by Nancy Bergeron, Registered Provisional Psychologist
How about making some resolutions that you can keep and that are great for your mental wellbeing? You can achieve this in three ways:
First, pick up a copy of Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ. I briefly discussed emotional intelligence in an earlier newsletter. Basically, emotional intelligence is a set of skills, including control of one’s impulses, self-motivation, empathy and social competence in interpersonal relationships. What a better time to get an awareness of our emotional intelligence than after what may have been a stressful family holiday for some. This is our opportunity to make some changes in ourselves in order to create better family holidays in the future.
Second, clear clutter. Clutter has been proven to make us struggle to focus. Research has found that having chaotic surroundings makes it harder for you to focus than if you were in an organized, tidy setting. Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli, causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t necessary or important. It also distracts us, makes us feel like there’s always work to do and creates feelings of guilt. If it’s something you use frequently, find a spot for it. If you haven’t used it or worn it in the past year, box it up and take it to a local thrift shop so someone else can enjoy it. Try Marie Kondo’s best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing to get you started.
Third, practice gratitude every day. If you haven’t climbed aboard the gratitude bandwagon yet, this is the year to do it. Studies show that gratitude can make you 25% happier. Think about that for a second… you can be 25% happier simply by taking the time to count your blessings and think of all the good things in your life! Being grateful will also help you to overcome adversity, improve the quality of your sleep, and allow you to get along better with others. For next year, resolve to be more grateful. Next month gratitude will be my topic of choice to write more on.
Research states that the best way to accomplish any of your goals is to start by clearing the clutter mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. What people don’t understand is that to make a lasting change in our life, we must find the energy that is causing us to be stuck or have the unwanted pattern/situation in the first place and release it. We take a shower to wash off the outside of our bodies and the dirt and grime we collect every day, but no one teaches us how to clean this up on the inside. If we clear out the old spiritual grime, we can create a new pathway to positive change in our mental and physical daily life.
