Remember How Far You’ve Come
While most advice you hear says that if you want to be happy you need to forget about the negative things in the past, researchers at the University of California, Davis found the opposite to be true. When you take time to remember the challenges you’ve overcome, it can heighten your feelings of gratitude in the present. The key is to focus on being grateful for the progress you’ve made instead of resenting the ways difficult times have held you back.
Happiness
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ 10 Ways to Lighten Up
10 Ways To Feel Good
- Laugh out loud
- Listen to music
- Stretch
- Be thankful
- Read for fun
- Daydream
- Remember all the good things about yourself
- Create a collage representing “The Real Me”
- Write a poem
- Reward yourself
🍎 Health Hack ~ 5 of 5 Healthy Heart Tips
Pets Provide Perks
Our pets offer more than good company and unconditional love. They also provide numerous health benefits. Studies reported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggest that owning a pet may help improve your heart and lung function. It may also help lower your chances of dying from heart disease.
🍎 Health Hack ~ 4 of 5 Healthy Heart Tips
Lighten Up and LOL
Don’t just LOL in emails or Facebook posts. Laugh out loud in your daily life. Whether you like watching funny movies or cracking jokes with your friends, laughter may be good for your heart. According to the AHA, research suggests laughing can lower stress hormones, decrease inflammation in your arteries, and raise your levels of high-density lipoprotein (HLD), also known as “good cholesterol.”
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ You Are Important
Value Yourself
Treat yourself with kindness and respect, and avoid self-criticism. Make time for your hobbies and favorite projects, or broaden your horizons. Do a daily crossword puzzle, plant a garden, take dance lessons, learn to play an instrument or become fluent in another language.
🍎 Health Hack ~ 3 of 5 Healthy Heart Tips
Make Fish Your BFF
Eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can also help ward off heart disease. Many fish, such as salmon, tuna, sardines, and herring, are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Try to eat fish at least twice a week, suggests the AHA. If you’re concerned about mercury or other contaminants in fish, you may be happy to learn that its heart-healthy benefits tend to outweigh the risks for most people.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Lighten Up
Have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously. Balance in life is important for maintaining emotional health. Too much emphasis on work causes stress as well as wear and tear on the body and mind. Take time off; go to the beach, the park or a movie to take your mind off your current quandaries. Chances are when you come back you will see things from a fresher, more productive perspective.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it.” Jack Handey
🍎 Health Hack ~ 2 of 5 Healthy Heart Tips
Play Between the Sheets
Or you can play on top of the sheets! That’s right, having sex can be good for your heart. Sexual activity may add more than just pleasure to your life. It may also help lower your blood pressure and risk of heart disease. Research published in the American Journal of CardiologyTrusted Sourceshows that a lower frequency of sexual activity is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ 10 Things That Make Us Feel Good
Choices to Help You Feel Good Today
1. Sleeping in a freshly-made bed
2. Feeling the sun on your face
3. People saying “thank you” or a random act of kindness from a stranger
4. Finding money in unexpected places
5. Having time to myself
6. Laughing so hard it hurts
7. Snuggling on the sofa with a loved one
8. Freshly-made bread
9. Doing something for others
10. The clean feeling after a shower
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Keeping Busy is a Good Thing
Staying busy can be stressful, but not when you fill your calendar with things you love doing. According to 2008 study published in the journal Social Indicators Research, spending less time in front of the TV and more time doing things you love will make you much happier overall. In fact, unhappy people were 51 percent more likely to feel like they have toomuch extra time on their hands. So get out there and do something fun.
