Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring various exercises to help boost happiness and our overall sense of wellbeing. In this final post of the Positivity Pathway, we’ll be covering the last four exercises to consider incorporating into your routine to invite more joy and positivity into your life: caring for body and mind, utilizing coping skills, avoiding overthinking, and comparing, and spirituality.
Care for Body and Mind
What is it? Both meditation and exercise have powerful positive effects on the mind and body. This activity has to do with self-care practices to keep you healthy and clear.
Research shows both meditation and exercise can be stress relievers. Why is it so powerful and why does it work?
- Decreases anxiety and stress Increases heart rate variability
- Increases immune response.
- Activates pre-frontal cortex
- Releases endorphins
- Resets brain chemicals
- Communicates to the body that you are alive
- Eats up stress hormones
- Mental and physical cleaning
I challenge you to develop an exercise and meditation habit beginning tomorrow (or 1 week from now, whatever works best for you!). Do it for 30 days; then, do it for another 30 days. Journal your experience to savor the feeling. Track your progress in a habit tracker at the end of 30 days, review your progress and recognize your accomplishments. I guarantee you will feel lighter and more positive.
I know it’s not easy, trust me, I know.
Here are some tips:
- Get support. Tell a friend, spouse, partner or colleague, what you’re up to. Ask for support and accountability to develop consistency.
- Start slow. Don’t strive for perfection, just progress.
- Meditation doesn’t come effortlessly for everyone – be patient, trusting and open. Use the resources available online – here are a few apps to check out: Insight Timer, Calm, and Relaxation.
- Movement will make you happier – any movement! Walk, cycle, stretch, yoga, play – whatever works for you!
There are 24 hours in a day. Let’s assume you sleep for eight, work for eight, commute for two, and let’s say two hours for eating meals – you still have four hours left each day. How do you use that time? Are you willing to schedule time on your calendar each day to take care of you?
Utilize Coping Skills
What is it? Problem-focused and emotion-focused skills that are used to work through challenging life events. People who create meaning from their adversities are more likely to be resilient.
Research shows that the ability to cope with life circumstances is a teachable skill. People who learn these skills experience less depression, are more resilient and thrive despite adversity. Learning to utilize coping skills will enable you to be a better problem solver and you’re more likely to experience post-traumatic growth (PTC).
Some people grow as a result of the trauma and use it to do what they otherwise might not have been able to do. Why? Because you are building emotional regulation, self-regulation, and self-efficacy as you become more solution-focused instead of problem-focused.
Practice looking for the silver lining as you experience negative events. Is it hard? It’s not just hard, it’s really hard, but with practice, looking for the benefit or gain in a situation has been shown to increase a person’s wellbeing. You may not be able to rationalize a benefit, for every negative situation, but you can practice being less pessimistic about these events and the “always and everything “ beliefs.
Here are some tips:
One rule that I’ve followed for a number of years now, is the 24-hour rule.
What is the 24-hour rule?
It is the conscious decision to wait 24 hours before making any important decisions that do not require an immediate response, this is especially important if it’s an emotional reaction. If something negative occurs, I do my best to control my emotions, because once I become emotional, it’s very difficult to be solution-focused. I take the time to try to understand what has happened, and if it’s something I need to address further, taking the 24- hour rule allows me to begin thinking about potential solutions or a strategy to address it. It’s a journey, and I’m certainly not perfect, but I am so much better at using coping skills and a much happier person as a result.
Avoid Overthinking and Comparing
What is it? Regulating the human tendency to perseverate over the meaning, causes, and consequences of one’s character, feelings, or problems. Stopping thoughts that are not helpful to how a person wants to feel or act. Regulating the tendency to overthink and compare helps us reclaim cognitive control of ourselves.
What happens when we overthink or compare ourselves to others? I can tell you – nothing positive!
Overthinking drains your mental resources affecting skills such as concentration and problem-solving.
Upward comparison can lead to inferiority. Downward comparison can lead to guilt.
Now for the good news!
Controlling these automatic thought tendencies empowers greater wellbeing. Why?
Because it builds self-regulation, controls automatic negative thoughts, encourages mindfulness, trains emotional regulation and decrease getting stuck in negative emotions.
Let me give you a common example of overthinking and comparing:
You apply for job, get called for an interview, and go through the process. You don’t hear anything for several days. What do you do? You are most likely ruminating about it, and this occupies your mind a good percentage of your day/week(s). In addition, you’re already thinking about why you’re probably not getting the job. Your thoughts go something like, “I shouldn’t have applied in the first place, since I don’t have all the skills in the job description. I was too honest in the interview, so that ruined my chances. I’m sure there are more qualified applicants, if I was more like (fill in the blank), I would have heard already. He always gets what he wants – he’s so lucky, but not me. Ok – I may be exaggerating a little, but you get my point. Does this sound familiar? Maybe it’s not about a job, but I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar
Think about a time similar to this example. What was your reaction? What will you do differently next time?
Here are some tips:
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. Evaluate your priorities.
- Practice your coping skills.
- Give voice to things that are worth your mental energy, as well as things that are not worth your stress and mental energy. Think of a couple of examples and journal about them, so you’re prepared when similar situations arise.
- Think hard about the things you can control and what you can’t control. Stop wasting mental and emotional energy on the things you can’t control.
- Don’t compare yourself to what you see on social media, keep in mind, most people are posting the positive events in their life.
- Don’t ever wish you were someone else. Just be yourself in all your uniqueness – you owe it to the world!
Spirituality
What is it? Feeling a strong, intimate, and personally valuable connection to something greater than yourself and living life from that space of faith. Having a strong sense of faith is correlated with life satisfaction.
Research shows it does not matter how acts of faith are carried out so long as the activity increases a state of calm and positivity, focuses your attention and you believe in it. People who consider themselves to be of “faith” or spiritual are happier than those who do not.
Participating in spirituality can often be tied to being a part of a group and cultivating a sense of shared meaning and belonging. It helps you make meaning in your life.
Reflect on your meaning and purpose
Creating meaning comes from having a coherent “life scheme.” Sit back and write down your own life story. Who are you now, and who were you before? What future do you imagine for yourself? What are the obstacles in your path? What assumptions do you hold about the world and why things are the way they are? What is my purpose? Where do I fit in? How do I improve the world around me?
Keep going, keep growing…
Related Posts:
Invite More Positive Emotion into Your Life
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