New year, new you – how to be happy

With so many external pressures can any of us be truly happy? As we welcome in a new year, Rachel Kelly suggests small changes to your life that can have a huge impact on your outlook

Below is a portion of Rachel Kelly’s article, “New year, new you – how to be happy”.  To read her complete article click here.

What’s top of your list of new year resolutions for 2016? Do more exercise? Eat better? Spend more time with your children? Find a fulfilling career? How about ticking all your boxes and simply be happy?

Sadly, you can’t simply ‘become’ happy. Happiness is often an indirect consequence of our actions and the way we think. However, the good news is that making even the smallest adjustments can help us attain that elusive state we all aspire to.

Here are some simple changes we can all make to our lives to improve our state of mind.

Slow down

We are human beings, not human doings and it’s very easy to forget that in the frenetic world in which we live. Make a point of setting aside time for a night off and defend space in your diary for doing nothing at all. And if you suffer from FOMO (the fear of missing out), recalibrate and think of it instead as the joy of missing out. A night in can be just what the doctor ordered to maintain a sense of control over busy lives.

Be mindful

Build a ‘mindful’ activity into your day. It can be any routine activity you perform amid the haste of the day, like hand washing. Slow down and give the task your full attention. You’ll soon start appreciating these small moments of stillness.

Unplug

The strong glare of a phone’s backlight isn’t conducive to deep sleep. I have instated a wind-down hour before bedtime in which the phone is firmly it its charging station. It’s all about creating the right conditions for your body to feel relaxed and able to sleep.

Declutter

Clearing cupboards helps give you a sense of control and owning your own space. It can be life-changing as Marie Kondo maintains in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever. It also helps you enjoy the objects that you’ve consciously decided to keep instead of relegating them to the status of just more stuff.

Exercise

Breaking a sweat, ideally first thing in the morning, releases endorphins and sets you up for the day. Lack of exercise can leave you feeling sluggish and lethargic, so, if you can, start your day right.