HEALTH + FITNESS
Have Yourself a Happy Little 2017
Published
8 years agoon
Source: Shutterstock
As we ring in the New Year, we tend to focus on resolutions involving diet, exercise and finances. This year why not add happiness to the list.
According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences not only does happiness have a positive effect on our immune systems, it also helps lower cortisol, the stress hormone related to type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
There are many ways to change our mindset to happiness – and fortunately most of them are relatively easy and cheap!
Start off Positive: Therapists suggest waking up each morning and focusing on the positive aspects of the day ahead, instead of the negative. It will focus your mindset for the day ahead.
Exercise: Not only will it boost energy, it will raise your heart rate and help clear the fogginess that often accompanies depression. The key is to finding an exercise you enjoy – whether that be swimming, walking, zumba, yoga or some other form of movement. Source: Google
Meditate: self-help guru, Gabrielle Bernstein, addresses using meditation for happiness in her bestselling book May Cause Miracles. Named “a next generation thought leader” by Oprah Winfrey, Bernstein has 4 tips to help us achieve happiness in 2015:
1. Make your first thought of the day a happy one: She recommends creating an uplifting music playlist to listen to first thing in the morning instead of watching TV. Take the time to meditate for a minute or two while listening to music. 2. Snap out of a negative mindset: Bernstein has a simple technique for this – she wears a rubber band on her wrist. Whenever her mind wanders into negative thoughts she simply snaps the rubber band, telling herself to ‘snap out of it’! 3. Unleash your inner child: When stress takes over, unplug the computer, take a break from work and find the silliness of your inner child. Take a ‘dream break’ during the afternoon and let your mind focus on things you are dreaming of. 4. Sleep to restore your mind: We all keep hearing about the power of a good night’s sleep and it can really help restore our emotional and mental balance. To get a restful kip, Bernstein recommends employing the Kundalini breathing technique: Sit up straight on your bed puckering your mouth in a U shape (as though you are holding a quarter between your lips). Breathe in and exhale through your nose. Continue this for a minute.
DeClutter: Life coaches recommend decluttering your home. It will help you think clearer and be more organized. Clutter saps energy, which in turns makes us feel depressed and scattered. A home free from clutter will also help declutter the mind and make our day more productive.
Focus on Experiences not Things: Leave the credit cards at home, skip the mall and instead focus on experiences rather than material objects. The thrill of purchasing a new pair of shoes will fade quickly, but the memories of enjoying time spent with friends, family, or doing something you love will stick around for much longer. Source: Pinterest
Keep a Happiness Journal, or Jar: You know the phrase ‘fake it until you make it’? Well it refers to happiness too. If you start to fake happiness – even if you’re not initially feeling particularly perky – you will, over time, feel authentic happiness. Focus on things that have made you happy during the day and write them down in a journal every night. You will be going to bed with a happy thought in your mind. Similarly you can start a happiness jar. Popular on Pinterest this involves writing something that made you happy during the day and popping it inside a large mason jar. At the end of the year, or if you are in the middle of a tough time, open the jar and read your handwritten happiness notes.
As we ring in the New Year, we tend to focus on resolutions involving diet, exercise and finances. This year why not add happiness to the list.
According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences not only does happiness have a positive effect on our immune systems, it also helps lower cortisol, the stress hormone related to type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
There are many ways to change our mindset to happiness – and fortunately most of them are relatively easy and cheap!
Start off Positive: Therapists suggest waking up each morning and focusing on the positive aspects of the day ahead, instead of the negative. It will focus your mindset for the day ahead.
Exercise: Not only will it boost energy, it will raise your heart rate and help clear the fogginess that often accompanies depression. The key is to finding an exercise you enjoy – whether that be swimming, walking, zumba, yoga or some other form of movement. Source: Google
Meditate: self-help guru, Gabrielle Bernstein, addresses using meditation for happiness in her bestselling book May Cause Miracles. Named “a next generation thought leader” by Oprah Winfrey, Bernstein has 4 tips to help us achieve happiness in 2015:
1. Make your first thought of the day a happy one: She recommends creating an uplifting music playlist to listen to first thing in the morning instead of watching TV. Take the time to meditate for a minute or two while listening to music. 2. Snap out of a negative mindset: Bernstein has a simple technique for this – she wears a rubber band on her wrist. Whenever her mind wanders into negative thoughts she simply snaps the rubber band, telling herself to ‘snap out of it’! 3. Unleash your inner child: When stress takes over, unplug the computer, take a break from work and find the silliness of your inner child. Take a ‘dream break’ during the afternoon and let your mind focus on things you are dreaming of. 4. Sleep to restore your mind: We all keep hearing about the power of a good night’s sleep and it can really help restore our emotional and mental balance. To get a restful kip, Bernstein recommends employing the Kundalini breathing technique: Sit up straight on your bed puckering your mouth in a U shape (as though you are holding a quarter between your lips). Breathe in and exhale through your nose. Continue this for a minute.
DeClutter: Life coaches recommend decluttering your home. It will help you think clearer and be more organized. Clutter saps energy, which in turns makes us feel depressed and scattered. A home free from clutter will also help declutter the mind and make our day more productive.
Focus on Experiences not Things: Leave the credit cards at home, skip the mall and instead focus on experiences rather than material objects. The thrill of purchasing a new pair of shoes will fade quickly, but the memories of enjoying time spent with friends, family, or doing something you love will stick around for much longer. Source: Pinterest
Keep a Happiness Journal, or Jar: You know the phrase ‘fake it until you make it’? Well it refers to happiness too. If you start to fake happiness – even if you’re not initially feeling particularly perky – you will, over time, feel authentic happiness. Focus on things that have made you happy during the day and write them down in a journal every night. You will be going to bed with a happy thought in your mind. Similarly you can start a happiness jar. Popular on Pinterest this involves writing something that made you happy during the day and popping it inside a large mason jar. At the end of the year, or if you are in the middle of a tough time, open the jar and read your handwritten happiness notes.
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