This week I found this image whilst flicking through Instagram and it made me think, if I adapt my way of thinking and way of living surely this would be the key to happiness.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am unhappy at the moment, however I feel this image could show us all a number of ways we can improve our outlook on life. I am returning to uni on Sunday and my third academic year begins on Monday. I’m going to experiment and try to proactively use this image to get me through the third year and fingers crossed – I may have a stress free, smooth-running and happy last year!
I am going to share my plan of action in order to show that you don’t need to make ground breaking changes but just little steps, 10 to be precise, that will eventually change the bigger picture.
- Hate less, Love More – Sometimes stresses of life can get to us quite rapidly and we get so wrapped up with the negatives we begin to resent things, for example a uni module! I think it is easier to look at the grand scheme of things and think right, I don’t think this particular module is for me but I have chosen to do this course because I love this subject, this module is only temporary whereas my completed degree will be permanent!
- Worry less, dance more – You don’t physically have to dance if you don’t want to! But I think the concept is if you are worrying about something, create a distraction to take your mind of it; put on some music, go for a walk, browse Selfridges! Just do anything that will stimulate your mind and help you to relax.
- Take less, give more – Declutter your living space and it will help to declutter your mind, I am a neat freak but I can assure you it feels a lot more relaxing living in a clutter-free zone and in the process of this you will realise that you have a lot of things that you don’t need anymore which you can give to charity.
- Consume less, create more – Sometimes I feel that social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter can get a bit much at times. They are a black hole of views and opinions that can just get downright annoying! It can consume your mind and your time and at times it may be better to remove yourself from the situation and focus on something such as hobby.
- Frown less, smile more – This one is the easiest one, you use more muscles to frown than you do to smile so it makes more sense just to smile! Besides, frowning gives you wrinkles…
- Talk less, listen more – Uni is the perfect place for this one because you meet so many different people with different life experiences, views and opinions it helps to listen and really learn about others as this will help to open your mind and always expect the unexpected!
- Fear less, try more – Whether it’s a new food, a new sport, a new makeup product or just a new route to work! Trying new little things can help to work towards trying bigger things, it builds confidence and in turn reduces the fear of the unknown. This one is a tough one and is a bit of a conundrum, but I plan to take little things on as I go.
- Judge less, accept more – This one ties in with number 6, by listening more it can help you to learn which I feel is the first step to acceptance. It’s the ignorance we may have that I feel causes judgements, but it’s unfair. People are more accepting than ever – making judgements can only cause frustration within yourself.
- Watch less, do more – Sometimes it’s nice to have a duvet and Netflix kind of day but I always feel like I have wasted a day when I sit there watching TV all day so I will usually force myself to get up and do something active for example going for a run or a walk or going to the gym. Doing exercise makes your body release endorphins and these trigger a positive feeling in the body and then after you can always climb back into bed…
- Complain less, appreciate more – I think the last two years of uni have helped me a lot with this. I live quite far away from my family during term time and I miss them a lot. Therefore when I do spend time with them I want to appreciate the time we have together, rather than complaining about how much I miss them.
Hope you found this interesting and helpful!
Emilia x