13 Mar Stressed? And no time to take care of yourself? Check out Dr. Happy’s advice…
Each month Dr Happy (aka Dr Timothy Sharp) answers questions on happiness from Living Well Navigator readers.
You can visit their website HERE
And you can see Dr. Happy's post from this month below…
I'm under a lot of stress. I know I need to eat well, exercise and take time out for myself (I'd love to do a meditation course) but there's never enough hours in the day. Can you give me some easy, everyday things I can do to boost my happiness levels?
Cathy D.
I can and definitely will highlight some simple strategies for you to use to maintain high levels of happiness as often as possible, but before doing so I think it's important to address the first part of your question? that of not having enough time.
It's been said before (by many) and it's a bit of a cliché but the reality is that we all have the same amount of time. Each and every one of us has 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 365 days in a year. Why then do some people get more done than others?
At the risk of oversimplifying, the answer lies in priorities. Those people who are more efficient and more productive don't get more done because they have more time, but they get more done because they spend more of their time on what's really important. They tend to be much better at prioritising and then focusing their efforts and energies on their priorities, and then accepting that some other ('less important') tasks may not be completed.
So some very important questions for all of us in this context are?
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What's really important for me at this point in time?
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What do I really value?
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If I could only do, say, three things today, which three things would have the greatest impact on my health and/or happiness and/or life?
If, after reflecting on these questions, your answers include health and happiness, then exercise and happiness boosting strategies need to regularly be in your 'top three' daily activities. And if that's the case, here are some simple things you can do each and every day to boost your mood:
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Write down three good things every day.
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Practice an act of kindness (to yourself and/or to another).
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Do something that brings you pleasure.
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Do something that will contribute to a sense of satisfaction.
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Connect with a good friend or loved one.
If you can do even just one or two of these things each and every day I guarantee you'll enjoy some happiness. And if you can't get some other things done then, well, we all need to accept that we can only do what we can do…
…again, you can visit the website HERE and you can even post comments or other questions for Dr. Happy to answer