It is important to remember to put yourself first as it is easy to forget what’s most important.
Instead of saving your resolutions for the new year, begin focussing on yourself today, with these effortless ways to bring positivity and acceptance back into your life.
1. Smell Yourself Happy
Using aromatherapy or uplifting scents to change your mood or influence your train of thought is a quick, easy, and immediate way of bringing positivity into your life.
Scents like lavender, thyme or any citrus fruits can do wonders for transforming your state of mind. Applying lavender to your pillows, or washing your sheets with a few drops of the oil can encourage relaxation and lower levels of anxiety. Similarly spraying citrus, or thyme around the house or even on your pulse points can awake your soul and provide energy when you’re looking for a pick-me-up.
Learn more about healing with aromatherapy here.
2. Utilise Mantras
Mantras or motivational sayings can have a huge effect on how you start and finish your day. Words can have the power to motive, heal, calm and inspire, and utilised on a daily basis, these simple measures can dramatically improve your outlook.
Opera singer turned yoga instructor Kathryn McCusker discovered mantra meditation in Mexico 14 years ago and has been teaching worldwide ever since.
Learn how to bring the meditation style into your daily life here.
3. Smile
Your body language speaks volumes to those around you. Learning to adopt a powerful physical stance in any given situation can have a direct impact on the confidence you feel.
Even just changing the expression on your face can alter your mental and emotional state. Indeed, studies have found that by simulating facial expressions we take on the emotions those facial expressions portray. That is, even if you don’t feel like smiling, when you smile, you ultimately feel happier and friendlier. It’s not just psychological, it’s physiological.
Read more about how body language can change your outlook here.
4. Give a Little
What better time than today to practice gratitude and compassion? Giving without the hope, or even thought, of receiving can dramatically impact your overall wellbeing and positivity. Donate to a shelter, give your time to help others, or pay it forward by purchasing something as small as a coffee or a hot meal, for someone less fortunate than yourself. Many cafes and restaurants are onboard with the practice of paying it forward, just ask.
5. Establish ‘Me Time’
Instead of letting time constraints control how you go about your day, make time for yourself and reconnect with your mind to promote wellbeing and avoid stress. By simply taking six minutes at the end, or beginning of every day, you will encourage your mind to detoxify and make room for positivity. Escape to a quite place, put your headphones in and either listen to a meditation podcast, a soothing sound, or simply sit in silence. Take time to register your breath and focus on where it is in the body. Take any negativity and process it by removing it from your thought process. Don’t be frustrated if you find your mind racing, just acknowledge it and continue on. You will get better at shutting everything out with every attempt.
View our tips to bring mindfulness into your everyday life here.
