Think Yourself Happy
Everywhere I go at the moment there is such anxiety around what is happening in the world. As humans I don’t think we do uncertainty well. Most of us. There is that small percentage of people who seem to be able to manage anything that life throws at them with a smile and sensibility… And then there’s the rest of us!
Since the fuel issues and the war have started we have seen people behaving badly because they are scared, so I wanted to share a little thing with you that I’ve consciously had to do every day to keep my emotions under control. These tips I’ve picked up from a rural mum, married to a farmer and she’s a practicing Psychologist. She’s on Instagram under @the.pocket.psychologist and she has upbeat short, practical, snippets of psychology on anything from ‘think yourself happy’ to help with focus, serious ones about trauma and how to reset your brain when you’re feeling unsafe. I think we’re all feeling a little unsafe now.
So, here are a couple of things I’ve been doing recently:
Finding five things I’m grateful for every day and you can’t use the same one twice. Write them down. Day one includes all the usual things; friends, family, long telephone calls with people you love. Dogs, rain, and so on. I bet by day four you’re having to look closer for things you are grateful for. Perhaps day four or five you start to think you’re grateful for the sound of crickets, that your car started when you needed to get to the school bus quickly, that you had fresh eggs that morning. Small, simple things that reset your brain to happiness.
I’ve also been taking three minutes (yes, just three minutes. I time it on my phone) where I lie down on the lawn and stretch my arms above my head, close my eyes, slow my breathing and try not to think about anything. You really can ‘think yourself happy’.
I’ve also turned off the news and trying to stay away from as much social media as I can. Being bombarded with news of the war and lack of fuel overwhelms me. The last time I felt this vulnerable was during covid. I’m not completely disconnecting from the reality of things, because my business and yours, doesn’t run like that. We need to be across things to make good decisions, but I’m going to trusted sources and not letting it come into my life every moment of the day.
So if you are feeling like me give Millie on Instagram a follow and see if you can slip a few of her strategies into your day. I think you’ll be grateful you did.
