Express Gratitude, Experience Good: A Daily Gratitude Journal
1. Express Gratitude.
Counting your blessings can take your mind out of the default negative-thinking mode and help you practice positivity.
Before you get out of bed each morning thinks of things you are grateful for.
Focus away from what your chronic condition is taking out of your life and toward what’s possible.
Start the day by asking yourself: “What’s new today? What can I do today that I didn’t do yesterday?”
People who keep “gratitude journals” feel more optimism and greater satisfaction with their lives.
And research shows that writing a “gratitude letter or card” to someone you’ve never properly thanked brings a major boost of happiness.
2.Forgive Others And Wish Others Well
The mind’s natural inclination is toward negative thinking, so you have little head space for positive emotions. Hanging on to old hurts leaves you even less room for optimism.
Your health will thank you: Holding on to anger lets negative emotions fester, resulting in a stress reaction that can worsen your health.
Forgiveness can reduce stress, improve your blood pressure, help you sleep better, and lower your heart rate.
That’s why it’s so important to forgive others and then use the freed-up energy for gratitude, kindness, and other positive thoughts.
Give up grudges, when we forgive those who have wronged us, we feel better about ourselves, experience more positive emotions, and feel closer to others.
Studies show that people who practice mindfulness,the moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and external circumstances,not only have stronger immune systems but are more likely to be happy and enjoy greater life satisfaction, and they are less likely to be hostile or anxious.
Just like making a mental list of all you’re grateful for, mentally wishing others well during the day helps you avoid a wandering mind and the pessimistic thinking that follows.
The reality is, for every person you see, that person is silently struggling with something in their head,wish that person well!
3. Show Kindness
Learning to Be Kind: Over 300 Ways to Be Kind & Show Appreciation
Don’t overlook small acts of kindness.
Even something as apparently insignificant as holding the door for the person behind you can improve your mood.
Little things are big things.
People report greater happiness when they spend money on others than when they spend it on themselves, even though they initially think the opposite would be true.
When we do nice things for others, our brains light up in areas associated with pleasure and reward.
Small kindnesses can improve your whole self-esteem, your sense of who you are rises a bit.
You also feel like if you help someone else, you can help yourself!
4. Cultivate Relationships
Consciously surround yourself with friends and family, and grow those relationships,even if it seems like work.
It’s easy to take the people in our lives for granted, but paying attention to the important people in your life can improve your mental health.
Social connections are key to happiness.
Studies show that close relationships, including romantic relationships, are especially important, suggesting we should make time for those closest to us,people in whom we can confide and who’ll support us when we’re down.
5. Go Outdoors
For a quick pick-me-up, step outside.
It is very important for everyone to go outside and enjoy nature everyday!
Nature has a way of uplifting the spirits and making life seem wonderful and magical!
It is a lovely sunny February day here in Mooncoin County Kilkenny so I went for a walk today to a local beauty spot which is a favourite of mine!
This beauty spot is a great place for fishing and relaxing!
See below a selection of lovely pictures of my favourite beauty spot!
I enjoyed relaxing in the warm sun and looking at the waves dancing and shimmering!
How about you what is your favourite beauty spot?
I would love to here about them why dont you leave a comment and photos below or email me,it would be great to share beauty spots from all over the world!
Nature is a mood enhancer, scientists are finding evidence that being in nature has a profound impact on our brains and our behavior, helping us to reduce anxiety, brooding, and stress, and increase our attention capacity, creativity, and our ability to connect with other people.
Our culture propagates the harmful myth that we should strive to be as comfortable as possible, to make life as pleasurable as possible, and to resist hardship as much as possible.
Nature calls you back to reality. You can’t stop it from raining.
You can’t delay the setting sun. You can’t set the temperature to a comfortable 70 degrees.
You awake from a dream and realize how little control you really have.
You remember that hardship and lack of control are part of life, and accepting this reality makes it not only bearable, but possible to feel the joy of being alive.
When you behold the beauty of nature,you remember that you are connected to all living things.
You feel that you belong to this Earth. That you are part of the community of nature.
You feel comfortable in your own skin, you experience your own quiet peace and strength.
For people suffering from physical illness or mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, interacting with nature can help people control their symptoms or even recover, alongside conventional medication.
Feeling a part of nature has been shown to significantly correlate with life satisfaction, vitality, meaningfulness, happiness, mindfulness, and lower cognitive anxiety.
For more great Health and Nutrition Tips refer to the website positivehealthwellness.com
We keep learning about how important vitamin D is for health, including preventing cancer, hormonal problems, obesity, and inflammation, and having a strong immune system.
Vitamin D, also known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, plays a major role in helping to keep your bones and teeth healthy but did you know that low levels of vitamin D can cause depressive symptoms and a low mood?
Because sunlight is a natural source of vitamin D, it means spending more time outside would increase your vitamin D intake.
It’s very common to have depression if you have vitamin D deficiency…so get outside and soak up those rays!
Being in a natural setting can also help increase your quality of sleep, as studies show that natural sunlight helps set the body’s internal clock that tells us when to eat and sleep.
And we all know how important sleep is not just for our health, but even for weight loss.
Research has consistently linked lower sleep to lower happiness.
Most of us spend too much time in front of screens and too little time outdoors. It’s time to fall back in love with nature!
6. Expand your knowledge
You are probably living in your comfort zone, as we all do.
When you are acting within your comfort zone, your learning and development opportunities are limited as you are likely to be doing something that you are already comfortable in doing.
However, if you want to realise your full potential, you need to stretch, grow, learn and develop.
To do this, you need to consciously make decisions to step outside of your comfort zone and take on new challenges and experiences.
If you do today what you have always done, then tomorrow you will get what you have always gotten.
By learning new skills you open up new opportunities that might not have been available to you before. Learning empowers you and helps you achieve your aspirations and career goals.
By discovering things you’re good at and expanding your skills portfolio‚ you increase your self-esteem and gain a sense of pride from your achievements.
My career goal is achieved through this website!I learned many technical aspects of how to create a website through a training programme called Wealthy Affiliate.
The best thing about wealthy affiliate is that they help you when things go wrong especially at the beginning when you are not quite sure what you are doing!
There is a strong community of members who motivate each other!
Also there is a site support team who are great when you make mistakes,they help to fix them and this happened to me on numerous occasions!
They have great training videos that helped me a lot!We give each other feedback that helps to improve our websites,good feedback is essential!
Studies show that using your skills makes you happier; learning new skills boosts the body’s natural production of dopamine (you know, the feel good hormone!).
The exercise of learning itself stimulates the brain and helps to keep your mind sharp.
Learning something new in one area can have a ripple effect in others‚ contributing to longevity and good health in later life.
Learning is a process of self-improvement‚ allowing you to reflect on who you are and to add more dimensions to your capability‚ character and interests.
When you acquire new knowledge‚ you often want to share this knowledge with others.
I dont know if you know this but I just acquired some new knowledge the other day about a new type of phone charger,it is called a mobile phone charger.
My husband Brendan bought it to bring on holiday’s to use on the plane.It is going to be very handy what do you think?
The process of passing on knowledge in this way brings you closer to others.
Learning transforms who we are as people‚ not just because it gives us knowledge we otherwise would not have had‚ but also because it gives us confidence in our ability and transforms our attitudes as a result.
With the power of learning we have the ability to do whatever it is we want!
What do you want your life to look like?
Find the balance between what’s realistic and what’s possible.
The road to happiness and fulfillment in life is not a straight line so consider alternate routes!
7.Music makes you feel better
Whether you’re performing it or listening to it, music can increase your happiness as well as the happiness of those around you because it lifts your spirits up!
Music has the power to do so much.
It can make you feel happy, sad, excited or even pumped up.
Listening to music that hits you in a special way causes your brain to release dopamine which is known as a feel good chemical.
It causes us to feel emotions like happiness, excitement, joy, etc.
Listening to music provides us with the same burst of happiness that we would get from eating a piece of chocolate.
Music has been found to boost the immune systems of patients after surgeries, lower stress in pregnant women and decrease the blood pressure and heart rate in cardiac patients, thus reducing complications from cardiac surgery.
Music has touched cultures all over the world since very early times in human history.
Whether it’s the music that we listen to on the way to work, while we workout, or the music we hear in a film, it can bring up our moods,or tell us a story.
The beautiful thing is, everyone’s taste in music is different so no matter what music you make, you’re likely to find someone who will appreciate it.
Music is capable of a number of health benefits including lowering stress levels, raising states of consciousness, changing moods, accessing different states of mind, developing the brain and is useful in meditation which has a ton of health benefits.
8.Get physical
Cycle Through Tropical Scenery – or indoor walking, treadmill and cycling workouts
Exercise isn’t just good for our bodies, it’s good for our minds.
Studies show that regular physical activity increases happiness and self-esteem, reduces anxiety and stress, and can even lift symptoms of depression.
Exercise may very well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all activities.
When we walk, run, bike or engage in some other form of physical exercise, we generally seem to feel happier and less anxious.
In addition to increased energy, physically active people feel a sense of accomplishment in meeting personal fitness goals and also, they may feel proud of their improved physical appearance.
When you start working out and achieving goals you never thought possible, you’ll feel an incredible sense of accomplishment.
And that can do wonders for your happiness.
Staying active on a regular basis has been shown to improve sleeping problems of insomniacs.
And research shows that people who begin exercising regularly report that their sleep quality improves significantly changing their diagnosis from poor to good sleeper.
Next time you’re feeling down, stressed or anxious, go get some exercise.
Because not only does exercise change your body for the better, it can also change your outlook on life to a more positive one.
You’ll be happier and healthier because of it.
9.Animals make us happy
100 Simple Secrets Why Dogs Make Us Happy: The Science Behind What Dog Lovers Already Know
Pet owners have lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels,less stress, depression, and loneliness than those who don’t own pets.
Pet ownership tends to prompt people to adopt a multitude of healthy behaviors.
The responsibility gives pet owners purpose and makes them feel needed, improving their senses of self worth.
It also forces them to get off the couch and go for a walk every now and then, boosting both health and happiness.
There’s something incredibly comforting about coming home and being greeted with wet, slobbery licks and a wagging tail!
Pets are loyal, nonjudgmental and full of unconditional love. Who could ask for anything more?
Try to see the positive things that have happened in your life since you have had diabetes and note them down on paper.
Put the paper or card in a place where you see it, or remind yourself of those positive things every day.
If you have any information,questions, or feedback you would like to include in this post.
Please email momo19@diabetessupportsite.com or leave your comments below.