2021 July Articles Archives

Trigger your inner happiness

Hormones and neurotransmitters are involved in many essential processes, like heart rate and digestion, as well as your mood and feelings. They are the body’s chemical messengers, and some of them are known for their ability to help people bond, feel joy and experience pleasure.

Let’s boost some of the natural ‘happiness hormones in your body by understanding the things we cannot control, and the aspects we can!

Dopamine

This happy hormone is a neurotransmitter that drives your brain’s reward system. If you are acknowledged at work for performance, thanked for the extra effort you put in at home or achieved your exercise goals – you’ll get a delicious dopamine hit, resulting in feeling happy, excited and stimulated, which, in turn, drives pleasure-seeking behaviour. Boost your dopamine levels by setting realistic tasks or goals and achieving them.

Serotonin

This hormone (and neurotransmitter) helps regulate your mood as well as your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and memory. When we trigger Serotonin, we can help reduce the symptoms of depression. The most effective and natural way to boost Serotonin is by exercising daily. Exercise not only keeps us fit and healthy but also protects us from disease and degeneration. Save 20 minutes for a brisk walk, run, bike ride, or other physical activity – it does wonders for your mood.

Carbohydrates increase serotonin levels, which partly explains why we crave sweet, starchy foods when we are feeling down. Manage this by eating healthier options such as dark chocolate – in moderation!

Oxytocin

This hormone is often called “the love hormone” and can help to promote trust, empathy, and bonding in relationships. Hugs and kisses between humans can be used to display love, kindness, protection and lust. To increase your Oxytocin, spend time being kind, caring and having fun with family, friends and your pets. This will help stimulate Oxytocin – and feel the love!

Endorphins

Endorphins are your body’s natural pain reliever, which your body produces in response to stress or discomfort. Once you remove the pain part of the equation, endorphins can feel like a “high” or even just a nice relaxing feeling.

Endorphin levels also tend to increase when you engage in reward-producing activities, such as spending time outdoors, eating or working out. It’s even been argued that endorphins cause the joyful feeling you get from deep belly laughs! The contracting of stomach muscles is enough “pain” to release a few feel-good endorphins into your body!

If you feel consistently unhappy or experiencing stress and anxiety, please speak to a professional counsellor at LifeAssist now.

67 Steps to Self-Improvement

On Nelson Mandela Day, a lot of South African’s as well as some other people around the world dedicate at least 67 minutes of their time to helping others. While giving back is important, it’s difficult to “pour from an empty cup” – remember to take care of yourself too, especially within the current pandemic times we find ourselves in at present!

These are some simple and practical ways to improve yourself so that you can continue helping those around you. In the spirit of Nelson Mandela Day, we’ve included a total of 67 tips. It would be impractical to pick all 67 therefore why don’t you pick 20 of them that resonate to you and adopt them into your everyday life.

Do your best every day.
Accept that your best will look different on different days.
Set realistic daily goals to help yourself stay focused.
Break your bigger goals down into more manageable steps.
Every evening, plan ahead for the following day.
Start a journal to improve your self-awareness and self-reflection.
Practice being grateful every day, and keep a gratitude journal.
Think before you speak.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you.
Avoid negative people when you can.
Avoid gossip.
Avoid complaining.
Hold yourself to a high standard.
Be open to new ideas and points of view.
Learn from people who come from different backgrounds to you.
Compete with your past self, not with anyone else.
Allow yourself to rest.
Set clear boundaries.
Take regular breaks from technology and social media.
Be willing to learn from others.
Be kind and courteous.
Say “no” when you need to, instead of over-committing.
Take accountability when you make a mistake.
Use mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.
Accept that setbacks are part of life.
Learn to let go of the things you can’t control.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Instead of holding on to past hurt and resentment, forgive yourself and others.
Make time for exercise, whether it’s going for a walk or playing a sport you enjoy.
Focus on finding the good in people.
Be consistent.
Find positive role models.
Decide what qualities you value in your role models.
Read books that inspire you, especially those written by people you admire.
Learn a new language.
Take an online course and learn a new skill.
Work on developing “soft skills” like people management.
Learn public speaking and communication skills.
Keep your environment at home at work clean and organised.
Write down inspirational quotes to use as reminders when you’re feeling demotivated.
Challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone.
Try something new.
Acknowledge your weaknesses and look for ways to work on them.
Focus on solutions rather than problems.
Give up a bad or unhealthy habit, like smoking.
Get a mentor or life coach to advise you.
Learn to deal with constructive criticism.
Get comfortable with taking calculated risks.
Keep a journal of your professional and creative ideas.
Be honest and ethical.
Try not to procrastinate.
Smile and laugh often.
Practice good financial habits.
Live below your means.
Don’t overspend or get into debt.
Show a genuine interest in others.
Take care of your physical health (diet, exercise and sleep).
Keep your mind sharp with daily mental exercises.
Find healthy ways to cope with stress.
Ask experts for advice whenever you get the chance.
Make the most of opportunities to help others.
Take time at the end of each day to reflect.
Use positive self-talk.
Be kind to yourself.
Don’t give up – slow progress is better than no progress.
Challenge yourself to make a difference in the world.