I recently read an article about the happy chemicals our body produces and I realized I wanted to have this information live permanently on my blog for my future reference! (and of course for anyone else who may find this useful!)
I’ve always had an interest in personal growth and how we naturally tend to support ourselves so this topic is right up that alley. So sharing each happy chemical, what it does and how to activate it. Please be sure to like, comment and share!
(Scroll to the bottom for outfit details)
Serotonin – Stabilizes our mood
Deep breathing
Meditating
Walking in Nature
Go for a run
Endorphin – Pain Relief
Laughing
Dancing
Stretching
Essential Oils
Oxytocin – Building love & trust
Hugging somone
Giving someone a compliment
Helping someone
Playing with a pet or a child
Dopamine – Reward & Motivation
Finishing a task (hack: ANY task no matter how big or small)
Eating your favourite meal
Listening to music
Practicing self care
Dress – Urban Behaviour | Sunglasses – Amazon | Shoes – Call it Spring | Purse – Channel
As a working mom, blogger, etsy shop owner, wife, home owner – I’ve become really aware of how mindfulness plays into my day. My ability to focus, being intentional, doing this without rushing and not multi-tasking. I know mindfulness is important to me because it’s helped me have a greater enthusiasm for life and higher self esteem. Read on to learn some activities I’ve started incorporating mindfulness to help me observe my thoughts & practice the art of leisure.
Mindful art / art therapy
I’m still guilty of multi tasking. But I’ve found when I’m making art (painting, mixed media, photography) I don’t actually multi task! Making art is a great way to express myself beyond words. It encourages us to be present in the moment & experiences, through noticing the sensations we are experiencing as well as how our art (the way the paint moves or how the picture I just captured looks on my digital display) responds to our input.
Listening to solfeggio music:
Ever step into a spa and feel immediately relaxed? Spas help you relax because of their environment. And part of that environment is the music! I recently found solfeggio music and how the different tones can help you promote benefits to different parts of the mind and body. The use of tones and frequencies music dates back to ancient Sanskrit chants (read: Om) but the modern science is fascinating. Apparently DNA become more healthy (ie show increased UV absorption) when they were exposed to different tones (such as the Sanskrit chants). Further research confirmed that the certain frequencies of the Earth’s ionosphere matched that of the human brain wave patterns! (Notably the frequency that encourages cell regeneration & healing) Most musical instruments were tuned to match the earth’s vibrational frequency so by default listening to solfeggio music (specifically designed to recreate the earth’s & human brainwaves) can help you feel at ease and change the your DNA!
Deleting social apps
Mindless scrolling is the most obvious of activities to remove from your day. I delete social media apps which immediately stops the scrolling for no reason. This then improved productivity because I am more focused!
Anytime gratitude & visualization as often as I can
Being able to take control of your self talk/the voices in your head is an important way to be mindful. Not letting negative self talk run a muck in your mind can be prevent by training yourself to see the good (have gratitude) and be positive (visualize something that would be help you think the opposite of the negative self talk).
It was a GREAT 20 days of blogmas! I am pretty impressed with my ability, consistency and ambition. I think it was the longest streak of blogging I’ve had in a long time. For January, I’ll be returning to more regular yet less frequent blog posts. Maybe, it will be twice a week and centered around a new theme – I haven’t confirmed my creative process yet! :P
<Admin reminder for myself> I’ve also yet to share all the posts on Pinterest so that will take some time in January also. So between editing titles (taking out the word “blogmas”), promoting on Pinterest (and twitter & instagram for that matter) I know I’ll be scaling back. </end reminder>
So here is my first post – post blogmas! It’s a multi day vlog showing my routines & habits. All things I want to continue focusing on in the new year. Whether that’s nature works, morning workouts, journaling, reading, meditating, doing well in my career – it’s a reminder that my Focus and Intention needs be all about consistency. So hopefully it inspires others out there who want to start (or stay on …like me) the journey of their personal development and self growth.
We are 18 days out from 2023. I hope between the get togethers, holiday meals and gift giving your are making time for YOU. As a mom of daughters, with a full fledge and progressive career with ambitions of growing my business – goal setting has always been my thing.
But with the new year I definitely try to be more intentional.
Below is the process I’ve developed over the years + sharing my vision board capturing visual cues of all the areas I’m setting goals in (wellness, learning, career promotion, financial abundance, family, friends and world travel).
Retrospective on the past year: I use the life audit wheel and do an audit of the areas of my life that went really well (10) and the areas that I felt I could have put more effort towards or that could have gone better (1 being the lowest on the scale)
Write in words what the life audit showed me: This is really about writing down what went well and what didnt. So now you have two representations of the past year.
Get clear on what you want to achieve: Now taking the written retrospective, write down all the things you want to achieve. Be as detailed as possible. And also make room to jot down the feeling you have when you think about these achievements. And most importantly, write down actionable steps to get where you want to be (full disclosure: this will take you more than one sitting)
Pinterest, pinterest, PINTEREST! You are gonna grab all images that show you achieving everything you clearly articulated in step 3.
Make you vision board: Now you are going to make a visual representation of what you wrote in 3. Before you make your vision board, make a gratitude list, meditate, light a candle, clense your crystals – just be in the most receiving space you can be in! Once you love what you’ve created (also: this could take a few tries) PRINT it out, save to all of your desktop wallpapers & make sure you look at it multipe times a day.
You’ll notice a pattern here, we think, write and visualize. Repeatedly. Why? Because the brain can’t tell the difference between something actually happening/how it feels when you achieve something vs when you just think about achieving it & feel the feelings. Once you brain believes you’ve achieved it, you’ll starting behaving in a way and taking actions in the direction of that achievement.
BONUS: Do future journalling – everyday of the new year, potentially as part of your morning journalling practice. This is where you write down everything of the day as it it’s already happened (ie: these will be the actionable steps you wrote down in 3 aboce). Again tricking your brain into thinking you’ve already achieved the accomplishment but on a daily basis.
I’m trying a new thing with my workouts, including using a paper journal to write down my fitness routine. Staying optimistic but hoping that using a different strategy to track my workouts (ie: not digital) will keep me more honest and consistent with resistance training and challenging myself.
And I feel that holding power over my workouts, romanizing it and even disrupting my usual exercise regime (within a controlable “blast radius) makes me feel like I have a little moe control in my life given the current socio-economic-politico environment…
But it’s more than my workouts, I feel like I have control when I take the time to put on a cute outfit to have dinner with the fambam. Annnndd because I loved all the depth and texture of the outfit, I took a little more control by taking a whole bunch of pictures of me in said outfit #FashionBlogger :)
May sound a little cheesy but it’s all about that #MainCharacterEnergy – and we all need to acknowledge that energy in our own life now and then…
If you are feel like not yourself, that something is just off or need to change things up a bit because you feel like you are just being tossed around …consider taking control of what you can to feel more like yourself…and to start…here are some ways:
Your thoughts: Replace negative self talk with the action of writing down positive affirmations or statements about about yourself!
What you eat Eat When was the last time you ate healthy whole foods, drank a full glass of water or switched up your coffee with an herbal tea.
How we spend our spare time: Give you mind a break from work/Netflix/unproductive activities (scrolling, gossiping etc) and do something creative, active, journaling (ie: to do lists, gratitude, brain dump)
How you react to things: Before immediately giving someone or a situation your attention give yourself a moment to pause before immediately reacting, it might actually change how you respond.
What content you consume Put down your phone and pick up a book. Unfollow and mute accounts that don’t lift you up. Learn or study instead of mindlessly watching. Create more than you consume.
Who you spend time with Surround yourself that build you up and inspire you. And it’s OK to spend time on your own as much as you need.
How we treat others Don’t waste energy treating people badly. Use that energy to focus on improving your well being or hanging out with people who matter to you.
This reminds me of blogger me circa 2011
Boots – Amazon | Dress – Joe Fresh | Vest – M Boutique | Purse – Aldo
This week was a great reminder as to why I need self care rituals. On the days that I am pushed to my breaking point, by situations, by people, by context – it is my self care rituals that give me peace.
My rituals are the the part of my day that make sure when I am out there taking care of everyone and everything else – that I also make time for myself and my wellness.
Self care rituals are THE FORMULA to support your mental wellbeing.
It’s a built in way that you do something for your mind, your body and your soul everyday.
Another reminder: Get enough sleep, have gratitude and always be present (aka put your phone down and you head up)
