Have you ever felt like you were on TOP of the world, doing amazing things and then you wake up one morning and just feel "off"??
Like your life is TRULY incredible, but you wake up one day in a haze of funky "meh-ness" and just can't seem to kick it? You almost feel a little guilty for being sad when everything should be making you so happy?
Can you relate?
If you're anything like me, you follow a similar pattern:
1) Decides the way things are going isn't working, so makes a plan to change.
2) Implements new changes for awhile and starts to feel AMAZING.
3) Goes away for a weekend/gets busy with work/gets distracted (because of feeling amazing) and forgets about ENTIRE plan.
Skin breaks out, gut gets upset, sleep schedule is disturbed and feelings of depression and weirdness start to float around.
4) Decides the way things are going isn't working, so makes a plan to change.
5) Repeats these steps forever until the end of time.
Does this sound familiar at all??
I am SO GOOD at repeating this pattern, you guys!!
Like, it's almost sickening to me that I FORGET the good habits that I start to implement and then have to retrace my steps so many times.
How the heck can one person get so distracted that they FORGET to take care of them self properly??
I finally have an answer.
It's because we live in a world that's always trying to "fix" us.
Our "perfectionist" society is always coming up with ways to do things bigger, better, faster, more efficient, more appealing, cheaper, etc.
And we fall prey to that.
We listen to the "experts" instead of what we already know to be true for us.
We think that what we're doing is ineffective (because we stick to it for 3 days and when we don't lose 20 lbs, gain a romantic lover or acquire a cushy bank account like @suziegeefitness on IG seems to be doing, we give up and move on to the next thing that's suggested for us.)
But the truth of it all, and honestly what will ultimately lead YOU to creating lasting happiness in YOUR own life, is to TAKE AN INVENTORY OF WHAT LIGHTS YOUR FIRE AND DO THAT ON REPEAT WITHOUT QUITTING OR COMPARING THAT TO ANYBODY ELSE.
What do I mean by that?
I mean, whatever lights you up and makes you the happiest bird around the block - be it coffee, waffles, walking outside, knitting blankets, playing with your children, crushing goals at your career, listening to podcasts, feeding your cat, getting 8 hours of sleep, taking vitamins, meditating with incense, going for tea with friends, fixing your car - whatever the THINGS that help you to be your happiest self are, you need to:
a) Make a plan to do those things daily
b) Do those things daily without comparing yourself to anybody else.
I call this my "recipe for happiness" and I hope you'll consider creating one for yourself.
Here's how to make YOUR own.
1) Take out a recipe card (or piece of paper) and a pen and sit down.
2) Along the top of the card, write "RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS"
3) Just underneath that, write out 3-4 categories. These can be physical, mental, spiritual, connection & play (or any other categories that make you excited)
4) Under each category, identify the KEY habits that help you feel your best.
5) Pin this card to your cork board, to your fridge, to your mirror. Wherever you will see it daily and be reminded of the habits you need to be doing to obtain and MAINTAIN happiness.
Mine will look different from yours, and yours will look different from @suziegeefitness' (I made her up by the way, just so you know I'm not bashing some random stranger on IG). But the POINT of this exercise is to do this FOR YOURSELF, BY YOURSELF. Because when we learn how to make ourselves happy from the inside out through small daily activities and adventures that we enjoy, we can better show up in the world.
Here's an example of my categories (again, yours may look wildly different):
PHYSICAL
Sleep 7 hours/night
Water (100oz/day)
Eating plants and healthy fats
Take vitamins (for those interested, I take B12, Omega3, D, Multi, Zinc & drink a shakeo powerhouse smoothie every morning)
1 Tbsp probiotic/day (saurkraut, kimchi, kombucha, etc. for good gut health)
Get sweaty for 30 min./day
Manuka honey face mask 3x/week
MENTAL
Podcasts
Meditate each morning
Journal
Read Personal Growth books (for my faves, check out this list)
Paint on Sundays
Pinterest on Sundays
SPIRITUAL
Meditate each morning
Walk outside (15 min)
Write down 3 things I'm grateful for/day
CONNECTION
Go on one date/week with my partner
Set mindful work hours
Unplugging by 9pm
Grabbing coffee with friends
Group Fitness 1x/week
Family dinners on Sunday evening
I know that when I do ALL of these things consistently,
I am at my happiest.
My skin clears up, my body is happy and inflammation goes away, I'm mentally clear, I feel connected to people and Universal flow, I'm creative, adventurous and more fun to be around. I attract more money to me, I'm more grateful, I experience life to the fullest when I do these things ALL THE TIME. They seem simple, but doing THESE things daily, for me, is the secret to unlocking my happy potential.
So, as you venture into another week in this awesome adventure we call life, I hope you'll consider creating your own "recipe for happiness" for yourself!
And if you so choose to share it on social media, I'd love to know about it and support you!! Feel free to tag me @mariebarkerwellness in your post, so I can shout you out and we can celebrate getting happy FOR ourselves, together.
Until next time,
Marie xo
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