A recent conversation with a friend got me thinking, what is happiness and when can we truly say that we are happy and living well. I picked up a leaflet at my local clinic recently and it highlighted mental health notes and ways to improve your mind. I'm on a journey to discovering the answers but in today's diary note, I'm using this as a guide to dive into my personal experiences and sharing what my idea of happiness means.
Accepting who you are
The feeling of being comfortable with who you are. Over the years I have spent time rediscovering myself and I can’t say it’s been the easiest thing to do but it’s a journey and to be honest, realising and accepting that I have changed in many ways whether it be in my physical appearance or my personal taste and recognising that it’s okay has been the biggest thing for me. The fact that I’m able to own it mentally has kept my mind, body and soul at peace. I’m constantly working on selflove and awareness
Emotions
Consciously looking out for the good in every situation.
I believe in feelings and taking time to go through stages of emotions. It’ can be a powerful process and allowing yourself to express fully is one of the ways to truly heal. Whenever I fall ill and it gets really bad, for some reason I go through this process where i have to feel everything. I take a few days to process my thoughts and sometimes I ask questions. I’m aware that I may not get all the answers but I find that when that phase passes, I usually come out stronger and well ready to move on. Has this ever happened to you?
Be part of something bigger
I once read somewhere that being part of something bigger is mentally fulfilling and gives life a whole new meaning. If I had to recall on this, it’ll be a time when I volunteered to raise awareness for women like me who have suffered living with Endometriosis. I had gone through all my emotions with this illness at the time and I really wanted to play a part, do something so that another woman can get the help she needs. Putting the campaign together at my workplace and the response and donations we received meant the world to me. It’s a day I couldn’t forget in a hurry. It was truly personally rewarding and it makes me happy to relive the moments in my head time and time again
Exercising
Research has shown that taking care of your physical body not only improves your appearance but also your overall wellbeing. For some, it’s a daily struggle and if I must say the social facade to be perfect doesn’t really help. It almost seems like we’ve lost the plot to what exercising should do and the world is simply saying be skinny. Far from it friend, in fact I take joy in writing that you should set realistic goals for yourself, be motivated by your own ideas of what healthy means to you and take simple small changes each day towards that goal. It becomes easier to achieve, enjoyable and you might even reach your goal faster than you anticipated. Bottom line is that you feel joy as you journey through it.
Try something new
Take a chance in life. Go somewhere new and experience it differently. I have this thing where I write down a list of things to try. It’s a pretty long list because there are so many things I want to do and places I want to visit. Whenever I feel low, I pick a thing from my list and I go for it. To make it achievable, I’d say break down your bigger ideas into smaller ones so that it doesn’t feel unrealistic for you to push them away. I’m all about family outings but have secretly admired solo dates too and so I recently treated myself to a day at the cinema by myself and it felt really good! What’s one thing you’ve wanted to try but haven’t gotten around to doing?
Are you on a journey to self discovery or rediscovery? What things have you found interesting that has helped? Share your moments in the comments, I'd love to hear from you ❤️
Xo Dola
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