scrub regularly, I do dry brushing (though I don’t remember it too often) and I apply moisturiser.
Get your health checked
I don’t know about you but in adultland, getting your health checked is an act of self-care. More than that, it can actually help you prevent some minor or big conditions, so it’s essential that you get your health checked regularly.
Do an eye check, get your blood tests done, check your teeth, if you’re a lady, make sure to get your boobs checked to prevent breast cancer.
Honestly, the list goes on but I cannot stress enough how important it is to monitor your health.
Trust me, this will be the real glow up.
Eat healthy, nutritious food
Eating healthy is an act of self-care! You may have heard the sentence “you are what you eat”, so it’s important that you’re mindful of what you put in your body.
I won’t tell you what to eat because I’m not a doctor and that is unique to you, but do make sure that you prioritise healthy, nutritious food for your meals.
And if you are a busy bee and don’t have time to cook from scratch every day, start meal prepping so you can stay healthy and organised!
Get plenty of sleep
Another thing I prioritise in my life, that really made me have the glow up I desired, is sleep.
I always enjoyed sleep, but I never made it a priority in my life.
However, I now make sure I get 7-8 hours of sleep every night, and not only that, but before I actually go to sleep, I put away any screens and highly stimulating activities and focus on winding down. That way, I ensure I have a good quality of sleep which is as important as the quantity.
Have a weekly pampering session
This is another one of my favourite things to do! Now that I’m in a relationship it’s become a bit harder to have that much time just for myself, but I still try to make it happen.
This will look different for everyone, but I love giving myself a facial, having a bath, sorting out my hair and body, the list goes on!
Basically, if you want to have a physical glow up, you need to be intentional with it and ensure that you spend some time pampering yourself every week so you can always recharge your batteries and take care of yourself.
Audit your wardrobe
Another aspect that is extremely important for a physical glow up, is your wardrobe.
I don’t know if you’ve ever found yourself in a place where you feel really uncomfortable because you’re wearing something that doesn’t add value to your person.
Or maybe you have an event to go to and you keep staring at your wardrobe because you have nothing appropriate to wear.
Unfortunately, I found myself in this place more times than I like to admit, and that’s because I never really paid attention to it.
Of course, I’ve always dressed nice and I try to take care of that, but I didn’t always feel great when I wore certain clothes.
Also, as you grow older, your personality changes and so does your taste and this should reflect in your outfits.
So make sure that you review your wardrobe perhaps once or twice a year and get rid of anything that doesn’t suit you anymore, and buy things that will boost your confidence and make you feel great.
Get your nails done
Does this sound vain? Maybe. But let me tell you, I never had as much of a glow up as I did since I started to get my nails done.
Ever since I can remember, I always bit my nails pretty badly, to the point where my nail bed was almost non-existent.
I was always against getting my nails done because, to be honest, the ones I used to see from the girls around me were always quite tacky and I didn’t like that.
However, it was only about a year ago that I decided to get my nails done at a nail salon, and my life hasn’t been the same since.
Getting your nails done gives you a certain level of confidence and beauty that makes you go out into the world like a queen!
If you want to have a glow up and you never had your nails done, I suggest you try it out. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy but trust me, you’ll feel like a new woman.
10 ways to have a mental glow up
Journal regularly
A great habit that is guaranteed to give you an incredible glow up is journaling. Why do I say that?
You see, there’s something so powerful about putting our feelings and thoughts on paper, and allowing ourselves to look deep into ourselves and what’s happening in our life.
Many people tend to bottle everything inside themselves, and this leads them to be overwhelmed, anxious, even bitter, and none of this is good for us.
Journaling will help you to become a better version of yourself daily, heal from any hurt you may have, and also celebrate the great moments in your life.
I love journaling so much that I wrote a whole blog post about it here.
Read personal growth books
Another thing that is sure to give your mind a glow up, is reading personal growth books. I’m a huge fan of these types of books (the serious ones of course), and they’ve really helped me grow both in my personal and professional life.
These kinds of books will open up your mind, allow you to think outside the box and even make yourself uncomfortable (in a good way) motivating you to push yourself and never settle for the comfort zone.
Work on your mindset
Going hand in hand with reading personal growth books, is working on your mindset.
I, unfortunately, have a history of negative self-talk, low self-esteem, no confidence, and toxic thinking patterns.
Through journaling and putting down events and experiences, I realised that this is because of things that happened in my childhood. Because I was able to identify the issues, I was also able to start working on them to resolve them.
Working on your mindset is extremely important if you want to have a glow up because what your mind thinks and believes will become the reality of your life.
Learn a new skill
You literally have nothing to lose by learning a new skill, in fact, all you can do is grow as an individual because of it.
There’s so much we don’t know, as we sometimes tend to focus on the things we need to know for our job or personal life.
But how about doing something different, that doesn’t have to have an end goal? Or, you could do something that could help you in the future with your career, and put you in a more competitive position.
Here are some things you could learn, for work or for fun:
- Learn a new language
- Learn to bake
- Learn to do DIY jobs around the house
- Learn about digital marketing
- Learn about graphic design
- Learn to crochet
- Learn to dance
The list is honestly endless, so you have plenty to think about.
Be grateful
Nothing makes you glow up just like being grateful does. There’s something so special about acknowledging how blessed we are and how many great things happen in our life.
When we learn to approach life through this perspective, we’ll have a much better attitude towards life, taking nothing for granted and really being content where we are.
Know who you are
If you want to have the real glow up, you need to be firm in your identity.
Especially in this day and age where social media and the world try to tell us who we should be or make us conform to an idea of what we should look like, I say stand firm in your identity.
As a Christian, I know the foundation of my identity, and that nothing in this world can change that and how God sees me. It’s not always easy, but I keep my eyes on the end goal and the bigger picture, so I’m less likely to be influenced by the world around me.
Improve your flaws
This is not something we like to hear often, but it’s essential for a glow up and quite frankly, it’s just the truth.
Too often these days I hear people saying that you’re perfect just the way you are, and you shouldn’t change a thing about yourself, and that if you’re a certain way, you should remain that way.
Whilst I appreciate and agree with the fact that we have to love ourselves and not be so hard in judging ourselves, we also need to understand that we’re not perfect, and we never will be.
So it’s important that we treasure our good traits and continue to develop them, just as it’s essential to work on our flaws.
If you’re not sure what they are, ask the people closest to you and trust me, they’ll be able to tell you.
Think positively
This does not mean that you never sit in your feelings for a bit or that you are in self-denial about some difficult things that happen in the world.
What I mean is that even when you acknowledge that something is extremely difficult and it’s hard to be excited about life, you should still think about the bright side of things.
I always like to look at the glass half full, and I always say that even on the darkest days, the sun will shine again.
This helps me to face very difficult situations reminding myself that pain and suffering and hardships are all temporary, and I can still rejoice in the little things and find beauty even in difficult seasons.
Choose your friends wisely
I wish I could scream this from the rooftops because trust me, too many people are not aware of this!
You can only go as far as your environment allows you to, so if you’re in a toxic, limited, jealous environment, guess how far you can go.
I learned to let go of certain friendships a long time ago thankfully, and I’m a lot more selective about who I allow to get close to me.
This doesn’t mean that I look down on people or I am judgmental, but it simply means that the people I look to have around me will need to have certain values, certain beliefs, a vision for their future and ambition.
You are the product of the 5 people around you, so choose them well.
Set new goals (and achieve them!)
Finally, a great way to have a glow up is by setting new goals and achieving them.
Having goals and working towards them will help you to feel motivated, and accomplished, grow in several areas of your life, and really live a life that’s on purpose.
If you have no idea where to start with this, I recommend you check out this post.
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How to have a glow up – Final thoughts
I hope this post will answer every question you may have, as well as give you some ideas to truly become the best version of yourself.
I firmly believe in all the points I’ve mentioned here, and I apply them regularly in my life.
Give them a go and be sure to see the best glow up you’ll have ever had!
