Put a spring in your step
With spring coming, people start to feel more hopeful that the darker, shorter days of winter are over, and summer is on the way. Usually, there is an air of positivity and hopefulness as the days become longer, the sun starts to shine, and flowers appear in gardens. This prospect of better things coming keeps many people going and the concept of hope is very powerful when times are hard. Hope brings people together in distressing situations and the need to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, can be just what we need to wake up every day.
A year after lockdown started in many countries across the world, the hope of seeing loved ones again, that travel corridors will reopen and quarantine will become a thing of the past, is what is keeping so many of us going. Despite missing friends and family, suffering loneliness, loss and experiencing many of life’s adversities throughout this period, having a glimmer of hope that things will one day resume to normal, gives us the ability to remember that we will be able to hug people again, visit elderly relatives and go on holidays someday soon.
So, how can we remain hopeful with such an uncertain future? Here are my six steps towards Put a spring in your step:
- Find the joy in the small things
Flowers growing, fresh air, nature, hot showers, a stranger smiling at you – small things can make a huge difference in your day. Look specifically for beauty, happiness and love and these are the things you will start to notice.
- Find a hobby that you love and makes you feel at peace
For some people, it is yoga, meditating, painting, sports, swimming, being by the water, walking, reading, watching TV, learning or cooking. Whatever it is, find something that beings you joy and you feel calm when doing it. Hobbies and socializing balance serotonin levels and help you feel good.
- Practice gratitude every single day
Practising gratitude is the act of being grateful for things in your life. Finding the positive in any situation helps to and while you are in a state of gratitude it is impossible to have negative emotions. People who practice gratitude have better physical and mental health than those who don’t, they sleep better and take better care of their own wellbeing. It can be hard to think of things to be grateful for when times are hard but try find a positive slant on all negative thoughts and your mind will remain in a state to change and move forward, rather than stagnate in a state of being ‘stuck’.
- Focus on what is going well
Life is all about perspective, and it is very rare that every little thing in your life is awful but sometimes we cannot see the woods for the trees, and it becomes overwhelming. There will always be difficult times when things are unbearable but if you try to think of what you have going for you (health, a good education, a loving home, a family who care about you, kind friends) we can change the perspective from ‘everything is a disaster’ to ‘this area of my life is not where I would like it to be but how can I change that?’. Then we start to take small steps towards the bigger goals.
- See opportunities in bad situations to learn a life lesson
If we have faith that we are on a path and that everything in life happens the way it is meant to, we will always find a lesson in every situation, even if that is to avoid certain things or to trust people less. There is no such thing as failure if we believe in getting up and trying again, so we learn from each mistake and move forward. Failure is only ever failure if we stop trying.
- Use the time to do something new or change direction in life
When life throws us curve balls such as job loss or financial struggles, downsizing or putting plans on hold (such as marriages, operations, birthday celebrations) it can make us aware of having more time than we had previously. If we can see this as an opportunity to do something new with our life, follow a dream or do a complete assessment of your life, amazing things can come out of it as a result. The ability to evaluate where you are and your levels of happiness is a skill that not everyone possesses, so use this to your advantage and follow your dreams into a new career, a health goals, a fitness goals, making new friends or learning a new skill.
Spring is a time for hope, reflection and moving forward. Keep the hope alive inside of you and things WILL return to normal soon, you WILL get to see your friends and family again soon and you WILL see the light at the end of the tunnel. Good things are coming! Hope coupled with faith brings about a belief that the future WILL be better and just the tiniest inkling of hope can be enough to ensure your future is bright.
