“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Happiness.
When you think about it then you may often think of the future in some way.
The dream vacation coming up, the promotion you are working towards, the baby that is on the way or the sixth date with someone new in your life.
But happiness can also be found in the small things of a regular day.
When life is overwhelming or you’re having a very stressful week then it can feel like you have no control.
Like you’re a small ship being tossed around on a violent and chaotic sea.
No fun for sure.
At these times I find it helpful to first just focus on breathing deeply and slowly. And to pay attention only to my breath going in and out for a minute or two.
This calms my body down and greatly slows my mind from spinning around in circles.
“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” Eleanor Roosevelt
A very common problem that can drag your self-esteem down or build up so much anger that steam may start to come out of your ears is to take things too personally.
And so you may try to grow some thicker skin and let criticism, negativity or verbal attacks just wash off of you.
But that’s often easier said than done.
So in this week’s article I’d like to share 6 habits that really work for me – at least in most cases – and helps me to reduce the stress, anger and hurt in my life.