March - April

Promotions, new relationships, and even winning the lottery will give you only a temporary boost in happiness. Each person has a baseline level of happiness that they quickly return to, but sustained happiness takes work. Listed below are six exercises that, when practiced frequently, can build genuine and lasting happiness.

• Gratitudes: Write down three things for which you are grateful every day. Don't worry if they seem simple or mundane—just get something down on paper. Writing gratitudes will help you identify positive aspects of even the worst days.

• Acts of kindness: Make a conscious effort to do something nice for no reason other than to help. You might be surprised how a simple act of kindness can turn around the day for both you and the kindness recipient.

• Exercise: The positive effects of exercise are astounding. Physically active people have increased energy, superior immune systems, and a frequent sense of accomplishment. Exercise can reduce insomnia, stimulate brain growth, and even act as an anti-depressant. If jogging or lifting weights seems like too much, don't be afraid to start with a 30 minute walk or a slow bike ride.

• Meditation: Research has linked meditation with reduced anxiety and more positive emotions. Those who meditate regularly may even permanently restructure their brains to create sustained happiness.

• Positive journaling: Take some time to write about positive events in your life. Write about a fun day spent with friends, a good movie, or an activity you enjoyed. Positive journaling will get you into the habit of focusing on the positive.

• Fostering relationships: Strong social connections are thought to be one of the most powerful influences on our mood. Those who are dedicated to spending time with friends and family show the highest levels of happiness. If you can't see your loved ones every day you can still send an email or make a phone call. If it feels like you never see your loved ones, schedule time that can be dedicated to them.

What is it that brings YOU the greatest happiness?

As human beings, one of our deepest-rooted desires is to have a meaningful and happy existence. You’ve probably heard of the saying, “Live your best life.” It’s good advice.

But what does it really mean to live your best life?  Here are 6 tips to help you achieve this goal:

1.  Visualize!  Imagine who you are when you are at your best.  Where are you, what are you doing, what are you wearing, who are you associating with on a day to day basis?

2.  Find Your Purpose!  Feeling useful and like you are a part of something bigger is important, so ask yourself what lights you up. Equally as important, ruminate on the things (or people) you always dread. Incorporate more of the good and avoid as much of the bad.

3.  Aim For Growth!  What are you willing to fail at in order to improve upon? It’s much easier—and sometimes less painful—to stay in our comfort zones. But when you don’t risk any growth, there’s rarely a reward.

4.  Prioritize Your Health!  If you are unwell, you will be unsuccessful.  Health is one of the biggest barriers to achieving your goals.  Maintain your physical AND mental wellness to live your best life.

5.  Take Action!  To build the life you want to live, you have to stop thinking and start doing.  Action is what moves you in the direction you'd like to go.

6.  Nurture Your Environment!  Be intentional with your surroundings and how they influence you. The people and objects around you can impact your mood and self-worth. Make sure they’re contributing to your happiness and energy, not detracting from it.

Living your best life is not about what looks perfect for social media or what everyone says you “should” do. It’s about what you want and how you’re going to make it happen. It's also about simplifying your life in a way that works for you. So, go on—live your best life full of purpose and without any regrets.

When someone mentions the term "self care" what comes to mind? What is self care really all about?  

It can be described as "a conscious act taken to promote your own physical, mental, and emotional health." There are many forms self-care can take. Self-care is vital for building resilience toward those stressors in life that you can't eliminate. When you've taken steps to care for your mind and body, you'll be better equipped to live your best life.

Unfortunately, however, many people view self-care as a luxury, rather than a priority. Consequently, they're left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life's inevitable challenges.  Here are 5 types of self care and suggestions for how to practice each.

1.  Physical

Physical self-care includes how you're fueling your body, how much sleep you're getting, how much physical activity you are doing, and how well you're caring for your physical needs. Attending healthcare appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care.

2. Social

Close connections are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy into building your relationships with others.  What are you doing to nurture the relationships with friends and family?

3. Mental

Mental self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles, or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You might find reading books or watching movies that inspire you fuels your mind.

4.  Spiritual

Research shows that a lifestyle including religion or spirituality is generally a healthier lifestyle.  Nurturing your spirit, however, doesn't have to involve religion. It can involve anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or connection with the universe.  Whether you enjoy meditation, attending a religious service, or praying, spiritual self-care is important.

5.  Emotional

It's important to have healthy coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions, like anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care may include activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings regularly and safely.  Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it's important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.

How will you practice each of these in your own life?

Today's exercise is a bit of a meditation, a relaxation exercise, intended to put you in touch with your own feelings and surroundings. When you have 5 minutes available, I'd like you to find a comfortable, quiet place to sit with no distractions (put your phone on do not disturb!) and try this activity.

Slow down your breath. Breath deeply for a few moments. Inhale and try to fill your abdomen with as much air as you can (try to inflate your belly button). Do this for a count of 4. Now, hold it. Just for a count of 4. Next, exhale, pushing all of the air out of your lungs, until you feel that everything is cleared out. Do this for a count of 6.

Repeat that a few times. When you're ready, we can move on.

Starting from the bottom of your feet, I'd like you to acknowledge each part of your body. I'd like you to recognize any tension, or pain that you may have in your feet. Tense the muscles of your feet and hold them for a count of 4, and then release. How do you feel now?

Next, your calf muscles. Acknowledge them. Recognize any tension or pain. Then, tense up the calf muscles, and hold for a count of 4. Release. Acknowledge the muscles again.

Next, I'd like you to move to your thigh muscles and do the same. Acknowledge, recognize, tense, hold, release and acknowledge.

Your buttocks and hips are next. Acknowledge, recognize, tense, hold, release and acknowledge.

Abdomen and lower back -- Acknowledge, recognize, tense, hold, release and acknowledge..

Now, shoulders and upper arms. -- Acknowledge, recognize, tense, hold, release and acknowledge.

Next, forearms and hands -- Acknowledge, recognize, tense, hold, release and acknowledge.

Lastly, do your neck and face -- Acknowledge, recognize, tense, hold, release and acknowledge.

Now, let's slow down your breath again. Breath deeply for a few moments. Inhale deeply for a count of 4. Hold it for a count of 4. Next, exhale for a count of 6. Repeat this a few times. When you're ready, check in again with how your body feels. Spend a quiet minute acknowledging your present moment. And then, enjoy the rest of your day!

Today's exercise deals with "Cognitive load" or "Cognitive OVERload" as the case may be.  Cognitive load is the total amount of mental effort you're using at any given time.  Prolonged overload can lead to frustration, irritability, anxiety and ultimately, burnout.  

Imagine that your mind is an internet browser.  When you have only one "tab" open, your internet runs fairly smoothly and doesn't have slow downs or freezes very often.  Yet, when you open multiple tabs, suddenly the performance of your internet declines drastically.  In the same way, when you try to focus on or worry about multiple things, your mental performance declines.  In a world full of distraction, noise and speed (Amazon will deliver packages almost instantaneously at this point!), it's no surprise that many of us are feeling overwhelmed, anxious and burnt out.  Our brains are dial up internet and our world is running at a Cable Internet speed. 

The solution here isn't to speed up our connection or find more space on our hard drive (brain), because human cognition ultimately has its limitations.  No, I believe the solution instead is to reduce the cognitive load we carry.  So, considering the "tabs" you currently have open, are there ones that you could close?  

Are there tabs you have open that focus on worries for other people?  

Are there tabs that focus on things in the past that are not controllable now?  

How about tabs that play an intrusively negative narrative and make you feel bad about yourself?

Are there tabs that can be closed for now and re-opened at a different time, when your brain is more clear and available to focus on them?

Today I'd like you to truly consider those questions and begin making a plan to reduce the amount of cognitive load you are carrying.