Mood can affect every aspect of your life, from your performance at work to your personal relationships. Being able to take control of moods, rather than have moods control them, is something all the most successful people have in common.
In their new book, Dr Shane Pascoe and Dr Graham Law combine techniques from two powerful, complementary therapeutic approaches – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness – to help you keep your spirits and confidence high and instil a more upbeat, positive, can-do attitude, come what may. Packed with practical information on how to start feeling happier and more positive about life, this expert guide to beating stress and anxiety will optimise how you deal with people and situations in life and at work. Here are some easy ways you can work in conjunction with your strengths; to maintain health, and increase the likelihood of success.
DON’T PANIC When presented with a problem, slow down your breathing by counting to three on the ‘in’ breath and four on the ‘out’ breath. Hold onto the bit at the end of each breath – that relaxed feeling, that calm feeling. Do it now before you read on.
DON’T PANIC (Yes it is so important we said it twice). You don’t have to get everything done today. Small and achievable goals help build momentum, maintain motivation and give you a sense of achievement quickly. Think about the 80:20 rule and prioritise. The vast majority of your work is often achievable quickly by focusing on a specific area and giving it your full attention.
SET A ROUTINE AND STICK TO IT Use your calendar to plan the rest of your day. When you are finished, ask yourself – what are you looking forward to in your day? If you have not planned something enjoyable, where will your motivation come from? Add something enjoyable in. What is the most challenging part to your day? What is the pay off? After accomplishing something difficult, give yourself a reward such as catching up with a friend or give yourself permission to have that something that you are denying yourself because you ‘have too much work to do’.
EAT Think about what and when you eat. Poor food choices impact your health and mood directly. If you haven’t packed your lunch today, when do you plan to prepare your meals for tomorrow? If you haven’t taken time to eat today you have set yourself up to make poorer food choices the next time you eat. Stop, refuel and see the benefits.
FEEL GOOD The quickest way to feel good is to do something for someone else. Committing to volunteer might seem out of your reach but smaller acts of kindness for your workmates might help you on that road to feeling better by giving more to others. What is the smallest thing you can do today to help someone else?
STOP ‘MUST’ Your thinking impacts how you feel and what you do. There are four words which say that your thoughts are probably doing more harm than good. When you use the word MUST (or SHOULD) in your thinking you are not giving yourself any options and trying to use guilt to motivate your behaviour. Try using more carrots and rewarding experiences when you accomplish something challenging than just punishment or sticks.
STOP ‘FINE’ Tell it like it is. If things are wonderful then tell those around you the things you are grateful for. If things are not good then talk to someone about them. People are often more supportive than you think but you need to let them know for them to be even able to try and help.
STOP JUST Just is a word often used to minimise the importance of something. This might be the effort you put in or the achievements you have earned through hard work. Instead of saying ‘oh it was just a report’, recognise the challenges we all face and say it like it is ‘I am proud I got that report done’.
STOP CAN’T By believing we can’t do something, we create a self-fulfilling prophecy because we don’t even try. Try and prove yourself wrong by attempting the very thing you say you can’t do. Give it all your effort and then if the worst possible thing happens and you end up being right – great. You are in exactly the same place as you are now. If you are wrong though, you can approach other areas of your life with a more curious perspective and have more confidence that things can turn out for the better.
SLEEP Develop and maintain a consistent sleep schedule. This impacts things you experience directly, like your concentration and energy. It also has positive impacts on weight management, your metabolism, and your ability to be healthy physically, mentally and emotionally.
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