Whether you're having a bad week, a bad year or just a crappy day, there are always little things you can do as an occasional pick-me-up as well as using these to change your lifestyle completely. Here are my 5 simple changes for a happier YOU.
1. THE DREADED EXERCISE- and why does it create happiness?
I envy the people that can just get out of bed, exercise and actually enjoy it. It's something I've always seen as a burden, and I could never be motivated by the 'benefits' until I learnt about the chemical changes that it creates. I was lying in bed one day, probably with a Mc Donald's food belly and a varied selection of snacks on my lap, when I read an article in Cosmo about exercise having the ability to cure almost anything. I found myself knowing very little specifically and scientifically and I wanted to find out more. Obviously, aside from the muscle and stamina it creates, Endorphins happen, as well as a protein called BDNF (BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR). As soon as you start exercising, your brain recognises this as stress. As you heart pressure increases, your brain thinks you're fighting it, therefore releases the BDNF, which acts as a reset-button, and thats why after a work out people tend to feel at ease, thus, happy. The little angels known as Endorphins are also released, and they are known to minimise the discomfort you feel after physical activity. (I mean, I clearly don't have any bearing in mind I die when I run up the stairs) but those beauties that make us happy chappies are know to mimic the behaviour of morphine, heroine and nicotine too...excellent?!?
2. TRY NEW THINGS
If you do something often that makes you happy, try another. Research shows that those who engage in a variety of experiences are more likely to retain positive emotions and minimise negative ones than those who have fewer experiences. When the ratio of positive to negative experiences gets to 1-1, that's when potential disorders such as anxiety and depression start to show.
3. BE CONSISTENT WITH EVERYTHING
Please be consistent with sorting your life out. Your skincare routine. Your sleeping pattern. Your attitude towards people. Everything. I'm the worst person for switching and starting but it really is the most rewarding feeling when I can see myself sticking at something and the results actually start to become visible. The best way, I find, to consistently be consistent is to plan and write down EVERYTHING. I spend the entirety of my income on pretty notepads and colourful pens to ensure everything I need to do, or not to do is written down perfectly. From what foods I'm cutting out my diet from one week to the next, to my hourly timetable throughout the week, if I can easily glance back and be reminded of my life-plan it keeps me on track, and that in itself makes me feel on top of the world, regardless of all the other benefits all of that brings.
4. EAT WELL
When I say eat well, I really don't mean half a lettuce and a handful of grapes for lunch. I mean eating what makes your mind and body heathy, thus, you, and being BALANCED. Have that piece (bar) of chocolate or that glass (bottle) of wine you've been eyeing up on sale at Tescos all week. But also eat your fruit and veg and your fatty acids... (...and don't let boys be mean to you.)
5. GIVE UP THE NEGATIVITY
This is my most important and favourite one. Whether it's a person or a song that brings back bad feelings GET. RID. YES, sometimes it can feel pretty damn impossible, but it isn't. Once it's cut out, its done. Bye bye, toodle pip, l8r. It's the best feeling standing your ground and being the best you that you can be. We are all so easily influenced, so surprise yourself and surround yourself with greatness, positivity and love and you'll be FAB.
