Good morning loves!
I don’t know about you, but this time of the year is struggle bus central. It’s dark when you wake up, it’s cold and man the days seem long. It’s easy for me to start to nap more, wake up later and fall victim to poor nutritional decisions. I don’t know about you, but I notice this time of the year can be a serious challenge with my anxiety and depression.
Yet, I’ve found simple yet effective methods to live a happier life year round but especially now. Hopefully, if you’re struggling or will struggle, you can find today’s blog helpful for those times.
5 tips to live a happier life year round
Tip #1: Be mindful of your thought patterns
Ever hear the quote, “you’re the sum of the 5 people you surround yourself with?” “Or you are what you eat?” What if we took that simple but important terminology and thought about it in terms of thought patterns and mindset? It would go something like, “You are what you think.” There is no way that we can be happier people if the things we tell ourselves in our head are negative and nasty.
If you’re anything like me, you’re overly critical of yourself, your actions and constantly worry about the “what ifs” and worst case scenarios. It doesn’t matter if you say them to yourself, write them down in your journal, you give them life which means you have to change these habits for success to be happier.
Take that negative thought process, and force yourself to reverse the thought. If you say something like, “gosh I look fat in this…..” Instead, say 3 positive thoughts about the things you love most about your body.
Tip #2: Workout girllllllll
You know by now I am a huge fan of working out, not for weight-loss purposes but for mindset. Literally, I have never been in a bad mood after a workout, I just don’t think it’s possible. Endorphins are like God’s gift to us when we workout. Endorphins give you that euphoric feeling that gives you a boost to your mood up to 12 hours after activity. Just start moving and watch your body and your mind grow.
Tip #3: Meditate
Now, hear me out. If you’re like the person I used to be, I refused to do anything of this nature lol. It was impossible for me to focus, my head couldn’t do it. But in reality, I just wasn’t open to change. Meditation is proven to reduce stress and it has been said it can slow the aging process because you are facilitating happiness. Take 5 minutes to find yourself everyday before the chaos begins.
Tip #4: Appreciate everything you are and everything you aren’t
Be grateful friends. Seems simple right? But how can we be grateful when it feels like we are living in a storm? Simple. Love the life you’re given even if you’re not where you’re at because you still have the opportunity to achieve the life you want. Being grateful facilitates optimism, the very thing we tend to lack when we are unhappy. Gratitude helps you to choose optimistic thoughts over negative ones.
Recently, I started a gratitude journal where I write down 5 things every single day I am grateful for. If you take the time, you will see the list of your blessings in life is much longer than the things going wrong.
Tip #5: SLEEP
Yes, my favorite past time lol, sometimes I think it is though. We are a society that never stops but because of this we become exhausted and this upsets our serotonin levels. Serotonin is a critical hormone for happiness. When we offset our sleep patterns we upset our circadian rhythm which is part of our system that helps to regulate our hormones. Each day your body resets itself through sleep, when we lack sleep we aren’t allowing our bodies to rest adequately. Think of sleep as your ability to reset your body and your life giving you a daily opportunity to be happier starting each day off with positivity
