An eclectic selection of ideas for boosting your joie de vivre in the year ahead.
Everyone is, of course, different. But hopefully one or more of these tips will strike you as a worthwhile idea to try out and, perhaps, adopt on a more permanent basis.
You probably have a stack of postcards in a drawer, bought on impulse somewhere. Here's the tip: put stamps on them. Then, whenever a loved one that you haven’t heard from in a while pops into my mind, or someone you know is having a crap time, mail them one. It’s amazing how a simple piece of card can provoke such happy surprise. And you will feel better too.
Niksen: When was the last time you did nothing? As in, to have no goal other than to just enjoy being. In its native Dutch, niksen means literally 'to do nothing.' “We cram our free time so that we don’t have a minute left to just do nothing. Is that bad? Yes, that’s bad. You don’t give your brain space and time to process information and feel what you really need. In short, you lose yourself a bit. High time to elevate idleness to art.”
Buy a toy for your dog. Or a shipwreck for your goldfish to explore. A US study found that spending $5 on your pet boosts your mood more than spending the same amount on yourself or another person.
In late December on CBS, Jane Fonda joined her friend - and fellow anti-ageism advocate - Ashton Applewhite to spread the good news that living with positivity can literally extend your life. “In the next few minutes, Ashton and I are going to add seven and a half years to your life,” Fonda pledged. “People with more positive age beliefs lived an average of seven and a half years longer than people who equated aging with disease and decline,” Applewhite said, in reference to a study from Yale. “In other words,” Fonda cut in. “One way to live longer is just to have a good attitude.” Want to watch the 4 minute video? Click here
Get off the bus one stop early. A 10-minute walk is generally a lot more uplifting than another five minutes on the bus.
Nature’s Xanax: Try 4-7-8 breathing. It really couldn't be easier, and is just four simple steps: inhale for 4 seconds, hold your inhale for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds, repeat twice.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked thousands of people over the course of 85 years. It's the longest study of human life that’s ever been done, covering the same people going through their entire adult lives. What is it that they found that really contributes to well-being? There were two big items over 85 years: one is taking care of our health. The other one, surprised them. "The people who were happiest, who stayed healthiest as they grew old, and who lived the longest were the people who had the warmest connections with other people. In fact, good relationships were the strongest predictor of who was going to be happy and healthy as they grew old."
Relieve your anger: A recent study identified a powerful yet simple solution. Researchers found that writing down a reaction to a negative incident on a piece of paper and then getting rid of it - shredding or crumpling it into a ball and discarding in a trash can - helps release welling frustration. They call this “backward magical contagion.”
An avian soundscape is the most soothing of natural sounds for a frazzled nervous system, reducing stress and boosting mood, even in people with depression. Stuck indoors? Go to the website A Soft Murmur, or download the app, and select the 'birds' option for a virtual dawn chorus. The website also offers other soothing soundscapes, like rain, waves and wind.
Try bedtime 'To Do' lists to get you to sleep faster. Research shows that "cognitive offloading" can help you get a better night's sleep.
The Roxanne Challenge is a perfect little workout with a variety of exercises, but the classic version is to do it with press-ups: get into the “top” position of the move, then put on the classic Police tune and do your first press-up when Sting sings Roxanne. Go back to the plank, and do a press-up every time he sings “Roxanne” for as long as you can. If you get all the way to the end of the song, you’ll have held a plank for about three minutes, and done - let’s not spoil it - quite a lot of press-ups. If you’d like to make this easier, try it with wall press-ups or even squats.
A British therapist, Amy Sutton, has "a box of tricks for mood boosting - from breathwork to gratitude, meditation to grounding. However, this is one that I haven’t really shared with clients, although I think I will now. It sounds simple, but this is a very specific hot chocolate. First, I use cacao powder, which is the raw, unprocessed version of cocoa. It’s a lot richer in taste, though a little more bitter and packed with good stuff like minerals and antioxidants. I heap a big dessert spoonful into a mug, then I dollop a teaspoon of honey on top and add a teeny amount of hot water to create a glistening paste. Meanwhile I’ve heated my whole milk in the microwave. I slowly pour the milk on bit by bit while stirring gently and making sure every bit of the bitter-sweet mixture is dissolved. Drinking this, for me, is the definition of a mindful moment."
Daytime Naps: Napping during the day may slow down brain shrinkage and cancel out up to seven years of ageing, a study suggests. Perhaps a study such as this - demonstrating the health benefits of short naps - will help to reduce any stigma that still exists around daytime napping. So, spread the word - it's good for you.
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