Grateful

Expectations

What is expectation? a strong belief that something will happen.

Expectations make us suffer — pretending that things will go our way creates unnecessary stress. Life is like a fragile glass; it will break sooner or later. Rather than expecting things to happen one way, enjoy them for what they are —and while they last.

High expectations often come connected to other issues, including: perfectionism, low self-esteem, negative core beliefs.

“I have to be perfect to be loved, the world is dangerous so I need to be in control”

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Consider the following tips to help you set expectations that work and are achievable:

Determine expectations early on.
Learn to let go.
Practice positive self-talk.
Give yourself time and grace.
Focus on what you’ve accomplished.
Appreciate what you already have.
Build confidence.

Journaling

It’s simply writing down your thoughts and feelings to understand them more clearly.

Therapeutic journaling is the process of writing down our thoughts and feelings about our personal experiences. This kind of private reflection allows us to sort through events that have occurred and problems that we may be struggling with.

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Journaling Benefits

Deal with any overwhelming emotion, express yourself, manage mental health.

Manage anxiety
Reduce stress
Cope with depression

Journaling helps control your symptoms and improve your mood by:

Help you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
Track any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers and learn ways to better control them
Provide an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors

When you have a problem and you’re stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what’s causing that stress or anxiety. Once you’ve identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress.

Practice self love

Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love means not settling for less than you deserve.

Attitude

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

a feeling or opinion about something or someone

What are the 3 components of attitude?

Attitudes are thought to have three components:

an affective component (feelings),

a behavioral component (the effect of the attitude on behavior),

and a cognitive component (belief and knowledge).

Personal Inventory

Taking self-inventory involves several different steps:

Self-inventory involves listing people, things, places, institutions and even ideas that you feel resentment toward or hurt by.
Self-inventory requires identifying the root cause of these resentments or past hurts.
Self-inventory involves recognizing how these events or developments made you feel about yourself and about others.
Self-inventory requires identifying how you and your addiction may be to blame for these stresses.
Self-inventory involves mapping out how you can respond differently to these people, places, things, institutions or ideas.

In a phrase, taking personal inventory and admitting our shortcomings is an exhaustive and intimate way of examining our life.

There are many personal inventory questions that you can ask yourself.

How do I think of myself?
How do I think others view me?
How do I see my relationships with other people?
What goals and plans do I have the future?
What is my general sense of personal well being?
What fears do I have about the future?
What resentments do I have about the past?
What is the cause for these resentments? (Be specific!)
Where, when and how was I to blame for these resentments?
How do these past resentments affect my current self?
What can I do to move past these past resentments?
What emotions do I feel now? Are these valid?

Self-inventory is all about being honest with yourself.

What to say when you don’t know what to say

1) “I see that you’re having a hard time.” People feel better when they’re understood and not judged or analyzed.

2) “I’m here for you.” People feel a sense of relief when they don’t feel so alone.

3) “You don’t have to figure this out on your own.” People feel a lot less guilty and a lot less overwhelmed when they’re reassured that they don’t have to fix things all by themselves.

Sharpen Your Brain

Try puzzles.
Play cards.
Build vocabulary.
Dance.
Use your senses.
Learn a new skill.
Teach a skill.
Listen to music.

Podcast- Positive Mindset

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6AGt5wn6WMSKLH13Qpaf57?si=ckGjcGVoTI-kEhFcE5_-og&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A3Om9xBnBiT6bMKlUcxGexC

Do your brain a favor and choose foods that are good for your heart and waistline.

Bake or grill foods instead of frying.
Cook with “good” fats like oils from nuts, seeds, and olives instead of cream, butter, and fats from meat.
Eat colorful fruits and veggies.
Eat fish.

People who are more active in mentally challenging activities are more likely to stay sharp. Try these:

Read a book.
Go to a lecture.
Listen to the radio.
Play a game.
Visit a museum.
Learn a second language.

Be a people person! Talking with others actually sharpens your brain, whether at work, at home, or out in the community. Studies show social activities improve your mind.

Let go of pain

Holding on to anger and resentment isn’t good for mental health. Forgiveness can help you let go of emotional pain and jump-start healing.

Let go

Tips for letting go

Create a positive mantra to counter the painful thoughts. …
Create physical distance. …
Do your own work. …
Practice mindfulness. …
Be gentle with yourself. …
Allow the negative emotions to flow. …
Accept that the other person may not apologize. …
Engage in self-care.

8 ways to start letting things go

Put your pain into words. …
Make the commitment to let go. …
Accept things as they are. …
Stop blaming others. …
Forgive yourself and others. …
Find support in people who fulfill you. …
Focus on the things that give you joy right now. …
Don’t be scare to seek professional help.

Joy right now

How do you increase joy?

Perform regular aerobic physical activity. …
Dedicate yourself to others. …
Connect with your spiritual side. …
Discover something new. …
Give yourself permission to take a few moments of pleasure, especially when you are feeling low. …
Pay attention to the good. …
Conversely, limit negativity.

Gardening

Garden for emotional needs and spiritual connections. Gardens play an important part in our well being. A garden might serve as a tranquil retreat or private escape from the demands of everyday life. The beauty of flowers can lift spirits, while pulling weeds can be a great release for stress and excess energy. A harvest of colorful flowers or tasty vegetables provides a sense of achievement and feelings of success. On a higher level, gardening provides a spiritual connection to life. It’s a miracle to take a tiny seed, nurture it, and watch it grow into a beautiful flower or delicious food for your table.

Gardening is one of the most rewarding, entertaining and healthy hobbies you can get into. It brings many positives along with it that stretch far beyond what you might initially assume. For some, gardening is a way of life, their way to escape from the rest of the world in their own little space.

Being outside in the fresh air and sunshine is an effective way to boost your mood and de-stress. In fact, gardening has shown to be helpful in reducing the risk of depression. If something is weighing heavily on your mind, gardening can allow you to focus on an activity that will bring you joy.

Focusing your attention on the immediate tasks and details of gardening can reduce negative thoughts and feelings and can make you feel better in the moment.

Beauty

Beauty is the quality or qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.

Sun-kissed and salty.

Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art.

Taking care of yourself first

You always have to remember to take care of you first and foremost, because when you stop taking care of yourself, you get out of balance and you really forget how to take care of others.

Its benefits are better physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being. Research suggests self-care promotes positive health outcomes, such as fostering resilience, living longer, and becoming better equipped to manage stress.

Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree.

Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.

The calming technique to breathe

Ensure that you are sitting on a comfortable chair or laying on a bed.
Take a breath in for 4 seconds (through the nose if possible).
Hold the breath for 2 seconds.
Release the breath taking 6 seconds (through the nose if possible), then pause slightly before breathing in again.