...happiness is a choice.
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Sometimes you just have a grey day. Even when the weather has started to pick up and it's nearly the end of the working week you can get hit with a bought of the blues.
I love my job and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to make a living through performing, but at the same time the constant travelling, having to live out of a suitcase and the unsociable hours (unsociable to anyone who doesn't work in the theatre that is!) can take it's toll on a person. I am a nester and I enjoy being at home close to the ones I love, surrounded by the pretty things that I like in the home I have carefully created. It's so hard being away from home when you have always been a home girl, not to mention the severe sewing-machine withdrawal I am constantly suffering! Basically this week was a bit of a tough one, leaving me feeling a bit sad and lacklustre and very homesick.
I'm naturally quite an upbeat person so I find grey days quite difficult, it's odd to suddenly feel so down without really having much of a reason to be.
This blog is a happy place where I like to share happy things, but I think it's ok to acknowledge that sometimes being happy takes a bit of work. And the only one who you need to do that work is you. Of course I'm not talking about serious depression, that's something else entirely, but sometimes when we're feeling a little down in the dumps and glum for no reason all it takes is a little bit of effort on our part to help ourselves feel better. It's a mantra that I like to live by and it's certainly been helping me out of my personal funk over the last few days!
So for all of you who might like to try and make a grey day seem a little brighter, here are a few ways that I try to help myself out of the blues. These things may not work for you the way they do for me, I'm by not means trying to dictate the way to happiness, but I thought I'd share them just in case they might be of use to even just one of you...
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| Happiness comes in all shapes and sizes :) |
Do something for you
something that you know will make you smile. Go crazy and splash out on those shoes you have be mooning over for months (yes, that was me...!), or pick up a copy of that book you've been wanting to read. Even if it's something really small like treating yourself to your favourite hot drink on your way to work, doing something just for yourself once in a while can be the best way to feel better when you're down. Treating yourself to something nice isn't a crime!
Do something for someone else
give yourself that warm inner glow you get when you know you've helped someone else get happy :) I love to make things and I can't explain how thrilling it is to make something for another person and see how much joy they get from receiving something that has been made specifically for them. It's like magic :) Find your own way to show your love and spread it around!
Make plans
this is a big one for me. I find that I appreciate each day a lot more if I have something on the horizon to look forward to. I love having a diary and filling it to the brim with plans, whether they are to do with posts for my blog, days out with my friends or my lovely mum or even trips away with my Sweetheart. Making plans helps me see the bigger picture and that whatever I'm moping about in the meantime doesn't really count in the grand scheme of things.
Make time for yourself
sometimes I think we forget that quality time with ourselves is just as important as quality time with those we love. I think it's important to make time for just you in your daily routine. For me, blogging is the time that I get for myself, my little corner of the blogosphere, and I love having such a personal and creative outlet in my life. Giving myself that personal time each day means that I'm much happier to spend time with others afterwards, I genuinely think it improves my mood in all things! Even if it's just an hour here and there, time to take a bath or finish a book or watch a silly film, give yourself some me time, you deserve it.
The small things count
don't underestimate the power of small things in your life. The smallest action can determine the difference between a grey day and a day filled with sunshine. Small things that lift my spirits immensely are a hot shower, red lipstick, a spritz of perfume, a good breakfast and wearing a favourite dress. They may not mean much (if anything) to another, but to me these small things always help me start my day on the up. Changing the small things to make yourself happy will eventually make it easier for you to change the big things.
Happiness is not always the easiest thing to feel but I do believe (in my case at least) that very often happiness is a choice. Like most things in life you have to put a bit of work in to be able to reap the rewards of happiness, but then again, also like most things in life, I think that with being happy, practice makes perfect!
And even if sometimes it's hard, I'll choose happiness over the grey day every time.
Katie xxx
7 comments:
Nice post Katie, Hope your methods work for you and lift your spirits. I too have been having a bit of a rough week. Ready for warmer weather and less snow.
I love this. And I agree. Sometimes it's just so much easier to sit and sulk and pick at old wounds. But in the end, it gets you no where fast. I love your ideas and that you shared this...thank you!
I totally agree. There are some things that I just refuse to compromise on to ensure that I stay a happy person. I never want to be one of those people who is stuck being unhappy for no good reason. This is why I like to make sure that I do the things I like, even if they seem kind of weird. Like, as you said, taking some time just for me. Sometimes I need more me time than at others. If I didn't occasionally hermit myself away for days, or even weeks, I know I'd be a cranky and unpleasant person to be around. I also like to eat good food that I like and get tons of sleep. These are things that keep me happy on a regular basis. Sometimes though, I find that I like to be a little unhappy and indulge in it. But just for a limited period of time. Then I decide it's time to get back to being cheerful me. :)
I love this post! I totally agree with all of the above. Last year I spent far too much time feeling down and letting the little worries in life get to me, I had never felt like this before so it was a shock to struggle with things I had found matter of fact before. So I decided that this year was going to be different and I have tried to do something a little bit special each day, I know it sounds a bit cliché, but having a positive out look can really help, however forced it may feel to start with, after a while it becomes a habit (just as feeling down was for me). It doesnt mean that I havent had really low days it just means that when I do, I know that I will feel brighter, and on those down days I just try to be a bit kinder to myself.
Oh and super jealous of those shoes, having such pretty feet would definitely help banish the blues! x
Two things that help me -
Creativity of any kind is therapy.
Avoid negativity and people who exude it.
Oh, what a lovely affirmation that hope lives, that the sun will return and that life is indeed worth living. Thank for this post, on a day that is dreary and gray and rainy here in North Carolina.
Such a sweet post thank you. Sunday I told my husband "I had sadness in me." because I couldn't think of any other way to put it. That is just how it felt and there was no reason (not even hormonal reasons) but I did a bit of sewing and took the dog on a walk and today I just feel so joyful. Maybe sometimes a grey day is good because we appreciate the joyful ones. Thanks for your thoughts.
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