5 Ways to Be Happy Every Day
5 Ways to Be Happy Every Day
Life is weird.
Some days you'll feel like you're in an "on top of the world, riding unicorns around, happy for no reason, nothing can bring me down" kind of mood.
And then there are the other days... days when you feel like your world is crumbling beneath you, you can't catch up on your work, and no matter what you do - you can't seem to change your bad mood.
Today, I'm going to share a few tips with you that helped me navigate that middle ground, and how no matter what life throws my way, I'm able to stay positive, happy (for the most part) and inspired.
Contrary to what you think or how you feel daily right now, it IS possible to be happy every. single. day.
Here are 5 things I do DAILY to make my happiness a priority.
1. Plan and organize.
Nothing throws me off more than when my brain is all over the place. For any of us who multitask (guilty), I am telling you: batching my work into separate chunks has DRASTICALLY improved my creativity, productivity and just overall mood.
By this I mean instead of jumping back and forth between emails, scrolling your social media, writing 2 sentences of an email, getting distracted by a coworker, eating a snack, eating another snack.... STOP.
Plan your day by the hour, if you can. Here's an example of what today looks like for me, so you have an idea:
6 am-7:30 am: train client/work out
7:30-9 am: breakfast/shower/listen to a podcast
9 am-10 am: work on March Madness Challenge emails/client check ins
10 am-noon: writing this newsletter/blog work
noon-2 pm: work on Strong & Sexy Bikini Body 2.0 - Lean & Lovely Edition (!!!!) thrilled about this. You can check out Bikini Body 1.0 here.
2-4: reading, maybe a nap if I'm lucky ;)
4 pm: social media break
4:30-8: training more clients
9 pm: SLEEEEEP (I usually read/talk to Mark on FaceTime until I fall asleep)
I'm also making a huge effort not to check social media/only check it during certain times in the day. Right now, that's around 1:30 pm and at 4 pm. This is a HUGE time zapper for me and I'm working on cutting back on this [pointless] addiction.
2. Work out.
You knew I was going to say this, didn't ya? :) There's nothing that gives me more energy in my day than working out. And this looks different every day: some days are an hour and a half, some days it's a 30 minute run or walk in the morning.
Whatever you decide to do (even if it's only 10 minutes!! it still counts!), I ensure you it will give you focus and energy for the rest of your day.
Note: I'm a HUGE advocate of morning workouts. ANYONE can wake up a bit earlier (even 15 minutes) to squeeze in some type of workout. Morning workouts set the tone for the day and you don't have any excuses or things that 'come up' after work. It's done early and you don't have to worry about it for the rest of the day!
3. Schedule REST time.
This is HUGE for me in improving the quality of my mood. It ties back into my first point about productivity - by batching and knowing that I'm 100% focused on whatever I'm doing during that certain period of time... not only do I actually get more done than if I'm multitasking, but then I don't feel guilty giving myself a break.
What do I mean rest time?
Whatever you enjoy doing: reading, writing, walking, taking a bath, watching the Bachelor, cooking, baking, napping. Literally anything that your soul CRAVES but you 'don't have time to do' because you're 'so busy all the time.'
I honestly believe most of us spend our days working in that 'grey area' ... where you're sort of focused for 10 minutes, get distracted, check your phone, try to go back to work for 10 more minutes. By the time you know it, the work day is over and you feel guilty that you didn't get anything done, so you go home and work MORE.
That's where the quote, "There are never enough hours in the day!" comes from.
There ARE enough hours in the day - even for rest - you just have to allocate your time wisely.
And when you know you can go home and not stress about work because your 'reading' (or whatever you do to relax) time is 6-7 pm, you don't feel guilty about it or feel like you could be doing MORE.
Less is more.
More is not more.
I know from experience the 'more, more, more' 'do, do, do' 'never rest omg I'm so busy so hardcore woo' .... only burns the candle at both ends and eventually causes you to break down.
Scheduling rest into your day prevents that from happening and (shockingly enough) makes you SO much happier each and every day.
Don't feel guilty for resting.
4. Meditate
This is something I'm not that good at. Why include it in here?
Because my goal for March is to meditate every single day. Here's the catch: only for 10 minutes. Why? Because for me, I know I won't do it if I set a goal to sit down and meditate for an hour every day.
It's kind of like when you first start working out - you automatically set yourself up for failure when you go from 0 times per week working out to 5-6 days. It may last for a week, but the second something comes up and you can't make 5 days, your confidence takes a hit and you feel like a failure.
So, I'll start with 10 minutes. Once that's a habit, maybe I'll move to 15, 20, 30. But right now, 10 minutes is my NON-NEGOTIABLE.
I use the Holosync app on my phone. Mark also does a great, 10-minute guided meditation, if you're interested let me know and I'll send it to you!
Warning: the first few times you try it, you will be distracted and you will feel like it's not working. It's kinda like expecting to see a 6-pack the first time you start working out... prob not gonna happen. But I know from experience the more CONSISTENT you are: the more clarity that comes, the more calm you are in ANY situation, the better your mood is all day long. Just give it a shot.
5. Make happiness NON-NEGOTIABLE.
Happiness is a choice we make every single day. We can either choose to be happy, or choose to be miserable.
"But Julie, someone just said something really mean to me and my day is ruined now."
I get it. People suck sometimes. Life sucks sometimes. Shitty things happen to us.
I'm not saying it's never OK to feel sad - I feel sad quite often. But like the saying goes, it's not so much about what happens to you as how you react to it.
The way you perceive any given situation in your life will dictate your happiness.
Bad things happen to us all, myself included.
But I try to focus on the bigger picture: what's the deeper meaning behind this? How can I use this to learn, grow, experience something new?
Just an example that you guys are familiar with: Mark being stuck in Canada and me here in America.
I could most certainly sit around and feel sorry for myself and cry all day (and sometimes that's what I'm tempted to do). I could sit around and thing 'omg this isn't fair. why is this happening to me? I'll just wait until we're reunited to be happy again.)
But no... I have to actively make the choice to look at the bright side of the situation:
Because we're apart, I have time to visit with all my friends and family while I'm here in Orlando. I get to train old/new clients. I get to experience what it's like to feel sad, process my emotions, communicate about them, and get over them. I can spend time alone (which can be scary thing, but ultimately is required for true growth). I get to be in great FL sunshine before I haul my life away to Canada and freeze to death lol.
Sure, there are shitty parts to the situation. But there are also SO many hidden blessings there. I'm becoming a better fiance/wife because of this: I'm learning how to communicate my feelings, knowing it's ok to feel sad but it's ultimately my choice to make the best of it and be happy, I'm learning not to blame other people for the way I feel (i.e. placing blame on Mark for not being with me, even though it's outside of both of our control for the time being).
Long story short: Life doesn't happen TO us, life happens FOR us. When you have that attitude, every day is a blessing because even if 'bad' things happen, we can use those experiences to grow and become the person we're ultimately meant to become.
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PHEW!
That was long-winded, but I hope you got a lot out of it.
If you're enjoying emails like this, let me know. I love talking about fitness, but I also love talking about ways we can ALL improve the overall quality of our lives.
Because at the end of the day, fitness is one small puzzle piece that fits into the MUCH larger puzzle of life.
As always, respond and let me know what your favorite tip is or YOUR favorite keys for happiness!
Don't take life too seriously. None of us are getting out alive, anyway ;)
xo,
Juli