If there’s anything I’ve learned over my 30 years of life, it’s that happiness can only be acquired within ourselves. I mean yeah, shopping, gorgeous weather, my puppy and a good plate of nachos all make me (temporariliy) happy but Im not talking mediocre fluff. I’m talking about being and feeling deeply happy and content with your life kinda stuff. The kind of happy that doesn’t give you anxiety or make you feel insecure or jealous about what someone else has got going on. I’ve learned that true (long-lasting) happiness, like most things in life is something that needs cultivating, practice and steady focus in order to flourish.
I’ve been pretty athletic my whole life and for me, going to the gym has always been a place where I could tune everything out and focus purely on me and my own thoughts for an hour. Being active and being outdoors period, has enriched my life in so many ways. I’ve gone into detail about all the benefits I’ve experienced by being active (healthy eating/drinking habits, clearer skin, stronger hair/nails, better sleep routine, more energy .. etc.) but I just can’t stress it enough. I feel most centred, in control and full of energy when I’m leading an active lifestyle.. it just sort of aligns all aspects of my life and I’ve noticed huge changes for the better by keeping to this (as best as I can, only human here).
I love boxing and weight training at the gym, but on days I can’t make it there I try to take at least 30 minutes out to go for a brisk walk with my dog, ride my bike or do a monthly squat challenge from home with free weights – it doesn’t have to mean going to the gym for hours on end. As long as I’m getting fresh air and am able to do something active I’m feeling great and on my game. You should try it! The point being, I always use to look outward for direction, advice.. happiness. But what I’ve learned lately is that happiness can only be manifested from within, from what I feel, think, experience and chose to place value on. I’ve been working hard each day, little by little on myself, for myself because at the end of the day it’s only ourselves who can create the outcome we want/deserve, why not make it as good as it can get?
Scroll down for 5 ways to stay on a positive note:
– SHOP MY ACTIVEWEAR –
5 Ways to Stay Positive (that have worked for me)
- Health + Fitness: I’ve talked in depth before (i.e.; here) about how staying active has helped me in a lot of other areas of my life that are important to me. When I’m active and making healthy eating choices everything tends to line up, not only do I feel better/happier, less tired, I get better sleep, drink more water (willingly), I’m creating positive habits which in the big picture become your lifestyle. I’m not preaching that you need to workout 5 times a week in order to find happiness, I’m saying that by taking a serious look at your daily habits, you are taking a peek into the future you are creating for yourself. What does your future look like? What do you want it to look like?
- Gratitude: when we feel grateful for the little things in life it gives us a sense that we have more than enough (= less feelings of inadequacy, or anxiety that others have more or have it better than us). Every morning while I’m having my coffee I think about 3 things that I’m grateful for (i.e.; my cozy bed, the nutritious food in our fridge, my family) and this will usually lead to many thoughts of more things I’m grateful for which in actuality, is a lot. Which leads me to my next point…
- Stop Comparing: we are ALL subject to this, scrolling through Instagram, comparing our lives to other people .. but I can’t stress enough how liberating it is once you’ve manouvoured past this hurdle. There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, but feeling like you’re competing against others around you is where you can get into a bit of trouble. Think of how you could be better using all that time making strides to become your best self/life. My belief is that when you are truly happy with yourself, there’s no need to feel threatened by others.
- Personal Development: set aside 30 minutes a day to focus on your personal development. That could mean taking a walk to clear your mind and set intentions for the day, to reading books on the subject or going to a seminar that could further your career. A few things that (continue to) work for me is to is to read books from industry leaders who are experts in my field, 5 minutes of meditation daily and writing out my goals and an action plan on how to achieve them in baby steps.
- Focus on your goals (& not on the numbers): ..in baby steps might I add. I can tell you from experience that it’s common not to achieve the goals we set because well, they’re BIG goals. So they feel big and when they feel big they become (or at least we think they become) too big for us to take on. When in reality, if we just broke down those big, huge goals into bit sized chunks we could see that what were after is totally doable. Another point I want to speak to is focusing on the numbers. In this business your numbers can equal profit, influence and credibility, but especially lately I’ve noticed everyone has completely been fixated on the numbers side of things, and while I, too have fallen victim to this spell before I now know that nothing could distract me more from my goals than to get obsessed with likes, follower count .. etc. In reality those things don’t matter. What does matter is that I focus on myself and use every day to work towards becoming the very best version of myself I can be. I am confident that by following my own advice and keeping positive, my business and career will flourish because of it.
I could write full posts on each of these points, so please! If there’s ever a topic you want me to discuss further let me know and I can put specific posts together XO
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