It’s time for a mental health check because it can be very easy to fall into the pit of despair that is so often, unfortunately, our own minds. Here’s the thing though, gratitude has a way of boosting our mood and keeping us hopeful, and couldn’t we all use a little more of that? It’s important to find something to be thankful for or happy about every day, and yes, we fully understand how cliche that sounds, but we promise you this will work wonders on your mental health.
Now, we know that just sitting in your car on your way home from work trying to come up with something you’re thankful for may not leave a lasting impression, so we do recommend you make this a thing. And by making this a thing we mean, light a favorite candle, have some comfy clothes on, cozy up with a pretty notebook, a favorite pen, and maybe a cocktail or evening cup of coffee and think about one thing you’re thankful for from your day, and either write about it in great detail, create mixed media about it, add a photo (by way of a Polaroid) and make some notes, however you express yourself best. Not only will this make you think about what you’re thankful for, but on the days when it’s extra super hard to find something to be grateful for, you can always reflect back.
(image via: istock)
Okay, okay, on to the small things (that are actually the big things!)
Pets
If you have a pet, then you have this sweet little fur baby that is always going to love you; no matter how bad your workday was, or how annoyed you are by your family, or whatever the case may be, your pets will always be there to simply love you. And if you don’t have a pet, but you are an animal person, there is always an opportunity for you to volunteer at a local animal shelter!
Friends That Are Family
You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends, and then sometimes those friends turn into family and those friends are the ones we’re talkin’ about.
A Day Off Alone
Maybe you’ve got one coming up and you can start to plan how you’d like to spend the day, or maybe you’re an old pro at having days off alone, either way, days off spent with the best company (yourself) are something to be thankful for.
A Great Book
There is nothing quite like getting lost within the pages of a great book.
Learning From Mistakes
Some days are just hard and we all have days where we felt like all we did was argue with people all day or all we did was disappoint people all day, but when we start looking at those days as opportunities to learn from our mistakes, things will start to change.