In winter it seems like the dull dreary days go on forever, which can make us feel dull too! The excitement and busyness of the festive season is over and now there just seems to be rain, wind, cold, and feeling chilly!
So how can you raise your happy vibes, build resilience and help yourself through these dark Winter days? Simple changes can sometimes go a long way to changing your mood.
Admiral McRaven reminds us of this in his speech that went ‘viral’ in 2015 on YouTube.It has always stuck in my mind: ‘If you want to change the world (or your world!) start off by making your bed. This small seemingly mundane task will make you feel a small piece of pride and it will encourage you to go on through your day and accomplish another task and then another’.
What this is saying is that to feel well, it’s important to put positive well-doing actions in place in your daily life.
These actions, much like making your bed are not time-consuming, but they do need planning. And this is often where we fall down.
We have the wish, the desire, the hope, and the intention to do something that will lift our spirits, but we don’t plan it into our day. This often means it gets left behind on the pile of ‘I wanted to do this’ ‘I hoped to do this, ‘I wished I’d done this’ of good intentions that never happen.
Here are 3 well-doing tips with how to plan them into your day
1) Help your body feel more alive
Exercise regularly for 20 minutes or so. How regularly depends on you. If you are new to exercise than 2 or 3 times a week might be enough to begin with and then you can gradually build up. Do whatever exercise takes your fancy; walk, jog, dance, yoga, swim… Remember, any regular exercise will improve your mood.
How can you make this happen?
Put it in your diary, just as you would a dentist appointment!
Tell other people when you’re going to exercise. Because it’s more difficult not to do something that you’ve told someone you’re going to do.
Maybe get other people to join you; friends, colleagues, neighbours or family. You’d be surprised how doing something with other people can help you.
Or join a challenge that keeps you accountable, motivates you, and keeps this on top of your agenda. Many charities encourage you to take up a physical challenge for a month: walking, running, swimming, and squatting are recent ones that I’ve seen on social media. This is a double whammy! You are not only doing yourself good but also raising awareness and a bit of money for others.
2) Help your mind think positively
Use the words inspired, interested, smiled, laughed, grateful, hopeful, happy, cheerful.
this inspired me today
this interested me today
this made me smile/happy/cheerful
this made me laugh
I am grateful for this
Do you notice that your mind often turns automatically towards negative, unhappy, catastrophizing thoughts that increase mental and physical tension?
Your brain is hardwired to see what could go wrong which is how and why we have survived as a species.
It’s an important mechanism to have in place and can be lifesaving when you sense that you need to run NOW! But in everyday life where you don’t need to run away from something, the simple practice of positive thinking can release tension from your body, relax your mind and promote calm.
How can you make this happen?
A good time to remind yourself of what made you smile, laugh, inspired, happy, and grateful in your day is before you go to bed.
Write your thoughts down in a notepad, record them as voice notes or simply reflect on them.
Leave a note by your bed with: Inspire, happy, grateful, laugh, smile, interested on it to remind yourself of your well doing. Just seeing these words will spark happy thoughts.
3) Help your mind be more focused
Turn off the bings and buzzes and beeps on your phone. Take the time to go into your settings on the phone and do it! Control your phone and not the other way around!
Take regular breaks if you work in front of a screen. By break I mean, get up, walk around, stretch, bend, look outside or better still go outside, have a drink, breathe.
The five minutes you take to allow your mind and body to charge positive, helpful energy will discharge the muscle tension, tightness, and unhelpful thoughts. It will greatly increase your mental focus.
How can you make this happen?
Set reminders. Either an alarm on your phone (yes this one you can keep!) or a post-it note on your screen. Just as you would remind yourself of a meeting with a colleague, remind yourself of your meeting with yourself!
Decide how often you are going to take a break and make it happen.
In summary, If you want more well-being, you have to DO something purposefully, It doesn’t just happen.
How can hypnosis help with this?
In hypnosis, you actively do something to strategically direct your thoughts to more positivity, greater clarity and more confidence.
For example, while in hypnosis, you can focus on your exercise plan and see yourself engaging with it as if it were happening now. You can fast forward in your mind to notice any flaws in your plan, you can amend and improve it. Visualising yourself acting on your wish is a very strong enforcer of your intention.
You can also train your mind to observe how positive thoughts can change your way of experiencing the same day. Hypnosis makes the difference crystal clear in a very simple, observable and profound way. It helps you experience your power to change perspective and the very real influence that you can have on your thoughts.
Hypnosis connects your unconscious imaginative mind to help you achieve well-doing. It strengthens your resolve and increases your happiness and resilience!
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