Here are 10 ways to change your thinking because at refresh YOU, we don’t just recommend refreshing your body, we want to refresh your mind so here – with the help of Pymble member Suzanne Mann, are a few changes that can help improve your life, mood and eagerness to exercise.
10 great ways to change your thinking
Stale you: Feel you’ve messed up your life/week or day
Refreshed you: Practise this four-word mantra – “So what! Now what?”
You’ve stopped watching your diet and exercise and lost all the benefits you’ve gained, you’ve been dumped via text or you’ve dented your new car.
Whatever the situation say these four words: So what! Now what? Learn from the past and instead of dwelling on it, use the experience to figure out how you can move on and start again.
Stale you: Feeling as if you don’t want to go for a run, attend a meeting or mow the lawn (again).
Refreshed you: Swap “got” for “get”
Instead of complaining you’ve got to do something, try saying you get to do it. It’ll help you appreciate how privileged you are to be able to do those things when many people can’t.
Stale you: Struggling to solve issues and concerns?
Refreshed you: Try journaling.
Handwriting in a journal for 20 minutes a day for just four consecutive days has been proven to improve mood, health and wellbeing and enhance the immune system. The benefits even extend to those suffering extreme trauma or battling chronic health issues.
If you’ve never tried journaling, try writing about something that is bothering you but try to stick to a topic you can handle to start with – say a situation at work or a (mild) disagreement with a family member. Keep it brief, no more than 20 minutes.
The simple act of expressing thoughts on paper can often allow us to let go of the feelings and find order in our world.
Stale you: Feeling you’re in a rut.
Refreshed you: Set up a WhatsApp challenge group
Refresh YOU member Suzanne Mann has a WhatsApp challenge group she shares with friends, each week inviting them to take on a physical, nutritional and/or mental challenge. They then share the results, whether it’s a painting they’ve completed, a meal they’ve baked or a photo of something they’ve loved on a walk. A mother of three Suzanne says it can be so easy to forget you are more than a wife or mum and to feel the biggest achievement of the day is making beds. Sharing the joy of small goals can result in a huge sense of accomplishment.
Stale you: Focussing on everything that’s going wrong in the world
Refreshed you: Practise gratitude
Start by writing in a gratitude journal. Nothing is too small or insignificant to include – whether a hot shower and a dry towel after a workout. Try not to repeat the gratitude twice and be especially sure to write something on the days you feel most ungrateful,
To keep you accountable, you could even start a gratitude group and ask friends to contribute. That way you also enjoy the vicarious pleasure of reading their positives too.
Stale you: Prone to angry outbursts
Refreshed you: Count seven hippotamus.
It’s easy to overreact when we feel someone has upset us because our emotional response is the first to kick in. Pausing for seven seconds, gives the logical mind time to engage. You can then process what the other person has said, ask yourself what they want you to understand and decide what outcome you want your response to achieve.
Stale you: Struggling to make a choice
Refreshed you: Let your body decide
We can drive ourselves crazy trying to make confident decisions and end up feeling anxious and overwhelmed.
Next time you have to choose A and B, imagine you’ve chosen A then ask yourself: ‘Does my body feel heavier or lighter having chosen A? Do I have more or less energy? Am I feeling happier and more relaxed or anxious, guilty and frustrated?’
Go with the option that leaves you feeling happier and lighter.
Stale you Feeling you’re not Insta-worthy
Refreshed you: Have fun not editing your life.
Every time we check our phones, it seems everyone else is raising more talented kids, winning more awards at work and going to more exciting events.
However, if you look at the funny side and display life as it really is, you’ll get a lot more likes, including from yourself. So share that story about how you set a new world record for jigsaws after it rained every day on your holiday. Tell everyone you’ve found that five kilos you lost. It’s a kindness to show it’s fine to fail occasionally and it gives others permission to share their not-so-smart stories too.
Remember too, it’s actually a good thing occasionally to unplug and encourage everyone in the house to have a tech-free day and talk to one another for a change.
Stale you: Feeling you don’t have enough time to look after yourself
Refreshed you: Talk to yourself like you’re your own child.
What would you say to your child or best friend if they said they didn’t have time to look after themselves? You’d show them a dozen ways to find that time. Do the same for yourself.
Stale you: Feeling you’re not fit enough to get fit
Refreshed you: Share your fears with others
It’s astonishing how many people feel like this and equally astonishing how voicing this fear can help dispel it by helping you come up with realistic goals, realizing that others before have had the same feelings and discovering that they have managed to get very fit indeed!
You can also follow Suzanne’s advice on how to try Meditation for the first time to help improve your mental health. Read our interview her, Meditation where to start?
