ometimes I struggle a little with being an optimist and a realist at the same time. I love positive thinking and the concept of self belief but then I also think you’ve got to put your big kid pants on and deal with the garbage life can throw at you too. I’ve popped together a list of realistic habits that I do most days and hopefully they will bring you shit loads (or bunches if you don’t like the swears!) of joy…
Acknowledge what a beautiful gift this day is
If you’re stuck in a rut, it can be hard to focus on the positive things. If you wake up every day and be thankful for just one thing, it can totally change the outlook of your day. You can be thankful for your family, your health, your partner, that job you don’t love but pays the bills, your functional body, your amazing colleague that brightens your day or simply the roof over your head. I’ve met children who live in urban slums in India and they’re some of the happiest kids I’ve met in my life. Sometimes life is tough but it’s often not as tough as we think.
Have a special beverage in the morning
I start every day with a hot beverage of some kind. It’s often a coffee, sometimes a hot lemon water and sometimes both but taking the time to make myself a lovely hot drink and sit down to enjoy it makes every day so much nicer.
Be kind to someone
The other day Mr Smaggle and I were walking down the street and this old man stopped and said ‘Good morning! I hope you have a beautiful day!’. We were so delighted we talked about it for the rest of the day. Try doing this – it will put you in a totally stella mood, not to mention making the day of the person you said it to!
Find joy in unpleasant tasks
We all have to do unpleasant things every day like cleaning or shopping but if I’m really not feeling motivated to do a task, I go faux-positive on myself. I used to do this when I was a teacher and I had to get my students to do something they hated like taking out the recycling. I’d act like it was the most fun thing in the world and be all ‘YAY! Recycling!!!’ and soon I’d have kids begging to do the recycling. Fun is in the eye of the beholder so just decide that whatever you’re doing is the best thing that’s happened all week.
Before you go to bed ‘freshen’ up your house
Before I go to bed each night I spend about 20 minutes freshening my house. I plump the cushions, drape my throw rugs, put the dirty dishes away, hang up my hand bag and pack away my crocheting basket. It’s become a habit but it makes such a difference to the way I wake up each morning that I even do it in hotel rooms now. It’s such a treat to wake up in a fresh house.
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Do you have any little rituals that bring you joy? What’s making you feel sparkly this week?
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P.S Did you know there’s a Smaggle newsletter? And Smags on Facebook? There’s lots of awesome life tips and Beyonce in both of those places.
19 Comments
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I love the idea of ‘freshening your house’ and I do try, but realistically, I live with four of the messiest humans on the planet so if I really made the effort I’d never sleep again! But one day the kids will leave and it’ll just be us again and only one messy human to deal with silver linings and all that 🙂
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Oh no! I’m lucky because my partner is fairly tidy but sometimes we get into a big of a mess. That’s where the freshen keeps us on track!
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Thanks again for the great article. 😉 I love the “YAY, recycling” part. 😛
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Works like a charm! Every time!
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I can relate to the tidying up part. I go to sleep better as well.
I love to make sure I make my bed first thing in the morning so that it is nice and inviting later that night after I take my nice hot shower.-
A made bed is a must. I can’t cope with people who don’t make their beds. It drives me batty.
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I’m off to bed to read before I nod off but after reading this I’m going to plump some cushions! I do like saying hello to random people so that’s an easy one for me x
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I like saying hello to random people too! 🙂
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I think ‘be kind to someone’ is an excellent tip. If I’m ever feeling low, I find doing a nice deed for someone else is a great way to lift my mood.
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It totally does! I know people mention that as a good life tip a lot but I like to repeat it so people get reminded to actually do it!
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Two things that help make every day a bit nicer for me are yoga and music. I try to work in a little yoga practice each day, even if it’s just five minutes of stretching and mindful breathing. It helps me to feel calmer and it’s a great way to work out the tension after a long day at my desk.
Music is a tool I use to motivate me to do the things I don’t really enjoy. For example, I hate doing the dishes with a passion. But if I throw on some awesome music while I work, the job doesn’t seem nearly as heinous. In fact, I’ll often continue tidying the kitchen so that I can keep listening to my tunes long after the dishes are done.
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i wish I could make yoga work for me but it’s just not my bag. I’ve been loving water aerobics though – been doing it a few times a week with my bestie and it’s just delightful.
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I’m all for putting a ‘fun-spin’ on mundane everyday tasks – it reminds me of the ‘scrubbing day’ song in Pippy Longstocking! 🙂 I enjoyed reading – keep up the great posts!
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Thank you! It’s also the Mary Poppins concept – just a spoonful of sugar!
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Yes – the freshening thing. Used to think I was the only mentalist who does this – I have to wash up before bed, which is a bit of an arse but in the morning I go in the kitchen & think ‘ah look – who cleaned the kitchen? Nice one!’ (it was me but usually by then I’ve forgotten). Bit like when you do stuff when you’re drunk to help out hung-over you. Doing stuff when you’re tired at the end of the day is a present to yourself the next morning.
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Oh definitely! I also sleep better if my house is tidy – totally worth it!
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I really felt great last Saturday morning while at school sports when the elderly man in front of me in the queue couldn’t buy a coffee as the cafe didn’t have change for his $50, so I offered to buy him a coffee and he was wrapt ! Good deed done xx
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Love this. I try to tidy up a bit at night. Like another person commenting above I live with three MESSY peeps…the hub and two teens who believe it’s my joy (sarcasm,) in life to close doors they’ve opened and pick up after them! I’ve instituted a basket on the staircase and throw all their crap in and often can get them to at least get that to their room. The Feelings I get with a made bed, clean sinks, and tidy kitchen brings a calm and peace that is difficult to explain. Mess equals stress! I do try to not get nuts about it because I know the days the kids will be around are limited. Soon they will spread their wings and I’ll be sure to look around my then perfectly clean house looking for an open door, hair bows, toys, and clothes to toss in a basket.
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Ooooo I have never noticed how good a house fuss before bed makes me feel. Adding it to the list!
