April is finally here. The clocks have gone forward, flowers and buds are on the trees and there’s early signs of spring in the air, with warmer days and lighter nights. It’s the start of spring. Bliss! So, time to spring forward, to shake off the cold, wet winter, banish thoughts of the pandemic for a while, and think positively about the future.
Press the pause button! We all want to spring forward but, also take a little time to pay tribute to what you have achieved, and what you have come to value about others, during this most difficult of winters. Be mindful, be positive. Savour the memory. Remembrance of the past in a positive way brings stimulus to the future.
The benefits of positive thinking
Positive thinking will indeed put a spring into your step. There is well-researched evidence[1] of the benefits, both neurological and physical. It reduces stress, strengthens our immune system, heightens our sense of wellbeing and physically enables us to perform at our very best. But many of us need to develop the habit of thinking positively – it does not always come naturally.
Shaking off old habits
Through the winter, through the second lockdown we all tended to feel gloomy, cynical, resigned. Habits die hard simply because they form such a large part of our everyday life. Roughly forty five percent of our choices and our subsequent behaviours are down to habit, routine, doing what we have always done. They are automatic reactions and largely unconscious – we simply do not think of them, we just act in our old predictable ways.
Being mindful through our thoughts and our actions we can look and think intently about what we actually do. In turn this enables us to look at things with fresh eyes, a different perspective, a chance to reframe our world. The good news is that our brain can be trained to learn new habits – repetition and practice creates new neural pathways, new behaviours and habits.
But first, we need to accept and value ourselves for who we truly are. It is through this acceptance that we find the strength and resolve to start doing things differently as we spring from the past to the future. Carl Rogers, who based his life’s work on a fundamental belief in the human potential for change said “the curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change”. He passionately believed that we all have the drive to self-actualise, to reach our potential, and to break from our past habits.
A great way to break old habits is to create new ones! Below are a couple of new habits to get you started:
Cultivate the habit of what is known as “The 3-minute breathing space[2]”
Ideally, make sure you are somewhere you are not going to be disturbed, although this practice can be done anywhere. You can do it sitting, standing our even lying down. Adjust your posture so your shoulders are relaxed, jaw loose, back erect but not arched. Gently close your eyes or gaze softly downwards. Now follow these one-minute sequences:
- Awareness – during the first minute think of a ‘weather check’
- What are your thoughts?
- What are your feelings?
- What are your bodily sensations?
If you mind wanders just bring in gently back to your weather check.
- Gathering – during the second minute focus on clearing the mind of thoughts. Go into yourself and concentrate on the simple act of breathing.
- Take conscious, gentle, relaxed breaths in and out, in an out.
- Hold on to that pattern of breathing.
- Keep going for one whole minute, inhaling an exhaling slowly, consciously,
- Expanding – for the third minute look outward and widen your perspective.
- Become aware of your whole body, head to toe. Wriggle them, look at them, touch them. Be in touch with your body.
- Now listen out for sounds you can hear, become aware of what you can see around you, sniff the air and identify the smells in the room.
- and get a sense of the whole body, the environment around.
At the end of the three minutes, gently bring yourself back and congratulate yourself for giving yourself this time to get in touch with yourself and with your environment.
At the end of each day take a minute or two to identify three things you are grateful for
This may seem really rather awkward. Remember, breaking old habits works best when we start new ones, so they are bound to feel strange at first. Push yourself to do things differently and ‘consciously being grateful’ is probably as new to you as it was to me. But gratitude is a wonderful feeling of thanks that, when expressed, brings positive emotions to both the giver and the recipient.
- Each day write the three things (or more) down in a notepad. Think about what has happened during the day that has made you appreciate yourself or others.
- At the end of the week, review all the things you have written down. If possible, keep on with writing three things each day as your new habit. Cultivate that new habit and let it grow. It takes moments of your time but ensures that at the end of each day and at the end of each week you consciously put yourself in a thankful, positive frame of mind.
Spring adds new life and new beauty to our surroundings, there is an air of anticipation that brighter days are here. Together we can celebrate good times again, see loved ones, plan events and holidays. We can look forward with gratitude that we have come through some dark, tough days, and we can look forward to embracing some new habits, shaped by our experiences and how we have adapted to change, and looking forward optimistically and full of eager anticipation.
Now that really is the sign that spring is here. Spring forward.
[1] Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), 601–630. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601
[2] The Mindful Coach (Liz Hall)
Photo by Maureen Astrid on Unsplash
