HOW TO NURTURE HAPPINESS: THE GLASS IS ALWAYS HALF FULL MENTALITY
Are you more of a glass half empty or half full person? In our lives we are continuously searching for more happiness, confidence, satisfaction and for less suffering, stress and negative emotions. But how does the actual experience of all these thoughts and feelings work? It doesn’t matter where you are in your life and what you are looking for, here are the steps in how to improve your optimism:
THE CHOICE IS YOURS William Shakespeare already named the magic words ‘Nothing is good or bad, thinking makes it so’. Being human means having thoughts all the time and that they come and go by themselves. Only you do have the chance at any moment to change your mind and thus interpret a situation differently. Pay less attention to negative thoughts and focus on your positive thoughts. Thoughts only determine how you see the world in the moment, and that's all you got.
UNDERSTAND YOUR STRENGTHS The benefits of self-awareness with understanding and compassion towards yourself will help you to feel better about situations. Therefore: Give yourself more credit and love yourself like you would love your friends. Imagine how you would respond to a friend when they would bring up the struggle you’re facing. You might discover that you would respond in a more compassionate and accepting way. Protect no.1.
CELEBRATE THE SMALLEST STEPS We can’t say it enough, but celebrate your small wins! Acknowledge each effort you made, share it with the people you love, write it down or take a gratitude break. Harvard Business Review already stated: “Of all the things that can boost work life, the most important is making progress in meaningful work”. The power of progress is fundamental for our human beings. Therefore: celebrate YOU and your little successes.
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If we are to believe the world-famous book 'Ikigai' by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia, we have managed to add an average of 0.3 years to each passing year for over a century. Anti-aging has been high on the agenda for decades and we are doing everything we can to slow down this process. But how can we go down this road as stress-free as possible?
ACTIVE MIND & YOUNG BODY We have long passed the station that we consider body and mind separate from each other. Body and mind are closely linked and the health of one is linked to that of the other. It turns out that having a young, active and flexible mind is an essential factor in staying fit. Training your mind and maintaining it is just as important as keeping your body moving. You can do this on the basis of brain training in which you focus on breaking routines and habits. The brain likes incentives to stay flexible and healthy and you have to maintain these yourself by undertaking new activities or exercises. This can simply be playing a new game (try Qwixx, our new favourite) or taking a dip in the water on a Sunday morning in the Amstel.
REDUCE STRESS (surprise surprise) But how?! Sounds obvious, but actively reducing stress. The Japanese find aids in taking a bath longer than usual, listening to music, keeping your house clean (a clean house = clean mind), keep moving, give yourself a head massage (nice!) and meditate.
THE ENEMY = SITTING Particularly visible in the Western world: a sedentary existence. This leads to various syndromes that can be counteracted by a lifestyle with more exercise. Here are some tips that are easy to add to your daily routine:
1. Walk to work or take a morning walk before starting work.
2. Add exercise or sport to your daily routine and see it as part of your day and not as. a must.
3. Use your legs where necessary, so skip the elevator or the escalator. Small changes with a big effect!
In addition to these Japanese keys, the most important thing remains to find your life purpose. According to the Japanese: What is your Ikigai? I.e. The reason you get up in the morning? Having a clear life purpose contributes to more happiness, satisfaction and meaning in your life. The Japanese philosophy believes that we can take charge of the actions we can take every day. Central to this is that you have a clear goal in mind so that you know which actions you have to take. Do you want to read more about how you can do this? Check the recommendations below.
We would love to hear your thoughts! Send us a DM on Instagram @peoplesplacegym.
The new era of positive psychology by Martin Seligman This must see Ted Talk of Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology, questions what modern psychology can do to help us become since it moves beyond a disease focus. – Click to watch.
