‘’Positive health’’ is a field of study proposed by Seligman in 2008, which takes an innovative approach and aims to help people stay healthier, happier and recover more quickly from illness, by identifying ‘health assets’. Health assets are personal attributes that make it more likely that you will live a longer, happier life, have a reduced need for healthcare, and experience better outcomes when illness does strike. 

In the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic, these ideas are more relevant than ever and working toward some of these health assets can provide an important contribution to your health and happiness. 

The link between positivity and good health

The suggestion to study ‘’positive health’’ came from a wealth of evidence that has linked positivity and attributes with well-being and good health! For example, researchers analyzed the diaries of 180 nuns and found that those who reported more positive emotions had a longer life expectancy. Incredibly the most positive nuns lived on average 10 years longer! Furthermore, optimism and positivity have been found to be protective against heart problems and strokes as well as being associated with less clinical diagnosis’ and increased longevity! In fact when looking at 120 men who had suffered from heart attacks, guess what predicted their chances of survival? Not blood pressure, cholesterol, or damage from the first attack as you might expect, but optimism! Of the 16 most pessimistic men 15 died in the following 8.5 years. 

Although it is not entirely clear how positivity leads to these better outcomes, the amount of evidence linking the two makes it hard to ignore the effect positivity has on our health and clearly shows that there could be some benefit to taking a more positive outlook. 

Health Assets

So what are some of these ‘health assets’ that can help you live a longer and happy life?

  • Optimism

Optimism is all about how we perceive things. As humans it’s very easy to take a negative perspective, in the past this was probably evolutionary advantageous when we had to watch out for danger. Instead practise positive self-talk and try to challenge your pessimistic thoughts with more positive and optimistic thoughts. Observe the effect this has on your behaviour and the outcomes.  

  • Supportive friends and family

It is important to surround yourself in friends and family who support and motivate you, in times of joy and distress. Just being able to talk about your problems with someone can provide a great sense of relief.  

  • A sense of purpose

Having a sense of purpose, and giving some meaning to your life, will give you a greater satisfaction in things you do and achieve. Try writing down your values, or create some ‘SMART’ goals, this can help make it clearer for you so that you can reach your goals. 

  • Exercise

Research has shown that regularly participating in moderate exercise can do wonders for your health.The equivalent to around 10,000 steps a day can already be a great benefit. There are many ways you can exercise such as running, yoga, swimming, whatever suits you best!

  • Self regulation skills

There is a wealth of evidence linking self-regulation with wellbeing in both adults and children, therefore is a vital skill. Self-regulation is about how you manage your emotions and behaviours, or ‘self-control’. Try challenging yourself to do something you don’t particularly want to, or delaying ‘rewards’ until you have reached your goal, for example not eating your favourite food until you have been running at least two times in the week!

Do you want support reaching some of your healthy lifestyle goals? Or are you struggling to keep ‘positive’? Click here for more information about online help via NiceDay.

MeThe first mushrooms have already shown themselves and it gets dark outside a little bit earlier every day: autumn is coming! Those dark days don’t do everyone good; light has a major influence on your mood. Who doesn’t feel happy and energized after the dark winter months, when you finally spend some sunny spring days outdoors again? In this blog I will give you tips on what you can do against a winter depression. This way you’ll get through the dark winter months energetically!

Winter depression

During dark autumn and winter days, a significant number of people suffer from a so-called “winter depression”, also known as Winter Blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). About 3-10% of people (of which the majority are women) suffer from complaints such as tearfulness and irritability, indecision and uncertainty, tiredness, reduced muscle strength and initiative, sleeping and eating problems (for example tendency to snack) due to the reduced exposure to (bright) outdoor light and weight gain. Just turning on the desk lamp doesn’t do the trick.

The cause

The cause of winter depression is often the lack of light. Your eyes communicate through your brain with an “inner clock”. Our brains recognize the spectral composition of natural light. In the morning and early afternoon, the blue light color predominates. At the end of the afternoon and in the evening, the red color predominates. Then it gets dark.

The effects on your hormones

The daily transition from light to dark affects the amount of cortisol and melatonin that our body produces. These are the hormones that regulate our day and night rhythm. The cortisol level in your body responds to the blue light color. Cortisol gives you energy, but also regulates your alertness and concentration. Melatonin, the so-called sleep hormone, reacts to the red light color. The amount of melatonin in your body increases from the moment it gets dark. The color of the light and the intensity therefore determine our feeling, energy level and behavior.

Therapy

Winter depression is usually not a real depression, but a mild form of it. We therefore also call a winter depression a ‘winter blues’. However, some people have such severe complaints that they do actually suffer from depression. There are different treatments for the different types of depression. Light therapy often helps very well when you’re suffering from winter depression.

What can you do?

Not only people who work in the office, for example, are (too) rarely outside. Especially when it gets dark early, the weather is bad and we work from home, we spend a lot of time indoors. However, staying indoors is not that healthy and can therefore cause an annoying winter blues. To counter this, you can do the following things:

  • Go outside for half an hour every morning between 8 and 9 am. There is then a relatively large amount of ‘blue’ in the light. Blue light inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
  • Go outside around lunch time.
  • If you work indoors, sit as close to the window as possible.
  • You can make the lighting in the house stronger, with special daylight lamps.
  • Spending a few days in a sunny destination in winter (whenever possible) improves your mood.
  • Do not always stay indoors, even in bad weather. Outdoor activities such as sports or exercise counteract a winter dip.
  • Eat a healthy diet and take a multivitamin as a supplement
  • Take the bike instead of the car
  • Get plenty of sleep.

Help with a winter blues

Do you notice that, despite these tips, you continue to suffer from a winter dip? Discuss it with your practitioner, ask your doctor for help or click here to see how you can get started via NiceDay.

Taking care of yourself is important for both your mental and physical health. Some people haven’t learned how to take good care of themselves. Sometimes they haven’t been taught to self care, so it is not a part of their daily lives. However, self care is super important! It ensures you stay healthy, that you know what you need and that you can be there for other people without forgetting about yourself. 

You can learn how to self care

Do you want to take better care of yourself? Try and pay attention to the following principles:

  • Cherishing yourself

Cherishing yourself is a form of self care. It consists of putting yourself first, for example by saying no to things you don’t feel right doing. Or of asking for help, because that will give you the feeling that you don’t have to do everything by yourself. 

Expressing positive affirmations can also help you, for example saying: “I am good enough”. It is also important to take good care of yourself physically, by eating healthy, paying attention to enough exercise such as sports or yoga, and regularly taking time to rest and relax. In addition, it is useful to know what you love and dislike about yourself. You can do this by making a list of your likes and dislikes. Putting your own pleasure first is healthy, so pay attention to your “likes” a bit more often!

  • Reassuring yourself

We often need other people to tell us everything will be alright. But, how great would it be if you could do this yourself! It helps if you have a few strategies or activities at hand, of which you know they can reassure you or help you calm down. You can make a list of these (in NiceDay or on paper), that you can fall back on when you’re going through a difficult time. Think about taking a walk, reading, taking a bath, calling a friend, cooking or cleaning up your house. Read this blog for more ideas.

  • Improve your self-discipline

Another form of self care is improving your self-discipline. Knowing that you can push yourself to do something even if you don’t necessarily feel like it, is good for you! But also vice versa; not doing something when you should be doing it is good for you. It enhances your perseverance and self-esteem. You can practice this by, for example, doing two things every day, that you don’t really feel like doing. And, not doing two things that you actually should do.

  • Developing self-compassion

The fourth principle is developing self-compassion, being less strict on yourself. You can read more about self-compassion in this blog. But, in conclusion self-compassion means that you’re just as kind towards yourself as you are towards others, you become aware of your own stern voice and try to take on a non-judgmental attitude. You can almost see this as a conversation with yourself, an internal dialogue. In this dialogue you look at a situation in which you were strict on yourself, but without judgement. You determine what your mistake was and what someone else’s or the circumstances were. You define what you have learned and what you could do differently in the future, so that you can leave the situation behind. It’s important that you allow yourself to be human. Everyone makes mistakes. You do too, and that’s okay.

By practicing these four principles, you learn to take care of yourself. Because you are important!

Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.

– Katie Reed

NiceDay actions

Write down when you have taken good care of yourself and when you should’ve done that a little bit better, in your NiceDay diary. This will help you gain insight into your learning process towards self care.

Are you a woman and do you recognize the feeling that one week you are confident, rested and on top of your game? And the next, you feel sorry for everyone and everything (even a stone can make you cry) and you don’t feel good about yourself and the way you look. Maybe you get very irritated because someone sends you a nice (please note) text message (“I really don’t have the energy for that now.”). Or, are you in a relationship with a woman and you want to understand why this happens? It could have something to do with the menstrual cycle, read more to find out.

The role of hormones

The following hormones play an important role in a woman’s menstrual cycle:

  • Estrogen: this hormone makes you feel good. If this hormone’s level rises, you feel better about yourself and you can better manage stress. You generally feel optimistic and energetic, confident and creative. You dare to communicate well and you feel happy.
  • Testosterone: This hormone increases your sex drive or libido. The level of this hormone rises just before ovulation.
  • Progesterone: This hormone makes you feel lethargic. You don’t feel like doing much and you feel like indulging in tasty snacks. You feel more anxiety, you worry more and you feel physically uncomfortable.

The menstrual cycle

A menstrual cycle consists of approximately 4 weeks (28 days):

1: During your period (duration: 3 to 7 days)

During this phase, the amounts of progesterone and estrogen are roughly the same: your period starts. In the first few days of your period, you may still feel bad because of the early progesterone peak. Towards the end of this phase, estrogen levels slowly increase and you start to feel a little better.

2: Before your ovulation (duration: 7 to 10 days)

During this phase all hormone levels are relatively low and stable. Eventually, the estrogen level rises and you start to feel more confident. Towards the end of this phase, testosterone rises: your sex drive increases.

3: During your ovulation (duration: 3 to 5 days)

In this phase you feel your best; your estrogen and testosterone levels are on the rise. You dare more, you feel good, you feel like dressing up. You feel happy and you feel like you can take on the world.

4: After your ovulation (10 to 14 days)

In the final stage, your estrogen levels drop rapidly in a very short time. The hormone progesterone is produced and your mood changes quickly; you feel low and want to eat a lot of (bad) things. During this phase you feel the worst. It occurs the week before your period, some women may even suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Hormone fluctuations

Of course, the above example does not apply to every woman and an unpleasant state of mind can never be 100% attributed to your hormones. During the menstrual cycle you can experience a lot of hormone fluctuations, which makes it useful to consider: “What phase of my cycle am I at the moment?”. Sometimes that can give some explanation (“Oh, that’s why I almost cried when my colleague sent me a sweet message.”).

If you suffer from an irregular cycle, it is a little more difficult to tell what your levels of hormones are exactly.

NiceDay

Do you experience a lot of mood swings? Your lifestyle (nutrition, exercise and sleep) and how you deal with stress, for example, can influence your cycle. You can keep track of your mood and menstrual cycle via NiceDay. This can provide insight into what is happening to you and how you feel during your cycle. Do you notice that you have a lot of problems with your hormones and / or do you have an irregular cycle? Then try to contact the doctor. A GP can refer you to a gynecologist: a gynecologist specializes in complaints or abnormalities in women.

The covid crisis has moved many people’s work location from the office to their homes, whether they like it or not. This change in work environment could cause a lot of issues, such as fatigue, weight gain, headaches and back pain. Are you tired of working from home? In this article, I’ll give you a number of tips to prevent or combat these problems. By taking these measures you can keep working from home energetically!

Do your work while walking

Working from home often or completely means that you exercise less. First of all, you no longer have to leave the house to come to work. No more cycling to the office or walking from the train. In addition, at home you don’t  have to walk to your colleague’s desk or, for example, to another lunch location, and there are many more examples like these. Everything you do, can be done from your own home.

However, exercise is indispensable for the proper functioning of your memory and concentration. With only a few small adjustments you can get a lot more exercise whilst working from home. For example, you can take a walk before and after work, in the time you normally spend traveling back and forth. This is like having an actual commute! Take a walk through your home, the garden or your neighbourhood during phone calls. Or perform some arm or leg exercises (possibly using weights) when you are watching webinars or PowerPoint presentations, brainstorming or reading. Another idea is to try doing some Energizers. Take a look at which options suit you and take as many opportunities as possible to maintain your concentration and feel more energized throughout the day, through enough exercise.

Separate environments

Our brain makes associations with everything we see and use. For example, we have associated our bed with sleeping. This helps us to fall asleep more easily once we lie in it. This association makes it difficult for us to stay awake when we are working from our beds. Therefore, try to maintain an active posture in a pleasant location during your work. Preferably don’t work in your bedroom, but in an office. If you don’t have an office at home, you could use one of the rooms in which you don’t sleep as an enjoyable workspace. If it’s not possible for you to work in a place other than your bedroom, make sure your bed is out of your sight while working. It is preferable to have things in your field of vision that motivate you to work, such as photos that remind you why you do this work or Post-Its with motivational texts.

Take plenty of time for lunch

Many people find it difficult to maintain their weight while working from home. You can try to tackle this by exercising more often with some of the tips I mentioned earlier. But, you can also try to change your eating behavior. Some people take less time for lunch when they are working from home. For example, they have their lunch during meetings and don’t take the time to eat. When you do this, you are unaware of what you are eating which doesn’t allow your hunger to be satisfied . Often you have all kinds of food and snacks at hand at home, and the tendency to snack when you are still feeling hungry can be really big.

Try to take the time for your meals and consciously enjoy what you eat. This will help you avoid the need to snack later in the day. If you notice that you start to snack a lot, write down what you eat for a week so that you become aware of what you eat. Then look at what product could be easily reduced or skipped entirely. It may also help to make sure the food is out of your sight and behind cupboards! Attach Post-Its to the cupboards to help you question yourself if you are really hungry or if you want to snack for another reason.

Watch your posture

Many people suffer body aches when they’re working from home. This can easily be prevented or reduced by a number of adjustments in your home workplace. First of all, it is important to have an ergonomic workplace. This is a workplace in which you can adopt a healthy working posture; preferably an adjustable desk and an adjustable desk chair. In addition, it is important to have a screen or laptop holder so that you can adjust the height of your screen, to make sure that you look down slightly. You also need a keyboard and mouse so that you can keep a distance from your screen.

By taking these measures you can avoid sitting crooked or hanging over your desk. Keep an active posture, with a straight back, your chin slightly tucked in and your knees at an angle of slightly more than 90 degrees. Sitting like this will allow your blood to circulate properly. Try to change positions every now and then and preferably get up for a moment every half hour. If you can get your desk up to standing height or get a standing desk, you can also do your work standing up for a number of hours a day!

Share your knowledge

In addition to the above tips, you or your colleagues may know more tips that can help you to maintain energy and prevent body aches. Be sure to share your tips with your colleagues and ask what they are doing to comfortably work from home. Do you still suffer from complaints despite these tips? Ask the occupational health and safety officer of your company for help. This way you can make sure that your complaints won’t get out of hand!

Want to read more about working from home? Take a look at these blogs!

Every month there is a theme at the center of the NiceDay blog. The month of August this theme was “Vitality”.

Vitality: the energy to live. What ensures that you get more energy in life? And which things can you better leave out? For this theme we focused on all the things you can do to feel more vital; whether this is in the field of nutrition, work, or mental health. Would you like to read more about this? We have listed all recent blogs for you:

Do you sometimes feel that everything is just too much for you? Do you get upset about the smallest things? Too much tension can break you up and can have a major impact on your vitality. Psychologist Sandra Martens explains how you can look at your stress according to the bucket metaphor.

Difficult periods come and go: they are part of life. We don’t feel so good for a while, and that’s okay! In this blog I will give you a tip to stay vital in difficult times.

In the Netherlands, more than 1 in 3 marriages ends in divorce. As humans, are we made to stay together for a longer period of time? Love, relationships and our happiness therein play a big role in our vitality. In her blog, psychologist Maaike discusses the success of a long-term love relationship.

An important part of going through life healthy is exercise! Esther from 100% yoga shares some of her yoga videos and the best tips for beach yoga in the Netherlands.

Taking good care of yourself is important, both physically and mentally. It ensures that you stay healthy and vital, that you know what you need and that you can be there for others without passing yourself by. Do you want this too? Then read on!

The dark winter days are not pleasant for everyone; some people feel lethargic and suffer from winter blues. In this blog I will give you tips on what you can do against winter blues. This way you get through the dark winter months energetically!

While we are in the midst of a pandemic, it can be all too helpful to have a positive outlook on life. Working on a number of health pillars can make an important contribution to your health, vitality and happiness in a bizarre period. Read more about it in this blog by Martijn.

The new season has also brought new corona rules, and we will be working from home more and more. But how do you ensure that you stay vital, even though you stay at home a lot? Psychologist Alison gives some useful tips in her blog!

Do you have periods when you feel lethargic, get irritated easily and can cry about everything? It may have to do with the menstrual cycle, you can read more about this in this blog!

A healthy diet is important for both your physical and your mental health. But, if you eat like the average person in the Netherlands, chances are that you aren’t getting enough important nutrients, or too many harmful nutrients. In this blog I will explain how you can take 4 steps to a healthy diet.

1. Avoid as much sugar as possible

Sugar is the biggest culprit for your body and is therefore the number one habit to adjust. Sugar causes huge highs and lows in your blood sugar. In the short term, eating sugar gives you a lot of energy. But, then you get a huge dip, which makes you crave for sugar again. You end up in a cycle of sugar cravings. In addition, sugar increases the risk of diabetes, it promotes inflammation and it causes cognitive functions to decline. This mainly concerns sugar in the most processed form, such as cake, candy, soft drinks, white bread, white pasta, etc. The average Dutch person consumes 110 grams of sugar per day; this is far too much! When you buy food, check the packaging for “hidden” sugars, such as dextrose, fructose, invert syrup, honey or maple syrup. Or use this list with hidden sugars. Try to avoid or reduce products containing these substances as much as possible.

2. Drink more water

Your body exists largely of water (55 percent). That is why it is very important to drink enough water; at least 1,5 – 2 liters a day. Not drinking enough water can cause all sorts of physical symptoms, such as a low attention span, poorer concentration and a worsened mood. You can find more information about this in the blog “The importance of drinking enough water”.

3. Eat more vegetables

Vegetables are packed with fibers, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; they’re a true pleasure for your body and your brain. The “Eat well plate” advises to eat at least 250 grams of vegetables, but the average Dutch person only eats 131 grams of vegetables. That’s not a lot, right? Really try to eat 250 grams of vegetables every day! Are you already eating 250 grams? Challenge yourself to eat the double; 500 grams. Start with breakfast, for example with a vegetable smoothie (75 percent vegetables and 25 percent fruit) and have a big salad for lunch. Try to vary in types and colour vegetables, because each (colour) vegetable has its own healthy properties and take into account the season in which they’re available.

4. Eat more healthy fats

The intake of fats is very important. Healthy fats such as omega 3 are particularly good for your health. they lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, can lower blood pressure and cholesterol and contribute to brain development. Omega 3 is naturally present in a variety of foods, such as fatty wild fish, nuts, kernels, and unprocessed vegetable oil such as extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.

Which of these four steps are you already taking and where can you improve? Take small steps towards sustainable change. Plan healthy eating moments in NiceDay and take better care of yourself.

Dreams or nightmares are often seen as something that we experience passively, but we can be much more in control of our dreamland than we think. Do you want to learn how to lucid dream? Then read this blog and be in charge of your dreams!

What are lucid dreams?

Lucid dreams are dreams in which we are aware that we are dreaming and can control the dream experience to some extent. To understand lucid dreaming, I will shortly discuss a few basic aspects of human sleep. Our sleep cycle consists of different stages: three non-rapid eye movement stages and one rapid eye movement (REM) stage (this is called that because during this stage your eyes make a lot of small rapid movements). REM is the stage in which you dream lucidly.

Learning to lucid dream

Have you never experienced a lucid dream, but would you like to be able to? Great news! Practically everyone appears to be able to learn lucid dreaming, but motivation and discipline are important preconditions! Below I will discuss five tips and techniques.

1. Critical reflection method

When you start to critically examine your surroundings during the day, as if you’re not sure whether you are dreaming or awake, eventually this attitude will be transferred to your dreams. In your dreams, you take what is happening as reality. If you were to critically examine your environment, you would recognize its dream character and could become lucid; become aware that you are dreaming and can control your dream. 

The most common mistake is that people don’t take the critical question of “Am I dreaming or am I awake?” seriously, because they already know they aren’t dreaming. You will have to pretend this isn’t certain. Take a good look at your surroundings. Do you notice any extraordinary things? Do you still live in this house? Are there people around you that you don’t know? What was I doing 15 minutes ago? By asking this last question you can find it if it is even possible for you to be here. According to scientist den Blanken, you have to ask yourself the question “Am I dreaming or am I awake?” about six to ten times a day. Investigating your surroundings should take around one minute.

2. Register your dreams

It is important that you learn to recognize when you are dreaming, therefore you have to know the content of your dreams. To do this, it is necessary to remember your dreams. This is difficult, because often we immediately forget what we dreamt about once we wake up. Remembering is easier if you remain in the same position in the morning when the alarm clock rings. Also try to think about nothing for a while, instead of what you have to do before you have to leave the house. Quickly write down the memories that come up, in a special dream diar, for example, otherwise you will lose them in no time.

3. Preparing for the night

Before you go to sleep, try to calm your mind as much as possible, so that you can start the night relaxed and with clarity. To do this you can try a form of meditation or breathing exercises that suit you. Then make a conscious decision to start dreaming lucidly! 

4. Medication and substances

Research has shown that (sleep)medication and substances (such as alcohol and drugs) suppress the dream process. Keep this in mind if you want to start working on your dreams.

5. Finally

Last but not least, I strongly advise against starting lucid dreaming without expert guidance, for people that are very anxious and / or have difficulties separating reality from fantasy.

Due to the corona pandemic, most of us have to work from home as much as possible. This has many consequences for your vitality: you spend more time sitting down, you move less and keeping your focus is difficult when you don’t have a proper workspace set up at home. You can notice the impact on your vitality by your energy levels, your concentration levels, your motivation and maybe even your mood. Do you want to remain your vitality working from home? The following tips can help you with this:

1. Healthy eating and drinking

What you eat and drink has a huge influence on how you feel. Make sure you eat varied meals, with enough vegetables and fruit. Here you can read more about healthy eating and how you can make a habit out of it.

2. Your workspace

For a healthy posture it is important that your workspace is well equipped. Make sure your chair is at the right height (your knees should be at a 90 degree angle). Check if the armrest of the chair is in the right position (so that your arms fall on the backrest at a 90-degree angle) and that your laptop or screen is slightly elevated on your desk, so that you look straight ahead while working, instead of having to look down.

Furthermore, it is very important that you have sufficient daylight in your workspace, and that it is a place without distracting stimuli. Maybe, you have a quiet room in the house where you can set up your workplace. Or, try to put on some noise canceling headphones.

3. Rests and breaks

Taking plenty of rest and taking breaks during the day has a big effect on how you feel. Make sure you get enough sleep and that you take plenty of breaks from your screen. Walk around in the house when you grab a drink, or get up and do some exercises when you call a colleague. Also try to do som after work activities that don’t involve a screen, such as walking, playing a game, cooking, gardening, reading, drawing, etc.

4. Exercising

Exercising regularly has a positive effect on your mood and reduces feelings of fatigue. This doesn’t always have to involve a gym! For example, take a walk during the lunch break, do some stretching exercises in your chair or try some yoga exercises. Also make sure that you keep moving after work, for example take a nice evening walk or bike ride.

Working from home can have a huge impact on your vitality. Take good care of yourself by healthy eating, setting up a good workplace, taking enough breaks and by regularly exercising!

“Am I truly happy?”. That is a question I have been asking myself a lot lately. I mediate, looking for happiness and hoping that I can find the answer somewhere inside of me. Sometimes I feel like meditation creates more air and space in my body. Is this the feeling of happiness, I ask myself? Is there even a definition of happiness? A little while ago, I had a conversation with a good friend. It was his birthday and someone asked him what kind of goals he set for the coming year. I was truly amazed by his answer. He said: “I am actually really content with my life and I’m happy. If I were to die right now, I can honestly say I’ve had a wonderful life.”. I looked at him and got so inspired by his words. I admire him greatly for being able to say this on his 26th birthday. Meanwhile, I keep wondering if I will be able to say the same thing about my life.

What is happiness?

I wonder what happiness is and whether it depends on the expectations and demands that people place on it. When I think of happiness in its truest form, I think about children. A child is happy when they’re allowed to play at the playground or when they get an ice cream after dinner. Most children don’t have all these worries adults have, which allows them to happily live and enjoy being ‘little’. I believe that the older you get, the harder it gets to be happy. The way I see it, is that people are constantly looking for that moment of ultimate happiness. Once they’ve found that happiness and have experienced how it feels, they want to feel it again. The same feeling of happiness doesn’t feel as the ultimate happiness anymore, and as a result, people are looking for a new ultimate moment of happiness. The bar is constantly being set, as it were. Another belief I have is, other people can’t make you happy. They can affect your happiness, but you are the only one who can make yourself happy.

So: am I truly happy?

That being said I’m still trying to come up with an answer to the question: am I truly happy? Now that I have almost reached the end of this blog, while listening to acoustic music and the cute lights hanging around my bed, I feel relaxed and satisfied. Is this happiness, the feeling of satisfaction and being able to express yourself? Are these small moments that contribute to my happiness? What I also notice is that meditating daily also contributes to my happiness. It helps me to be less hard on myself and to reinforce feelings of self-esteem and self-compassion. I believe that if I can look at myself in a gentle way and embrace all the “imperfections” that come with it, I will soon be able to answer the question “am I truly happy?”, with a resounding YES!

Love,

Ghyta

 

Did you like reading this blog? You can find all Ghyta’s experience stories here.