Newsletter: Minding your mind
This week, we're talking about how to mind your mind: the tools and techniques that help you to shift your attention for greater happiness.
A few questions you'll get answered: How can you be happier in this moment? What stories are you telling yourself? How do we get space from our thoughts?
I hope it helps. Take care of those beautiful minds!
Have a good week,
Stephanie Harrison, founder of The New Happy
This Week
A lot of us fall into the same trap: "I'll be happy when..." We think that happiness is a place we get to, somewhere in the far-off future. But happiness is more reliably available here, in this moment. And there’s a simple, science-backed strategy we can use to increase our happiness right here. It’s called savoring. Studies have found that it improves our relationships, physical health, creativity, and mental health. Plus, it's free, takes ten seconds, and feels amazing.
Try This
Savoring is a fancy word for something very simple and instinctive: leaning into our positive emotions. It just means to focus your attention on the good that's around you, and allow yourself to feel the good feelings fully. There are four types of savoring; choose one and practice it this week, for ten seconds at a time:
· Basking: I will be open to praise, and I will celebrate myself.
· Thanksgiving: I will look for things to be grateful for, and express my thankfulness.
· Marveling: I will look for chances to feel wonder and awe, and lose myself in the moment.
· Luxuriating: I will use my senses, like taste and sight and touch, to truly enjoy the moment I'm in.
More Tips and Tools
1. Change your stories (Podcast)
2. Making mistakes is part of life (Instagram)
3. Is it a good decision? (Instagram)
4. Our brain is unreliable (Instagram)
5. You are not your thoughts (Instagram)
Community
What's a reminder you want to share with our community?
"Let go of what doesn't serve you."
"Try a hobby from your childhood, get to know yourself again."
"You never have to prove your worth."
"Failure is not a full stop. Keep trying."
"Your people will be your people no matter what. They love you for you."
"Look for beauty and wonder in nature, such as a bee or a flower."
Deep down, these reminders are things that you know, too. The key is to figure out how to bring them into your active awareness, and not to forget them in difficult moments. Whether you write them down somewhere, put them on your phone, or recite them to yourself, try to keep these beautiful words in your consciousness this week.
More From Our Community
· Reminders of Note: Heather's newsletter helps you to change the way you see the world, with more depth and a different perspective.
Inspiration
1. The Men's Community That's Been Meeting For 36 Years (The Guardian) — What does it look like for men to support each other in new ways?
2. How Earth's 23.4 Tilt Makes Life Beautiful (BigThink) — A little dose of awe for you.
3. A Grandfather Inspires His Grandson To Live Honestly (NPR) — I shed a tear listening to this.
Before You Go
Thank you for reading
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