Tanja Alexandra Kern
5. Physical Activity
Whenever you feel a little down and it feels counterintuitive to get up and get your body moving, you may want to give it a try. Even if just for 10 minutes, taking a walk while consciously breathing in the fresh air, doing a short yoga practice or just some stretching can bring new energy to your body, mind and spirit. Any in- or outdoor activity that you usually enjoy will allow you to reset you mind while your body is producing your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins, which are boosting feelings of wellbeing and happiness. While you are focusing on your body moving, you naturally shed your worries and tensions, improve your mood as well as your sleep which is often disrupted by anxiety, worries and stress.
6. Visualization
In times of stress, this practice instantly calms us down and delivers us with feelings of gratitude, joy and happiness. Find a quiet spot, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths in and out of your nose. Now imagine your favorite happy memory or your favorite location. As for your memory, see yourself, others and your surroundings, feel what you feel, smell what you smell, hear consciously and maybe check in if you can taste something while enjoying your favorite memory. If you decide to go to your favorite location, let’s say you choose a beautiful white sand beach with turquoise ocean water and luscious palm trees offering you shade. Explore and taste of the salt on your lips, feel the warm sand and a gentle ocean breeze on your body, hear the ocean waves gently lapping on the beach, smell the tropical air filled with the aroma of coconut, sunshine and seawater, and see the brilliant blue sky and palm leaves above you. Ahhhh, don’t you feel better already?
7. Affirmations
Affirmations are a great tool to remind us throughout the day what is important to us and shift our focus and intention in that direction. An affirmation, a positive statement describing a desired outcome, is being repeated and eventually gets impressed on our subconscious mind. This helps and supports us in taking the appropriate action to make our positive statements come true. The simplest affirmation example would be the encouraging words “I can do this”. No matter how challenging the situation may seem, by affirming to us that it will be fine and that we can get through this, we are able to face the situation and actually find our way. There are unlimited affirmations available and you can even create your own. The important thing to remember is to repeat it consciously and with intention and than to keep your positive outlook alive throughout the day. Affirmations also work beautifully in combination with visualization. While visualizing your desired outcome, repeat your affirmation and then have faith and trust that it will happen in the best possible way.
8. Counting Your Blessings
And, as always, counting your blessings inevitably generates a tremendous amount of gratitude and as a consequence happiness. Taking a few minutes at bedtime to write down all the things that you are grateful for allows you to recall and celebrate the highlights of your day. By counting our blessings we train ourselves to become more present and aware to all the good things in our life. So next time you realize you are grateful for something or someone in your life, take a moment to bathe in the feeling of your gratitude. It feels so good to take that special person, occasion, or thing in with all your senses and be fully alive and present to it.
There are many ways to happiness. Enjoy your path on your journey of happiness!
