By Sarah Lane
In 2015, the Mental Health Foundation reported that around one-fourth of the population will experience a mental health problem of some kind, more commonly, mixed depression and anxiety. In fact, mental health problems are the leading cause of absence in the workplace, equating to approximately 70 million workdays lost annually.
If you find yourself looking for ways to navigate through life’s low points and boost your levels of self-confidence and happiness on the job or at home, there are two simple daily exercises from my recent book Choices that can help you change the way you feel and think about yourself:
Story Editing
Your life is your story, and you can say anything in it you choose. One way of editing your story that has been shown to effectively create more personal happiness is:
Think about areas of your life that you value, e.g. religion, athletics, family, musical ability, relationships, etc.
Pick the area that is most important to you from your list.
Write about a time when that area of your life was particularly important and why.
Simple as that! This is a writing exercise that only takes a few minutes and focusses your brain on what’s truly important to you and for you.
Self-Affirmations
You also may want to begin to practice self-affirmation daily. From your story consider a short statement that you can say to yourself each morning to focus on what’s important to your well-being. Some that I’ve heard and know work are:
- I feel happy, healthy, and great.
- I believe in myself and my ability to do anything I set my mind to.
- I let go of any need to seek others’ approval.
- I do the best I can with the resources I have.
- I am a driven and courageous person.
Or you can create your own affirmations that focus on the life roles that are important to you like mother, leader, or coach.
Sometimes it’s the little things that help, such as believing in yourself and being complimentary of your own achievements. Something as simple as changing your perspective and learning to recognize your own positive attributes can make all the difference in boosting your personal happiness!
Sarah Lane is an executive and personal career coach, author of Choices (Panoma Press) trainer, facilitator, behavioral change specialist and busy mother of a 2-year old. She has spent the past 20 years working in and with people from all walks of life: from chief executives to charity fundraisers to creative media teams. For more information visit www.coachinglane.com or email sarah@coachinglane.com.