Happiness tips for the busy woman
What you’ll find here are happiness tips from a busy, practical woman.
Yes, there are things in your life that already bring you joy.
And naturally, you’d like more.
You work hard. Every day. And sometimes on weekends. The work has to be done even when you don’t feel like it.
When do you find the time for yourself? Are there happiness tips you can actually fit into your busy schedule?
Coffee fuels you during the day. And when you finally get home, a glass of wine chills you out in the evening.
You make yourself hit the gym __ number of times a week. Or get yourself to that Pilates class. Because it’s the right thing to do. You have to take care of your body, right?
Sometimes, you feel like you’re doing too much, and yet not enough.
You’re taking care of friends and family. And dashing from one thing to another.
It’s a buzz, but at the same time you’re tired. Exhausted. And your sleep isn’t quite what you’d like it to be.
You have this feeling that you’re doing all the right things, but life isn’t going as you thought it would.
What if all this could happen with more joy? And happiness? And more joy?
What if your happiness fast-tracks you on your journey to fulfilling your potential?
Yes, and yes. I believe it can. And there is an increasing body of research that supports this.
The happiness tips I share with you here are from my bestselling book. I developed these after coaching more than a decade.
These tips will benefit you if you put them into practice. On a regular basis.
There is knowing the path. And there is walking the path.
What you’ll discover here are simple things. Simple practices.
Because when you and I are busy, we’ve got precious little time to do something complex.
You need something you can run with. Something you can do on the fly.
And if it only takes a few seconds, then it’s perfect!
3 simple practices
Here are 3 simple, science-backed practices for your joy.
These happiness tips will take you a few seconds up to 2 minutes – in order to make a difference to your life.
Of course, you actually have to do them – not just read about them!
Only one of those gets you results.
What action will you take today?
1. Meditation
This is a scientifically proven stress buster.
When you get right into it, you can feel the stress melt away – like butter on toast.
Science tells us that meditation strengthens the parts of your brains responsible for positive emotions. Hello, joy and happiness!
Harvard researcher Shaun Achor suggests that you can rewire your brain this way – with just 2 min of meditation daily, for 21 days in a row.
How do you fit meditation in your life – especially when you’re busy and on the move? And also do that consistently?
Some days, even 2 minutes can seem like a big ask!
But you can meditate simply and easily, anywhere – without the cliched trappings associated with meditation.
All you need to do is tick the important boxes.
Which boxes? Download the free checklist in my Low Maintenance Meditation Guide. (I’ll ask you for your email but your privacy is secure in accordance with GDPR).
Click here to download free checklist for low maintenance meditation
Most of the research was conducted on loving-kindness meditation. Also called metta or compassion meditation.
If you have a question about how to get started, then please reach out to me with a comment below.
2. Gratitude
Gratitude boosts your happy hormones – serotonin and dopamine.
When you give thanks for what you have, it makes you happier.
Science tells us that you have to actually appreciate what you have – for it to have an effect (Emmons et al, 2003).
It’s easy to forget the good things in our lives. And it’s easy to get caught up in our first world problems. Check out the funny video below!
When was the last time you appreciated what you have? Be it the little things or the big things?
3. Body language
You’re going to laugh – because it’s the simplest thing. And you probably already know it.
When you smile, you throw a feel good party in your body. Feel-good hormones like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins are released in your body.
You also release stress busting hormones. Which are great for your resilience.
This is the quickest, easiest happiness tip.
It won’t take even 2 seconds of your time. Unless of course you felt like smiling longer.
And there’s more.
Harvard research also shows us that when you change your posture, you change the way you feel. (Carney et al, 2010)
For example, when you sit up right, with your shoulders back, your body chemistry changes. You become more confident and optimistic.
The Wonder Woman pose will do the same thing. That’s when you stand upright with your hands on your hips. Albeit with more clothes on! Try this out right now. How does that feel?
Now, I’m not suggesting that you only spend a few seconds or a couple of minutes a day on your practice of joy.
You will want a foundation of happiness in your life that goes beyond these simple practices. Things you do on a daily or weekly basis that nourish you deeply and make you happy. This is what my bestselling book explores.
But when you’re in the middle of a busy work day or project – and you need to brighten up your day, that’s when these practices come in handy.
These are quick and easy basics. Perfect for your busy lifestyle.
The important thing here is that you put at least one of these happiness tips into practice.
Because knowing about them isn’t going to help you experience happiness.
What you decide to apply here and now, on a regular basis – this matters.
Consistency wins.
Science tells us that your happiness is driven by the frequency of positive emotions. And not the intensity. (Diener et al, 2009)
So having a big night out, or a fun holiday will help. But not as much as having a daily practice for joy and happiness.
You need something to sustain you during your busy times too. We all do, right?
Now, which of these happiness tips will YOU decide to apply in your busy life? Take action now and type in the comments below.
What is the number one block that prevents you from consistently putting this into practice? Type this in the comments below.
Do you have other happiness tips you’d like to share? Tell me in the comments section below.
You can also find out more about my coaching program here.
Bibliography
Resources on meditation
Fredrickson, B., et al, 2008, Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 95(5), Nov 2008, 1045-1062.
Lutz, A. et al. “Long-Term Meditators Self-Induce High-Amplitude Gamma Synchrony During Mental Practice”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101.46 (2004): 16369-16373. Web. http://www.pnas.org/content/101/46/16369.full
Achor, Shawn. The Happiness Advantage. 1st ed. London: Virgin, 2011. Print.
Resources on gratitude
Emmons, R., et al. “Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life.” American Psychological Association – Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84, no 2 (2003): 377-389.
Resources on body language
Seaward BL. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett; 2009:258
R.D. (2000). Neural correlates of conscious emotional experience. In R.D. Lane & L. Nadel (Eds.), Cognitive neuroscience of emotion (pp. 345–370). New York: Oxford University Press.
Carney, Dana R., Amy J.C. Cuddy, and Andy J. Yap. “Power Posing” Psychological Science 21.10 (2010): 1363-1368. Web.
Other resources
Diener, Ed, and Ed Diener. Assessing Well-Being. 1st ed. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009. Print.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Happiness tips for the
busy woman
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