- Change your mindset
This is the first and most important step to living a more positive life. Being able to change the way you think and what you consume can immediately change your life. Social media has become a place that is all about the consuming of information both uplifting and degrading. Uplifting information comes in the form of positive quotes, self care/self help, people who are inspiring others, people who inspire you/ motivate you and any other positive content. Degrading information comes in form of drama, negativity, bad news, putting other people down etc. The more positive information you consume the more positive you become and the more negative information you consume the more negative you are. To change your mindset you have to stop doing things that increase your anxiety/ sadness levels and start doing things that increase your happiness/ determination levels. I’ll teach you how to do that in my next couple of points.
2. Create a sense of self
We as humans are mostly social creatures we crave interaction most times which is normal however alone time is as necessary as time with people. Spending time with yourself helps you understand what you like, what you dislike, what you believe in, what you don’t believe in. This is crucial to your overall person because the more you know yourself and consume positivity the more positivity you’ll find. Everything isn’t going to be perfect all the time but when you have a sense of self you’ll know what to do in the moments you feel down. Something as small as watching your favorite show, taking a bubble bath or playing an instrument are all ways you can increase your positive energy. Spend time really getting to know the person you are and in discovering yourself you’ll be able to have an overall more positive outlook on life. Personally speaking I’m an extrovert and as an extrovert I gain energy by being around people however sometimes it’s to my personal downfall. I’ve started cultivating healthier habits in who I spend my time with and what I’m doing in my spare time. If I’m home I do activities like journaling, watching a show and just recently I started meditating which all help raise my positivity. Spending time with myself has led me to caring more about what I put into my body. All changes take time but with the right determination/ motivation you can do what you’d like to.
3. Have time for your hobbies
Let’s face it, we are all at home and for the first time in a while I’ve had to ask myself the question what are my hobbies? A hobby is defined as an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. Sometimes as adults we don’t have time for hobbies with work, dealing with kids/husbands and trying to navigate life we can ignore our hobbies. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes a day practice a hobby. Examples of hobbies you can get into include but aren’t limited to:
Blogging, Art & Design, Music, Reading, Video Gaming. When you start to indulge in your hobbies it helps manage your stress which as adults all of us are prone to. If you don’t have hobbies learn something new or perfect a skill. Practice having at least one or two hobbies and watch your wellness increase.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness if anything is the most important concept of my four points. The more mindful you are the more the other three points come a bit easier. What is mindfulness? The dictionary defines Mindfulness as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. Mindfulness isn’t just about breathing or yoga it’s about accepting yourself and focusing on the present moment instead of continually focusing on the past or future. Living in the moment and paying attention to what is actually happening around you helps you stay focused and keeps you from making decisions you may regret or self sabotaging. I have a magazine that my husband bought me called the mindfulness journal, it has an information portion and it has a portion that you can actually write down things that help you be more mindful. One practice I’ve also just started is the art of journaling, I’d always kept a diary since I was a little girl and even now it still helps me sort through my emotions.
Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
If you are Learning new skills, developing yourself or practicing mindfulness your overall sense of well-being will increase. You’ll find yourself not feeling isolated during this time but being excited as you wake up everyday to a new journey ahead. Keep in mind that you should do things at your own pace, and don’t overwhelm yourself with too much information at once. Take things day by day
“ The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” — Dalai Lama.
