I recently wrote about the benefits of being happy at work and it probably wouldn’t surprise you that these benefits are relevant in all aspects of your life. Being happy improves your health, helps develop resilience and better quality relationships which all leads to better performance through increased mental wellbeing. During 2019 I’ve been concentrating on doing more of what I love, because quite frankly this makes me happy. I think it all started when I realised just how many new things I’d tried last year (#40before40, Number 32 : Learn a new skill) alongside our monthly Self-employed Team Building Socials and how much fun I’d had doing them.
I started listing down things that made me happy and then adding them more into my life. I get it, I REALLY do. We are so busy it’s easy to lose sight of what matters and our own self-care becomes the last thing at the end of a long list. But it’s true you can’t run on empty and how can we expect our children to be happy and fulfilled if we are selves aren’t? Yorkshire Bank’s, Expect More campaign surveyed 2,000 UK based small business owners and entrepreneurs a quarter (25%) said they sacrifice time with friends and family. I started my small business in order to provide a family flexible working environment for my children, the idea of sacrificing them for work really doesn’t gel with my ethos or values.
Here are a few ideas of things that make me happy, which in turn increases productivity etc …. Remember making you happy, makes everyone else happy, happiness is contagious go forth and spread it!
Clothes That Make Me Smile :
At the end of 2017 I bought a yellow raincoat. I wanted one for ages and although Daddy Moo now refers to me as Captain Bird’s eye I love that coat. How can you be sad with a yellow mack! It’s been on some adventures with me too like up Mt Snowdon, archery, tomahawk throwing and when I lept off a 13-metre pole. There’s something liberating about wearing clothes that makes you happy which sounds sooooooo wrong, but I would be a millionaire if I gave myself a £1 every time I went to wear something then stopped and wondered if I looked ok, would people stare or laugh at me, was it age-appropriate. We all do it. I know I’m not alone but armed with my yellow coat I’m starting to wear ANYTHING (OK I’m never getting into Kylie’s gold hotpants.).
Fashion World offered to send me some party dresses sadly, unlike the children my social life is non-existent I can’t remember the last time I went “out” and there’s something odd about getting dressed up to wander around my house eating all the food. Fashion World has so many great pieces of clothing including brands Joe Browns I was spoilt for choice. I opted for 2 tunics a black one (pictured above, how awesome are those snake print leggings also from Fashion World) and the other navy covered in sequins which go well with leggings or jeans (I’m partial to a jegging myself 😉 ) I LOVE them and wear them all the time. It’s funny how when you find something comfortable you buy in it numerous colours! It seems to have worn off on Daddy Moo too who owns this t-shirt in multiple colours, gifted from Jacamo. Not only is the price point excellent £6 per t-shirt but unlike other budget-friendly t-shirts they wash well and do not lose their shape.
My feeling is you can’t be sad with a yellow coat (or my latest purchase gold shoes!) so moral of the story wear clothes which make you smile!
Doing Things With No Real Purpose :
I’ve started to enjoy bullet journalling more with a kind of scrapbook angle (literally making little collages of goals, months, life!), watercolour painting and riding my bike. I’m always so busy, my to-do list is almost a novel each week but there’s something calming about doing something that has no real purpose. I’m not riding my bike as I’m training for anything, I just enjoy it. I’m not going to start selling my paintings, I just enjoy the act of painting.
I’ve really come to enjoy my Sunday afternoons, tea, biscuits a film and some kind of craft usually with Megan in tow. Recently she was sent a bath bomb kit to test out. The So Bomb DIY Bath Bomb Kit is brilliant it comes with everything you need to create 3 bath bombs. The kit includes three different coloured packets of sodium bicarbonate powder, citric acid mix and multicoloured rainbow sprinkles plus 3 little charms to put inside your bath bomb. They are so easy to make that I pretty much left Megan too it combine all the dry ingredients, add small increments of water using the 10ml dropper provided. This is that trickiest part as you have to ensure that you don’t add too much water, or the mixture will start to dissolve or get sticky (which happened a little in the bath bomb pictured). Next, you add the mixture to the 2 half moulds, pressing firmly you can also add the charms and sprinkles, once both halves are filled push them together and leave to dry for a minimum of 2 hours. Megan loved making these, they were super easy and she felt rather spoilt at bath time. In the future, I’d probably add a couple of drops of essential oils or dried lavender/mint leaves as the fragrance was really subtle. The bright pink gave me heart failure that it would dye Olive’s white-blonde hair red, but it was OK!
What kind of things do you get up to that make you happy?
Binge-watching Netflix?
Reading a good book?
Collecting seaglass treasures on the beach?
I’d love to hear how you keep yourself happy, productive and healthy.
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