In no particular order…
- Count your blessings. Develop gratitude and appreciation for what you have.
- Learn to say no and to ask for what you want. Say yes without expectation.
- Happiness doesn’t come from ‘stuff’.
- Live life according to your expectations and not the expectations of others.
- Listen more. Talk less (especially when someone speaks to you).
- Smile and laugh more.
- Spend time daily with your thoughts to help you destress.
- Plan your meals and make them from scratch.
- Ask others for help and be specific e.g. “can you please mind the children for one hour on Saturday while I take a break?”
- Forgive others. Don’t hold grudges. Forgive you. Don’t hold regrets.
- Don’t buy anything simply because it is reduced. Do not buy clothes hoping they will fit at some stage and when you buy new clothes, get rid of old ones.
- Watch your self-talk. Be your own cheerleader. Believe in you and your ability.
- Gently stretch when you wake and throughout the day.
- Nothing changes because you complain. Change comes with action. Stop complaining – the negativity is not good for you or those around you!
- Become more organised. Put out tomorrow’s clothes today. Get up a half hour earlier.
- If you are super organised, accept that you can’t control everything or plan for life.
- Awareness is key to change. Get to know yourself.
- Dance at every opportunity even in the kitchen – it’s easy exercise.
- Hugs are healing. Pets can provide great company and most love hugs if there are no humans to hug.
- Folding clothes when they come out of the drier helps avoid wrinkles (on your clothes but maybe also on your face!).
- Disconnect from technology. Reconnect with nature and with people.
- Salute people. You might be the only contact someone has when you say “good morning”. Always say “thank you” because it’s nice.
- Get a good night’s sleep. Stick to a bedtime routine. Sleep deprivation negatively impacts brain and body and good quality, uninterrupted sleep restores both body and brain.
- Your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn.
- Instead of watching tv do something productive.
- Treat yourself – you deserve it.
- Diet and nutrition is one way to mind our mental health. B12, D, Zinc, Omega 3 fatty acids, iron, selenium and other deficiencies in minerals, amino acids and proteins can affect how we feel and think.
- Retrain your brain to spot the positive, rather than the negative.
- Listen to music that you enjoy.
- Get daily sunlight.
- No one is any better or any worse than you.
- Learn how to control your angry reactions – take deep breaths rather than shouting or swearing. Don’t lose your temper with anyone. Ever.
- You don’t know what you would do if you were in someone else’s shoes. Stop judging others. Stop judging yourself. Humans make mistakes.
- Whatever your age, keep active. Keep your body healthy with movement.
- Respect the environment. Recycle. Have a compost bin.
- Stay hydrated. Watch the colour of your pee – the colour is more concentrated when you drink less fluid.
- sing.
- Keep a journal – it can help you keep track of your day-to-day feelings and emotions.
- Learn to slow down your breath and how to do calm/diaphragmatic/belly breathing.
- Write a list of your worries and turn that list into a plan of action.
- We flourish with praise. Focus on the things you get right. Praise yourself.
- Be considerate. You have no idea what’s going on for others.
- Mind your physical health by keeping your body strong and fit.
- Reduce or cut out alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, sugar, screen-time, cigarettes, stressful situations, negative people, naps late in the afternoon, staying up late or sleeping in. Increase time with positive people, your intake of vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, protein and fresh produce. Eat more beats, garlic and broccoli.
- Feed your senses i.e. eyes (sight), ears (sound), skin (touch), tongue (taste) and nose (smell).
- Wear bed socks to help keep your body warm while you sleep.
- Have regular health-checks e.g. smear, hearing, dental, breast, bloods, sight, vitamin, hormone, prostate etc – whatever it is that you should get done – go do it!
- There isn’t always a why. If you had a ‘why’ what would it change?
- No one likes a “know-all”. Don’t give advice unless someone expressly wants it and, even then, ask if he/she is sure!
- Always have goals, like dreams, they’re appropriate for every age. Have short, medium and long-term, achievable goals. Write them down. Acknowledge achievements. Set new goals.
Caroline Crotty B.Soc.Sc. M.A. (Counselling & Psychotherapy) works on a one-to-one basis with adults and adolescents at the Natural Clinic Cork and at Dr Denis Cotter & Dr Joan Lynch’s Surgery Newtown, Bantry. Caroline also provides companies and organisations with talks, training courses and workshops on a variety of wellbeing topics such as how to manage our emotions; leadership; finding balance in our lives; positive parenting; how to be happy etc. Contact Caroline 0877107032 hello@carolinecrotty.ie www.carolinecrotty.ie
