How to be happy – part 1

I’ve seen a few articles lately on the ‘simple ways to change your life forever’ type thing. The points they make are obvious. Get more sleep. Drink more water. Eat well… you know, ground-breaking stuff (not). So yesterday, when reading one of these articles telling me these things that I’ve heard a million times before, rather than roll my eyes and think nothing more of it I started to wonder what would be on my own list, drawn from my own experiences, and have decided to provide these to you below. Just quickly though, allow me to slightly elaborate my ‘experiences’.

I used to be a negative person. Like, REALLY negative. Smile at me? You’re patronising. Be kind to me? You have a hidden agenda. Something goes my way? Something bad must be coming. This mindset had significant side effects. Telling myself life was negative just made it even MORE negative. I went through some extremely hard times, until one day I realised that it was no way to live. It was time to turn that fixed frown upside down.

So the long road to restoration began. Now, a few years later, I can confidently say that I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I have such a positive mindset that some find it almost unbelievable.

I have made my own list of  ten ‘affirmative actions’ that I will bring to you in two parts. By considering these, I hope it helps you too to find pure happiness. Because when your thinking is in the right place, everything else in your life seems to be too xx

1. Travel The quote above, which I have put on my wall, says it all. Don’t limit travel only to where you go physically. Explore what your mind is capable of thinking. Explore what your body is capable of doing. And perhaps most importantly, explore what your heart is capable of feeling. The best way to do this? Be curious and delve into the unknown – who knows what you will discover there.

2. Disconnect from life version 2.0 Want a fun fact? 7 years ago, Facebook didn’t exist. I know right, how did we survive? It’s absolutely crazy to think of the rapid pace of which media is growing and converging into one another, proving more and more difficult to connect to REAL life as the digital world takes over.  A while ago I started to notice my phone becoming another body part, it was attached to my hand that often. I cared too much about how ‘loved’ I was on Facebook, how many likes I got on Instagram. Well the first step to recovery is noticing you have a problem, so from there I worked to fix the problem by allotting times in the day to check my social media, and sticking to these times only (once in the morning, once at lunch, once in the arvo. None at night – it affects my sleep). Dude, there’s more important things in the world than how many people like your status.

3. I am happy, hear me RAWWW I got interested in raw foods a few months ago when I had some significant tummy issues (turns out I’m intolerant to gluten). When I started including more raw foods in my diet, man did I notice the difference. Not only did it have a massive improvement on my tummy troubles, but I also started experiencing much higher levels of energy, glowing skin and stronger hair and nails. Admittedly I would struggle to ONLY eat raw, but by at least being conscious of how much I include it still reaps its rewards. I plan on posting a few raw information and creations on this blog, so keep an eye out!

4. Stop comparing!! It’s not often these days that I hear the complaint that “all models look the same”. Different, and even weird, looks and personalities are being focused on and celebrated now more than ever before. The enthralling beauty of uniqueness and individuality has finally been recognised. Individuality shows that you’re not afraid to be different. It just goes to show that once we stop trying to look like others, or follow trends, and accept the looks and characteristics that we have, we can completely embrace this and consequentially shine. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone was the same? Snore.

5. Listen in Are you a day dreamer? Does your mind ever go to its ‘happy place’? Do you ever find yourself in a boring situation where your eyes unawarely glaze over and your mind ventures ‘off with the fairies’? My first advice is to go with it (unless that boring situation is one that actually really requires your attention – I’ve been caught out before!) because imagination is good. My second bit of advice is that once you snap out of it, ask yourself “where did my mind wander and why?”. I used to be such a stress-head when it came to deciding my career. I then realised I was considering all the wrong things – like money and opportunities – without actually considering my passions. Once I identified that I spent most of my spare time and thoughts on things such as blogging, travel, style and food, it call just kinda made sense what I had to do. So this year I created my blog and started Communications at university. Now I’m more excited for the future than ever before! You only get one chance at life, so listen to your thoughts and make your happy place a reality.

I hope these five steps bring you some light. Watch out for the last five within the next few days xx