FIVE WAYS TO BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW

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1. KEEP A GRATITUDE JOURNAL: Buy a new notebook and write a list of what you’re grateful for, or what you’re looking forward to each week. Writing down these positive thoughts will lead to increased positivism.

2. MEDITATE: Daily meditate helps to generate happiness from the inside out. Sit on the floor or sofa, wherever you are comfortable, and close your eyes. Make no effort to control the breath; just breathe naturally. Focus on how the abdomen moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Do this for 10 minutes.

3. EXERCISE: moving our bodies releases endorphins, which is one of the happiness chemicals. Try and exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes every day.

4. WRITE: write down your stream of consciousness first thing in the morning or last thing at night. 

5. SHARE-SPEND TIME WITH PARENTS-GRANDPARENTS: This is the best time to share your views and experience which you never had shared with your parents and grandparents and spend quality time with your family members by keeping your gadgets aside. Definitely you will learn a lot of things from your elder’s experience which you can’t get from the textbooks.   

HEARD OF WRITING THERAPY?

A study found that those who spent at least 20 minutes once a week for three weeks writing a story about how a chronic illness affected them, experienced less pain.

Writing therapy works by releasing an entire range of pent-up emotions, negativity and toxins and helps build a new front in life. A lot of people who undergo trauma or stressful events are advised to maintain a journal to write about their triggers and events that have affected them.

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT

• ·       Aim at writing for about 20 minutes every day.
• ·       If there is anything stressing you out, make sure to mention it. Benchmarks and achievements should be written too. Journal writing can also be practiced at a time when you are facing conflict. It can calm you down and release pent-up angst.
• ·       Do not worry about the formation or grammar rules. The trick is to write down the words which you actually feel.
• ·       You can write on a private or public platform, depending on how comfortable you are sharing your feelings. A good approach is to start by maintaining a journal that only you can read.
• ·       Once you start writing, make it a regular habit to follow. You can also get reminders for the same.

Writing is also a good and easy exercise for your brain. It does wonders for memory retention and also improves working memory capacity, which enhances your cognitive functioning in both the short-run and long-run. While people say that writing feels easier than expressing, writing therapy also has a load of health benefits. Maintain a journal for immense positive effects- it’s helpful, creative and completely therapeutic. Those who have practiced it also say that writing relieves pressure and feels rewarding at the end of the day.