The feedback I’ve had so far on my new book, is that people like the fact that it’s something positive and optimistic emerging out of a very dark time. Also the golden bits on the cover. Thumbs up to them and all.
I thought I would share with you some of the ideas from the book, in the hope that it will help you to feel more positive today. All of these are pretty easy and straightforward to do. You don’t need to buy anything and you can do them in under 5 minutes.
Are you in?
OK, here we go.
Stop saving things for best
There was a fantastic picture on social media recently of author Marian Keyes putting the bins out in a beautiful Vampire’s Wife couture dress.
Just putting the bins out! pic.twitter.com/NuPzDZc6Jx
— Marian Keyes (@MarianKeyes) January 6, 2021
Today I would invite you to Be More Marian and enjoy the lovely things in your life, regardless of the circumstances.
I think that if you’re going to save up the nice stuff, then it should be for worst, not best. When things are at their best and everything is going well, you don’t really need a pick me up so much. But when things are at their worst, that’s when we could do with a treat.
What could you add to your morning routine to make it more of a pleasure? What have you been saving for best that you could use to treat yourself with today? The aim here is to spend five minutes being physically kind to yourself.
You could use a body lotion, a beautiful perfume, or the fancy shower gel you got for Christmas but haven’t opened yet.
Treat yourself with kindness and generosity.
Surviving today is all the special occasion you need.
Make a To Don’t list
This is the opposite of a To Do list. I bet you’re fed up to the back teeth of those by now.
Writing a list can be incredibly helpful when it comes to focusing your thoughts on the things you want to do. But what about the things you don’t want? How clear are you on those? Do you ever find yourself agreeing to plans when you later wish you’d said no? Time to get out your notebook.
Make a list of 10 ten things you’re not going to do tomorrow, this week, or ever. It could be things you’ve said yes to in the past but want to say no to in the future. It could be relationships or commitments that you need to move on from because they’re not supporting you.
This is your To Don’t list. Getting clear on what your priorities are now will help you know if they are challenged in the future.
Breathe in confidence
I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of breath recently as I’ve been doing Yoga With Adriene’s 30 day yoga journey.
Here’s a trick used by professional speakers to help them feel calm and confident. It’s quite a useful tool to have. One thing we know about anxiety is that it can pop up at any time, so this is something you can do whenever you need to.
Place your dominant hand on your stomach, on the area that goes in and out most noticeably when you breathe. Take relaxed, full breaths, feeling the abdomen pull in then out again.
Deep breathing like this slows the heart rate, making you feel centred and ready to face the world. Practise this a few times when you’re already feeling calm, so you’ll know how to do it anytime you need to reconnect with your most confident self.