You can still find contentment when life isn’t going your way, believes happiness explorer Lydia Kimmerling (thehappinessexplorer.com)
1 BREATHE EASY On difficult days our breath can become short and shallow. Taking three long breaths in for the count of five and out for the count of five, whilst releasing a sigh on the out breath, will calm you down and help you to become present.
2 CONNECT WITH NATURE We need the support of nature to reground us and remind us that everything will be ok. With that in mind, get your ‘hippy’ on and make friends with a tree (or just go for a walk) and allow nature to re-energise you.
3 MOVE YOUR BODY Don’t forget that you don’t need to rely on the mind to feel happy, the body can do this for you. It takes at least 15 minutes of cardio to begin releasing happy hormones, however I find even a five-minute stretch can help.
4 SIT STILL Just ten minutes of meditation (even if your mind wanders), will be an additional support when you’re feeling low. Sit down, close your eyes and be still. If your mind takes you out of the room to what you’re having for dinner, just acknowledge those thoughts and come back to the present. Focus on the sound of your breath and you’ll be well on your way.
5 BE GRATEFUL Gratefulness instantly brings you into the present so that you can be happy in the now, instead of worrying about the past or the future. I recommend 30 days of gratefulness which involves writing down three things you can be grateful for every morning as soon as you wake up. They can be as small or as big as you like.
6 LET GO Don’t try and paddle upstream when life is calling you to go with the flow. Be more like water and take the path of least resistance. This doesn’t mean that you are giving up, it means that you are open to seeing another way of doing things and it also allows for an intervention, or miracle to occur.
7 LOVE MORE Think about someone you really love and who loves you for who you are, without condition. Close your eyes and bring this person to life in your mind’s eye, then place the image of their face on your heart and just be grateful for them. The love you have for them and they have for you, will give you strength and remind you that life is not all that bad.