Building Blocks of Happiness
My big project last year was to significantly up-level my recovery & replenishment practices. The key question I held was, "What simple practices can I invoke so that I can end the week with as much gusto as I began?"
For most of my life, my go-to habit set around work & productivity has been to hammer things out at 110%, completely drain the tanks, and crawl across the finish line. This was certainly honed over a decade spent in investment banking, and if I'm not paying attention will leave me pretty depleted by the time the weekend rolls around.
So, I set out to learn to do it better, and with simplicity last year.
What I landed on was exactly what I needed, and created an amazing year of productivity, energy, and ease. And, it's all based around the notion that people who are happy and feel good tend to perform at their best (no "hustle & grind" ethos here thankfully, I've had more than my fair share of that).
It sounded like a win-win proposition. I could create some new practices built to up-level my happiness index, and the side effects would be an increase in productivity and overall work-life performance? Sign me up!
The practices I ended up diving into are extremely easy to weave into your day, and come built in with a great acronym to help you remember, GEMS:
Gratitude
Exercise
Mindfulness, and
Sleep
Give these daily GEMS a shot and let me know how it goes! Do you feel more energized, balanced, at ease?
(Hat tip to Steven Kotler here by the way for consolidating this brilliant info, along with much more, into his 2021 book, "The Art of Impossible," which has offered me these and many other great practices since picking it up. I'll take credit for the acronym though.🙃)
First up in our happiness-inducing practices: GRATITUDE🙏
Gratitude practices train your brain to focus on the positive, which alters our strong bias toward negative information (scientists at UC Berkeley discovered that we take in as many as 9 pieces of negative information for every positive piece that gets through!). And negative thinking = heightened stress.
There are a ton of possibilities here for a gratitude practice, and many of them organize around making daily lists of things you're grateful for. That works for some, but for me it's too cerebral, and can quickly become abstract and not really land well in my System. I prefer a very embodied, in-the-exact-moment practice that focuses on the all the feels I get from basic five senses info --
"Mmmm...this warm cup of tea feels so good in my hands."
"Wow, the colors of the leaves in the sun make my eyes happy."
"Ahhhh, my body feels so open and energized after that run."
"Yumm, that food smells so good."
Etc etc....choose your own adventure!
The key is to simply take the time to really feel the impact of those things in your body (hint: this is not a mental exercise!), and find the part of you that is grateful for them. Simple!
2nd on the list of happiness essentials: EXERCISE
Maybe this one's obvious by now, but what's important to note is that exercise flushes cortisol from your System while refreshing the neurochemicals that make you feel good (serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, norepinephrine).
Bam! Lowered stress & anxiety, and a better mood.
I know that on particularly long or arduous days when I get home the overriding impulse is to take a nap, veg on the couch, or simply do as little as possible. I'm spent!
But when I began to connect the dots to the idea of "active rest" -- really anything different than what I've been doing all day that can activate a bit of energy & refresh me from the day -- total game changer for my overall sense of well-being. (Even though I've had a lifetime of physical practices!)
So get out there and move your body in a way that works well for you as often as possible. Keep it simple and go for it!
What's up next in our happiness protocol? MINDFULNESS (of course!)
You all know by now that I'm a huge proponent of mindfulness practices. On a real basic level, it gives you space between your thoughts & feelings, a gap between stimulus & responsiveness, and helps your brain learn to be calm, focused, and less reactive.
And having a bit of space between experience and response helps you tease apart what's happening in your System. Interestingly enough, simply bringing more awareness to what's happening in our bodies & minds tends to have the impact of lessening discomfort and helping us feel better.
Literally millions of practice options here, including working with me as either a Rolfing or Hakomi client (mindful awareness is the core of all of my work after all)!
Our 4th practice? SLEEP
This one's huge! There's a ton of great science out in the world right now about the critical benefits of sleep (I've enjoyed the Huberman Lab podcasts as a great resource lately).
At a basic level, sleep increases our energy levels, providing more resources for us to engage life. More resources day to day = a greater sense of safety & empowerment = an elevated mood.
So get your 7 to 8 hours per night.😴
Give these GEMS a go, on the daily, and let me know what you notice! My money's on a smoother, easier, happier, more energized life.
Cheers!