Getting your oomph back week 15
This is the last week in the series of posts around getting your energy/oomph/zest for life back. I hope you have found at least one thing helpful. This time we are going to look at gratitude and appreciation.
When life’s road gets bumpy or we hit a big pothole, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and for our minds to focus on the negative. One excellent way of getting back up is to count our blessings – and take time to focus on all the people, things, and parts of our life for which we feel grateful. Appreciating life’s treasures makes us feel better. When the world around you seems very challenging, it might seem difficult to seek and remember the good. But you can do it and you will see it is worth the effort.
Reflection, please write the 25 — yes, 25! – people and things you feel grateful for right now.
One way to fill that list is to think about what, and who, you would miss if they were no longer part of your life. Some of life’s simple pleasures get taken for granted, like a cup of tea – think of all the people whose labour made it possible for you to have that cup of tea. The simple joy of walking outside on a beautiful day and seeing the first flowers of spring. When our attitude is gratitude, the world starts to feel less scary and more welcoming.
Sometimes life is challenging and things are beyond our control, however, if we look after ourselves, be aware of the choices we do have, seek help when we find we need it, appreciate the simple things in life, we may find we can bounce back and feel better, even if the challenges are still there. In the car of life, sometimes there are bumps, sometimes we lose the map of where we are going. But learning to look after ourselves, improving our resilience to life’s bumps and asking for directions when we feel lost can help.
Learning to live in the moment can help to reenergise us and not find ourselves being drained by a past we cannot change or worries about a future which is as yet unwritten. This link takes you to a wee poster you can download which offers ideas for living in the now https://www.copescotland.com/resources/living-in-the-now
There are many tools and resources on www.copescotland.com including coping with what ifs https://www.copescotland.com/resources/coping-with-what-ifs
There can be times when we find it hard to focus on the positive as our mind is to full of worry about potential threats, there can be many reasons for this and as ever, the wee posts I share do not replace professional advice. However, recognising this, I put together a resource on reprogramming the RAS (Reticular activating system) There is a wee video about that here https://www.copescotland.com/resources/introduction-to-the-reticular-activating-system
It is my intention to share ideas from that workbook too for anyone who may find it of interest.
Remember, you do matter.Take time when it suits you to consider, what are the pieces you plan to bring into your life to regain your sense of energy/oomph/zest for life and when do you plan to start?
Hilda