Boost Your Confidence And Become Happier

by Sheila M | Jan 8, 2022 | Happiness Challenge

Think back to some of the happiest times in your life. Chances are that these are also the days when you felt your most confident. Maybe you excelled at sports during that time, or you aced a project at work. Confidence can be a huge happiness booster. But why wait for something good to happen in your life? Why not work on boosting your self-confidence, which will increase your feeling of happiness.

There are all sorts of things you can do to boost your confidence. We’ll run through a few of them here. I also encourage you to read up on the topic, pay attention to times when you’re feeling more confident, and then work out a plan to intentionally boost your self-confidence based on your own research and experience.

The challenge with boosting confidence is that we tend to respond to different strategies, techniques, and events. Some of us thrive on words of encouragement, while others want to see results or succeed on kind actions from others. Are you the type of person who puts more meaning into a kind word from your boss, a raise, or a promotion? Or how about some public recognition at the latest company meeting. We all have different confidence triggers and the trick is to figure out what yours is and how you can get more of those types of boosts.

General confidence boosters include words of encouragement, seeing how far we’ve come, listening to some upbeat music, going out for a run, and positively dealing with failure. Give each of those and any other interesting confidence-boosting tip you come across a try. Then sit back and notice how much confidence impacts overall happiness.

If you respond well to compliments and words of encouragement, call a friend or anyone else in your life who makes a great cheerleader. Get those positive verbal affirmations whenever you need a little boost. Keep a journal so you can look back and see how much progress you’ve made. This is particularly sound advice if you’re trying to change your life, your habits, or make progress on a long-term project. Being able to flip back and see how far you’ve come can be very encouraging.

Listening to music/confidence building content, or heading outside for a little fresh air and exercise can be another great way to boost your confidence and mood. Combine the two for even better results. Last but not least, let’s look at how to deal with failure. When things go wrong – and let’s face it, they will sooner or later – you can either allow it to bring you down and undermine your confidence, or you can look at it as a learning experience. Guess which view is better for your self-esteem?

I hope you take these suggestions to heart and make an effort to work on your confidence. Not only will it make you a happier person, but you also get more done and become more successful in the long run.

Why Getting Enough Sleep May Be The Key To Happiness

by Sheila M | Jan 8, 2022 | Happiness Challenge

Sleep is important for your health, well-being, and how alert you are. Not getting a good night’s sleep can impact your performance during the day. Chronic lack of sleep can cause several health issues and even weight gain. It can also lead to depression. In other words, not getting the sleep you need makes you feel bad.

On the flip side, ensuring you get sufficient rest can help you feel more energized. You get more done, which boosts your self-confidence and in turn, your overall happiness. Making sure you get your beauty rest makes a lot of sense then.

I’m sure you’ve seen this in action. When we don’t sleep well or don’t get a chance to get enough rest, we end up grumpy and agitated. Our stress levels go way up, which in turn makes us feel worse. We don’t get our work done; we start to feel depressed, which leads to more sleepless nights. It’s a vicious cycle.

If we can break that cycle and make sleep a priority, on the other hand, everything changes for the better. We wake up in a great mood and ready to tackle the day. It’s easier to get work and chores done and still have time to relax and unwind. That, in turn, leads to a better night’s sleep and an even better morning.

The big question then is how do we get to this state of sleep-full bliss and a solid 8 hours of rest at night? We do it by making sleep a priority. Yes, there are times in our lives (like the arrival of a newborn, for example) when getting a good night’s sleep isn’t a possibility for quite some time, but for most of us, working on a reasonable bedtime routine is not that hard to achieve.

And routine is the keyword here. Good sleep is a habit and learned behavior. It takes a little work on your part to change your habits and establish a good sleep and bedtime routine, but it will be well worth it. I promise.

Start by setting a regular bedtime and do your best to stick to it – even on the weekend and holidays. Our bodies get in a rhythm of walking and resting hours. Help your body get there by staying on schedule. Spend some time in the hours before bed to relax and calm down. Stop working, don’t exercise too late in the day, avoid caffeine a few hours before bed, and turn off screens at least an hour before you’re ready to fall asleep. Turning down the lights, playing soft music, and reading an old-fashioned paper book are all great ways to relax and prepare both body and mind for sleep. Taking a warm bath or shower can help as well.

If you’re still having a hard time going to sleep after implementing a routine, consider supplementing with magnesium and /or melatonin. A lack of either one of those substances in your body can make it much harder to fall and stay asleep. Stick with your routine and get into a habit of getting plenty of sleep. That, in turn, will lead to happier, more energetic, and more productive days.

Build A Support System of Happy People Around You

by Sheila M | Jan 8, 2022 | Happiness Challenge

Moods are contagious. If you’re around a bunch of sad and depressed people, you’ll start to feel down. On the other hand, if you are in a group of happy people, you can’t help but start to smile. It makes sense then to surround yourself with happy people if you want your own level of happiness to increase.

Does this mean you should shut all people who aren’t super happy out of your life? Of course not. We all have important people in our lives whom we love and cherish, even if they don’t have the sunniest outlook on life. Plus, we all have happier and sadder seasons in our lives. It would be horrible if we avoided loved ones during tough times.

Instead, I suggest that you take note of who the happy people in your life are. Who are your cheerleaders that will cheer you on no matter what and who will put a smile on your face anytime you spend time with them? Take note of those positive people, be their friends, family, or even just acquaintances. Build a support system of happy people that you can turn to when you’re feeling down.

Along the same lines, you want to be careful about the negative and sad people around you and how they affect your mood. When you’re having a hard time and are struggling with your own happiness levels, it may be better to avoid people that you know will bring you further down. Those are the times when you want to spend time with your team of cheerleaders or your happiness support system. Again, this doesn’t mean that you need to shut people out of your life completely; just note their energy and how they affect you and spend time with them accordingly.

When you are happy, don’t be afraid to share that happiness and spread it around. Smiling, laughing, and feeling good about life is contagious. Spread the joy and soak it up from happy people around you when you’re not feeling your personal best. Call up that friend that can instantly make you feel better and talk to people around you who love and care for you about this idea of contagious happiness. Let them know when you could use some cheering up and then return the favor. Because, let’s face it, we all have times when we’re happier and in a much better mood than other days. Make it a habit to build each other up and create that happiness support system. It will make a huge difference in your life and those around you.

Fighting Against Our Brain’s Bias To Negativity

by Sheila M | Jan 6, 2022 | Happiness Challenge

Have you noticed that negative comments and events stick with us much longer and influence us more than positive ones? I’m sure you’ve experienced this quite a few times. For example, a positive comment by your teacher is appreciated, but the effects wear off quickly. On the other hand, a negative comment sticks with you much longer. Why is that? It’s because our brains have a bias to negativity. It’s measurable and there have been brain scan studies done that show that our brain reacts more strongly to negative stimuli. Then, the big question is, how do we fight against our brain’s bias to negativity?

What can we do to make sure negative remarks and criticism don’t get us down? The first step is that we realize that there is such a thing. This allows us to take each piece of negativity with a grain of salt. It can be incredibly helpful to acknowledge that our minds and hearts may overreact about something negative. On the flip side, this knowledge also allows us to make it a point to savor the positivity. Don’t dismiss a compliment out of hand. Instead, savor it, think about it, and make it a point to remember it, and allow it to lift you up when negativity brings you down.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done. Since this bias to negativity is hard-wired in our brains, building new, more positive habits takes a lot of time and effort. Remind yourself each morning that your mind is trying to force you to focus on the negative stuff and that it takes a conscious effort to balance it out by being mindful of all the good and happy things in our lives.

Over time this will allow us to grow a thicker skin for unwarranted criticism. Should you ignore every single comment or suggestion that you don’t like? Of course not. There is such a thing as constructive criticism that helps us grow and get better at what we do. We need to guard against the negative words, events, and feelings that make us go hide in a cave. We don’t want to encourage inaction in ourselves. Instead, we want to use the positivity around us to lift us up and help us make it through the tough times, get stronger, and get better at what we do.

Reflecting on both the good and the bad daily can be a great exercise to help us gain a little distance and see everything happening to us in a better light. Keep a journal or set aside some time for quiet contemplation. Another excellent idea is to talk things out with a friend, particularly when you’re struggling with something negative that you’ve had a hard time getting past. Above all, do what you can to outweigh the negativity with the good stuff. Keep a box or file with some of the best positive emails and comments you’ve gotten. Peruse through them whenever you need to counteract something negative. As time goes by, you’ll grow thicker skin that will protect you from your harshest critics.

Finding Happiness in a Sea Of Sadness or Overwhelm

by Sheila M | Jan 5, 2022 | Happiness Challenge

We all go through hard times. There are periods in our lives where it is hard to find much joy and happiness amid a sea of sadness and overwhelm. We have times when we feel like we’re in way over our head and can’t think straight. That causes lots of stress and as we’ve talked about in a previous blog post, stress kills happiness.

There are also incredibly sad times in our lives. Relationships end and we lose loved ones. There is certainly a time to grieve and we need to process that loss. We also need these sad moments in life to contrast the happier ones. Without sadness, happiness would be very meaningless. Think about that for a moment. If you’re never sad, always happy, happiness becomes the new normal, not something to appreciate and strive toward.

That being said, there are things you can do to find a little happiness during these tough times. Often that is all it takes to help you make it through that period in your life. You can’t expect to flip a switch and suddenly everything is rainbows and roses. And why would you want that? We need time to process and grieve when we lose someone, and the overwhelm and stress help us stay on our toes and get stuff done. We need to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. We need that little bit of happiness to give us hope.

Let’s talk about how you can go about creating that little bit of happiness to get you through the hard times. The first thing you may want to focus on is gratitude. Whenever you feel particularly bad, sad, or overwhelmed and don’t know where to turn, think about the many people and things in your life that you can be grateful for. If you’ve recently lost a loved one, be thankful for the time you’ve had with them and the things you’ve learned from this special person. If you’re stressed out at work or in your own business, be grateful that you’re growing and making progress. It may not be easy, but this overwhelming feeling and stress usually mean much better things are ahead.

I find it’s also extremely helpful to find joy in the little things. Maybe you’re not ready to be grateful and that’s ok. Instead, pay attention to your surroundings and find a little joy in what’s around you. Let that toddler playing in the park put a smile on your face. Enjoy the first warm rays of sunshine in the spring, or notice how beautiful that flower in your garden is. In other words, look around and find a little joy and happiness where you can. Above all, remember that it’s ok to see and appreciate these little moments of happiness even during hard times.