Universally, we are all hoping to achieve happiness and live a life that we love.
You may have come across a whole heap of positive quotes on your insta feed, read a bunch of articles on happiness and wellness in your favourite mag and listened to the advice and insights of family and friends on what they do to live a happy and fulfilling life, ‘cause just like you, we are all essentially on a mission to achieve the same thing.
On my journey toward health and wellness, I’ve found some life-changing and simple ways to bring happiness into my every-day and to fall more and more in love with my life, now, exactly as it is. Here are some of my tips:
- Practice Gratitude
I heard this term for many years before I decided to try it for myself. I dabbled with it for a while, occasionally naming what I was grateful for but it didn’t really make an impact until I got serious about it and made it a part of my daily routine.
Experiencing more gratitude is super easy and doesn’t take much time.
My tip:
Take a few minutes each day to write down three things you’re grateful for in that moment, in your life or on that particular day.
I like to discuss what I’m most grateful for with my children in the morning over breakfast and listen to them as they relay their thoughts.
You don’t have to think up a whole bunch of really significant things in order to be grateful. You can be grateful for the smallest things, such as the sunshine, your morning coffee, or the fact that you feel well on that day.
As simple as it sounds, this practice of gratitude boosts your mood and helps to keep you focused on the simple things – which actually happen to be the best things in life.
2. Love and Accept Yourself, exactly as you are
The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship you have with yourself. We spend so much of our life thinking about our flaws, imagine how we would be if we obsessed about the things that we loved about ourselves? Self-acceptance is the key to happiness. To truly love and appreciate you, exactly as you are, is a life goal that will set your soul on fire (in the best way possible)!
My tip:
Look at yourself in the mirror, looking right into your eyes and say to yourself: “I love you. I forgive you. You are enough”. Repeat every morning until you start to believe it. And then keep going!
3. Spend time with people you love and who raise your vibration
All the insta hype you see of happy and positive vibes, this is where it really counts. Surrounding yourself with people that light you up, inspire you and help you feel good about yourself is so important in maintaining a positive outlook in life.
My Tip:
Spend time with people who build you up, see and encourage your strengths, and who are, themselves, living authentically. Connect more fully with your friends, family and lover. Communicate openly, make time for each other and let your loved ones know what you love about them, often. When you ignore the flaws in yourself and in others, and instead focus on what you love, you’re on your way to a happier life.
4. Choose Healthy
Believe it or not, the lifestyle choices you make stem from your core beliefs. The penny really hit for me when I finally came to realise that my self-worth influenced my decision making on the daily. When you begin to accept and love yourself, you will naturally want to treat yourself well. Eating well and looking after your body and your health will become a priority as you begin to rid yourself of negative influences and toxic thoughts.
My Tip:
Ask yourself, are you worth it? As you work toward loving yourself fully, the answer will be YES. Make one small healthy change each week. i.e. Drink more water; Eat less packaged food; Take the stairs. As you begin to feel the benefits, it will motivate you to continue to better yourself. Before you know it, each small change will lead to many changes, and your healthy choices will become permanent.
5. Be present
Being present makes every moment of your life more joyful. When we are really in the moment, noticing what we see, hear and feel, we are really experiencing the true joy of life. It took me a long time of unraveling from a hectic mind-space to really become present in my life, but when I experienced it, I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be. To be more heart-centered, in tune with my inner wisdom, and less attached to the never-ending thoughts that are on repeat in my mind became my “#lifegoals”.
My Tip:
Meditation can really help drop you into this heart-space. There are some great apps (headspace + buddhify) to help you get started.
Simple deep breathing, where you count your breath to 10 ( and repeat for as little as 5 minutes and as much as 20-30 minutes ) is often all you need to connect with your inner voice or what I like to call “your inner goddess” (which exists in all of us).
6. Practice self-care, every single day
For me, there’s nothing better than a swim in the ocean, a long walk in nature and a food fest / love session with my husband, besties & family. These things light me up and make me feel good to be alive. I feel more centered and in alignment when I get some bliss into my life, and when I don’t get me some, I really notice the effects in how I handle life that day.
My Tip:
Find simple and practical things that make you happy and aim to get some of that bliss in your life every day. Write down what they are and plan to include them in your week. Some may be weekend only options as they require more time, while others can fit into the working week.
Try to reduce the time you spend scrolling on your phone. Less focus on the often unrealistic life stories of others on social media and more ‘living’ in your own life is a game changer.
My self-care list is super long and includes:
An aromatherapy bath; dancing in underwear to loud music around the house; reading up on some inspirational soulful books; sunshine and a matcha latte; wine & a late night movie session; a sweaty gym session; couch cuddles with my dog; breakfast in bed; candlelight conversations with my husband; playing board games with my kids; cooking something new; yoga; and the list goes on….
This is my starting point to live more fully and with more satisfaction in your life right now. I hope it well help you fall in love your life as it has for me.
Taline xo
Find out more about Taline here.
