At Lem-uhn, we prioritise positivity, however, we’re also aware that sometimes it's hard to be positive. Happiness is something that affects every part of our lives, from relationships with loved ones and quality of life, to work performance and productivity and life motivation.
Like everything in life, positivity is something we should work on and have the ability to improve. For people who don’t naturally have a sunny disposition, there are easy strategies that can be implemented in your daily life to lead to a happier mindset.
Positive Affirmations
Humans are naturally disposed to remember negative feelings and actions over positive ones due to evolution. Research suggests that we recall negative events better to protect us from future re-occurrences. In our day-to-day lives, this means that we’ll remember when we do something wrong or a bad thought we have about ourselves over the good ones.
To counteract this natural disposition, we should train our brains to remind ourselves of the positives. Repeating positive attributes, achievements and reminders about yourself each day will lead to improved positivity, self-worth and confidence. Adding ‘positive affirmations’ to your to-do list is a good way to implement this in your daily life. For those who find it hard to remind themselves of positives on their own, there are social media accounts and apps to follow that share positive affirmations daily. Some of our favourite social accounts to follow include @wearefeelgoodclub, @iam.affirmations and @thehappysnapshot. Apps have also caught onto the positive movement, with apps such as ThinkUp and I Am which charge a monthly membership fee. Unique Daily Affirmations is a great free app for newbies which provides one free positive affirmation daily.
Three Good Things of The Day
When it seems that bad days are outnumbering your good ones, it’s important to remind yourself that each day has positives even if you may miss them without some reflection. Research shows that this increases happiness immediately after, as well as continuing after one week, one month, three months and six months.
At the end of each day, look back and consider the three things that made you happy or went well during your day, and write them in a diary or simply on your phone’s notes. Some days it can be a struggle to think of highlights, but remember the little wins such as there being a blue sky, a nice conversation with a colleague or how you helped a parent carry their pram down the stairs; helping others has a huge positive impact on a person, science shows.
Experts suggest you should write as much detail as possible, how it made you feel at the time and while writing and why you think it made you happy. However, making it a lengthy task could mean it won’t be something maintainable long-term. The main points to make a note of is the thing that made you happy, and why. For example, ‘the sky was blue - means that warmer weather is on the way and it’s nice to see the sun in the sky’.
Positive News
The news is often gloomy and can contribute to a negative mood. Although it’s key to keep in touch with what’s going on in the world - especially for those in the PR industry - it’s important to supplement them with good news too.
At Lem-uhn, we aim to spread positivity each week on our social media with Monday Motivation, Lem-uhn Loves and Friday Feeling. Each Monday, we share a motivational quote to kick the week off well for our followers (and ourselves). Thursdays are for Lem-uhn Loves where we highlight a positive individual or activity that we’re loving, from Ricky Gervais and Netflix’s After Life donating benches around the UK to prevent loneliness to Marcus Rashford and Tom Kerridge creating a £10 Christmas dinner to help those struggling. We round off the working week with Friday Feeling: a round-up of the top positive news stories from the week.
For regular positive news on your social feed follow Lem-uhn on: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Exercise
The feel-good boost from endorphins isn’t a new phenomenon, but one that can considerably improve your mood, especially with regular exercise. For optimum results, intense cardio which pushes your body and mind to the max leads to the highest influx of endorphins. However, be sure to consult a health professional if exercise is new to you.
For those wanting to fit exercise into a busy work and personal life, our client Core Balance has everything you need for an at-home workout. If you’re in need of some extra motivation, a class can be a great way to start a new exercise habit. ClassPass lets you choose from a vast array of classes in your area as well as virtually; we love 1Rebel and Metabolic in particular.
Like anything, building a positive mindset takes time and practice. However, if you begin implementing these practices into your daily routine, in a few months you will notice a positive difference in your happiness levels and positive attitude towards your work and personal life. Unlike other articles which suggest numerous untried and untested strategies, I can say that from experience these can significantly increase your quality of life.
If you’re looking to work with a brand that puts positivity at the heart of everything we do, get in touch with the team via our contact form or at hello@lem-uhn.com. Looking for your next career move? Take a look at our open positions or get in touch with your CV as we’re always on the lookout for talented individuals who have a ‘when life gives you lemons’ attitude.
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