Finding Your Way to Contentment
Life circumstances and happiness seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? A new relationship, warm fuzzy feelings and smiling for no reason. An unexpected raise at work; feelings of appreciation, approval, and more dedication to do a great job. Vacation in a dreamy destination; delight in even the small things.
But what happens when life takes a turn and you’re facing challenges— with family, finances, or health? Sometimes the drudgery of our lives, particularly when things seem even harder than typical, can pull us into a bit of a slump.
The road to happiness may sometimes feel elusive. We may mentally tie it to a goal—“I’d be happier if only I could ____.” But studies have shown again and again that happiness is not found to be higher among those who we perceive have “everything”. Instead, it is often a momentary feeling but one we seek and hope to have more often.
I read an interesting article that pulled information from neuroscientists on how to regain the happy in your life. The suggestions were reminders I often give but believe they are now being tied to actual changes in the brain! So it's time to review them again - and see what we all can add to our life to increase our time that feels happy, or at least happier. The first one is to ask yourself what you are grateful for, and here’s the surprising part—you don’t even need an answer. The mere act of mentally searching for something you’re grateful for will raise your serotonin levels, in turn improving your mood. Second, you label the mood you’re feeling with a word or two (angry, sad, disappointed) and in doing so, the mindfulness of labeling that emotion decreases the feelings associated with it. Finally, making decisions about issues that are stressors for you will also bring you peace. When your brain is struggling with a situation, finding a solution (which doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough) and allowing yourself to move on is calming to your system.
If you follow blogs or routinely peek at Pinterest, you likely have seen people post about gratitude particularly around the holidays but what if you implement some of those strategies year round? I’ve seen some people keep a dish of blank paper with ribbon tied to it to jot down grateful thoughts and hang each paper from a the limbs of a small tree branch in a vase. Others have written the gratitude quotes down on wooden craft sticks and kept them in a bowl. If you’d like to be more private with your thoughts, what about a gratitude journal in either pictures or words? No matter how you choose to capture those thoughts, the exercise will start you looking for more ideas to write down and in turn have you feeling more optimistic.
Labeling your feelings can be equally simple. As you go about your day, if you find yourself in a bad mood, interrupt your grumbling thoughts to ask yourself exactly what emotion it is you’re feeling. If you are a visual person, consider printing out a chart of faces depicting different emotions similar to the one on the left. Keep it in your journal, on your refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror. Give the feeling a name, and take away some of the power and angst behind it. You’ll find that little by little you can move away from grumpy and toward a more satisfied place.
Finally, urge yourself to make decisions if some of what has you down is because you’re facing circumstances and you don’t know quite what to do. My process is to list out pros and cons and consider the paths carefully. Your process may be to do that and include a gut check—what are you feeling moved to do? Be wise in solving the dilemma but the decision doesn’t need to be perfect. Good enough is all you’re reaching for. Do your best with the circumstances you’ve been given and you’ll feel some relief at being able to move on.
Don’t wait for a bigger paycheck, a better relationship, a nicer house to be happy. Look for ways to find happiness today. Creating new routines as those outlined above have been proven by science to be effective tools. Try something new today!
For more info, see 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy, According to Neuroscience, here: http://time.com/4042834/neurosciencehappy-rituals/?xid=fbshare
But what happens when life takes a turn and you’re facing challenges— with family, finances, or health? Sometimes the drudgery of our lives, particularly when things seem even harder than typical, can pull us into a bit of a slump.
The road to happiness may sometimes feel elusive. We may mentally tie it to a goal—“I’d be happier if only I could ____.” But studies have shown again and again that happiness is not found to be higher among those who we perceive have “everything”. Instead, it is often a momentary feeling but one we seek and hope to have more often.
I read an interesting article that pulled information from neuroscientists on how to regain the happy in your life. The suggestions were reminders I often give but believe they are now being tied to actual changes in the brain! So it's time to review them again - and see what we all can add to our life to increase our time that feels happy, or at least happier. The first one is to ask yourself what you are grateful for, and here’s the surprising part—you don’t even need an answer. The mere act of mentally searching for something you’re grateful for will raise your serotonin levels, in turn improving your mood. Second, you label the mood you’re feeling with a word or two (angry, sad, disappointed) and in doing so, the mindfulness of labeling that emotion decreases the feelings associated with it. Finally, making decisions about issues that are stressors for you will also bring you peace. When your brain is struggling with a situation, finding a solution (which doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough) and allowing yourself to move on is calming to your system.
If you follow blogs or routinely peek at Pinterest, you likely have seen people post about gratitude particularly around the holidays but what if you implement some of those strategies year round? I’ve seen some people keep a dish of blank paper with ribbon tied to it to jot down grateful thoughts and hang each paper from a the limbs of a small tree branch in a vase. Others have written the gratitude quotes down on wooden craft sticks and kept them in a bowl. If you’d like to be more private with your thoughts, what about a gratitude journal in either pictures or words? No matter how you choose to capture those thoughts, the exercise will start you looking for more ideas to write down and in turn have you feeling more optimistic.
Labeling your feelings can be equally simple. As you go about your day, if you find yourself in a bad mood, interrupt your grumbling thoughts to ask yourself exactly what emotion it is you’re feeling. If you are a visual person, consider printing out a chart of faces depicting different emotions similar to the one on the left. Keep it in your journal, on your refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror. Give the feeling a name, and take away some of the power and angst behind it. You’ll find that little by little you can move away from grumpy and toward a more satisfied place.
Finally, urge yourself to make decisions if some of what has you down is because you’re facing circumstances and you don’t know quite what to do. My process is to list out pros and cons and consider the paths carefully. Your process may be to do that and include a gut check—what are you feeling moved to do? Be wise in solving the dilemma but the decision doesn’t need to be perfect. Good enough is all you’re reaching for. Do your best with the circumstances you’ve been given and you’ll feel some relief at being able to move on.
Don’t wait for a bigger paycheck, a better relationship, a nicer house to be happy. Look for ways to find happiness today. Creating new routines as those outlined above have been proven by science to be effective tools. Try something new today!
For more info, see 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy, According to Neuroscience, here: http://time.com/4042834/neurosciencehappy-rituals/?xid=fbshare