Do you ever have those moments when you feel overwhelmed and unsatisfied with your life and want to shake it back to being exciting? I do! Instead of moping around and slouching all day, as I tend to do sometimes, why not do something to shake up our life and see things in a different light? And it doesn’t have to be something huge, like quitting your job or taking the first flight to your dream destination, you can always start with some small things. I strongly believe that life is in the details. And if these details manage to create a beautiful, exciting puzzle, there you find the happiness in life.
- Try an activity you have never done before: I don’t know if it is the exhilaration of the unknown or simple chemistry (aka happiness hormones) but I find this to be a truly invigorating thing! For example, I live on an island and yet, I have never even tried windsurfing! It is on my bucket list, though, and you will be seeing my progress soon 🙂 This summer we tried horse riding on the beach with my friend K. and it was an amazing experience. You can read all about it here.
- Do a random act of kindness: be the driver who lets all the pedestrians cross the street (if you live in Greece you know how difficult that is!), bring your coworker coffee, do the dishes for your significant other. It will probably make you smile even more than them 🙂
- My (second) most favorite form of psychotherapy: move your furniture around! My family jokes about this obsession of mine but I can tell you it is totally invigorating and refreshing! You get to use all of your space, literally re-align with yourself and see things from a different perspective. Don’t tell me you don’t need it some days!
- Try meditation or hypnosis and learn how your mind works and (more importantly) how to control your negative thoughts.
- Read a book from a genre you don’t normally read: I never read so-called self-help books but let me confess here that I am getting a total kick out of them since I discovered how interesting they can be.
- Find a mouthwatering recipe and cook it for dinner, call friends over or have a quite night in with a chilled white wine and your favorite show. Cooking is my therapy most weekdays 🙂
- Do something you have been putting off for a while now: you will feel totally free and relieved when you don’t have to think about it any more (says the girl who did 2 months of ironing in a single afternoon and feels a new person since).
- Go grocery shopping and buy only good things for your body and skin: organic meat and vegetables, no processed foods, no canned soups, loose leaf tea. You will feel amazing for taking such good care of yourself.
- Forgive someone whose thought makes your stomach churn: forgiveness is its own form of liberation and you should probably do it for yourself not others. The annoying co-worker, the distant parent, someone you shouldn’t be thinking about, the toxic friend… if you accept that they are doing the best they can under the circumstances maybe it won’t bother you anymore.
- Go for a walk in a place of your city you have never (or rarely) been to. You will get to know your area better, discover new things and maybe find inspiration for something new!
PLUS: Put on some music! If you are feeling low, music can be a great moodlifter. Try something that will cheer you up, remind you how great you are – ditch your break-up mixtape and make a new, uplifting one to listen to the car or at home.
What do you think? Will you be doing or are you already doing some of these things? Are they too small to make a change or is it in the small things that bigger changes and happiness await?
Sending my love and positive energy to you all
xoxo
Foteini
What do you think?