love is in the air – today!
With Valentine’s Day featuring everywhere I turn, I wanted to reflect on how love can play a part in your life or career change. Only I’m not talking red roses, romantic gestures and champagne. I mean loving what you do. Feeling a passion each day to tackle the good and the bad of whatever’s in front of you.
As you move towards a new future, loving the “here and now” is still important. Yet that’s really tricky. Let’s think about it for a second.
You’re seeking a change – new habits, new role, new home, new relationships and so on. You’re likely to be motivated to achieve this, as something in the “here and now” isn’t working. It’s causing you pain and frustration or perhaps has gone stale.
Change takes time. The bigger or more significant the change, the more time it takes. It could be a case of little cumulative steps or needing an opportunity to arise. Loving your todays will make the tomorrows come more easily and with less ggrrrrrr.
So, how do you love the “here and now”?
Take stock each day of the good stuff
Take 5 minutes at the end of your day and ask yourself these questions:
- What positive things happened today?
- Why did those things happen?
- How can you use this tomorrow?
You might prefer to write these up, draw them out or add them to your calendar to review on tough days. Doing this, increases the love you feel by drawing your attention to the positives and is a proven method for increasing happiness, whilst reducing depression. (PS You’re more of an early bird? Switch today for yesterday and tomorrow to today and complete this with your early morning tea)
Do something good for someone else
I’m a big believer in helping others and it doesn’t have to be big to help you feel more love. Doing something simple like making a cup of tea for a busy colleague or dropping off a favourite treat to a friend develops a happier mindset and sense of connection with others – bathing your brain in yummy hormones.
Setting up a weekly or regular volunteering or charity activity also works. Think about a cause that is meaningful to you or an organisation solving a problem that annoys you. Many will have a variety of ways you can contribute to their work – from a few hours in their shop or centre to supporting members in your neighbourhood.
Move it!
Yes, get off your butt and add some exercise to the mix. The UK’s current recommendations for healthy adults is 3-5 x 20-30 minutes a week of “gets you out of breath” activity.
Obviously, gym and studio workouts or classes count alongside cardio-vascular outdoor activities. But have you thought about your commute or housework as exercise? 20 minutes of hoovering your home top to bottom, in all the nooks and crannies counts. Or a fast march home from the stop before yours. Walking to buy groceries includes some strength work too. You could also stick on a favourite playlist and dance yourself silly whilst your dinner is cooking.
Be with others
Investing in those close to you improves your experience of the “hear and now” as well as providing you with a supportive network of people to enable your change.
Sharing your plans, ambitions, hopes and fears can build more trust and gain you some valuable insights into making your new future real. Likewise, hearing what others are up to can add perspective. Oh and hanging out with family and friends is just lovely anyway!
I hope I’ve brought a bit of love into your life as Valentine’s Day swings by – next time, I’ll be sharing how to identify the passion and purpose with a simple process you can use alone or with a friend.
How do you add love to your days as you shift and change to meet your goals? I’d love to know what works for you or what holds you back from loving your days.
