Creative Ways to Refresh Your Day
Feeling the demands of caring for others with little time to ourselves can take a real toll, not only increasing stress but stealing our joy….what if there was any easy way to REFRESH YOUR DAY? What if this little refresh and reset could add back some JOY?
What if stopping to focus on the very small things that make you smile, that cause you to be grateful could give you the quick reset you so desperately need? I challenge you to try this and see if it changes your thoughts and improves your outlook! You might say that this is easy for me to say but -oh so very difficult to implement- with all the challenges you are facing, and you might also say that there isn’t much to be grateful for on a daily basis……well, if you are looking at the big things, the overall picture, yes, this might be true, but what if you dig deep, pull out those tiny treasures? You just might see that these little nuggets are worth far more than you could have imagined, once they are front to mind!
Just stay with me….here are a few ways to do this—try them and then start a REFRESH journal, making note of them for future reference!
Joy in the simple pleasures
This can be the pause to take in the fresh coffee you smell brewing when you head for the kitchen, the feel of the wind in your hair as you drive with the windows down or it can be the way the light dances across the floor as you wait in the oppressive stillness of an unexpected delay that seems to be closing in on you. It’s all about stimulating your senses and making a real effort to notice what you are seeing, feeling, smelling and touching. Seek out these simple joys-joys that don’t mean much at the time but that can ultimately reset your mind and your calm.
Make yourself laugh
It is often hard to find humor in the tough crevices of our days spent meeting needs and caring for so many details, but this one is a real refresh when we can accomplish it! Be intentional about seeing some of those frustrating inconveniences in the light of a future story. Some of our most embarrassing trip-ups or untimely messes can be ridiculously funny after the fact. Try to come up with a way to turn these frustrations into a laugh when possible can lighten the mood and the heaviness of a dark day. The best part is that these moments, while not funny at the time, can be a real pick-me-up for another when they are faced with a similar situation. Use your take on what you’ve experienced to lighten the load for someone else!
Fill your cup
You can only give so much as you have. While it may seem necessary to relentlessly give, you will run out. Refresh yourself and your day by taking 10 minutes for yourself…this might mean sitting outside to focus on the sounds and movement of the birds and flowers, reading a few pages in a book or working on a puzzle or just simply playing a favorite song….whatever it is, that 10 minutes spent “filling your cup” is way more beneficial than the frenzy of the mundane that you’ll be back to soon enough anyways!
Keep notes in a journal and refer back to them for refreshing reminders of these small joys that can bring a BIG reset in your thoughts and your perspective. Sometimes it’s the little things that give us that much needed JOY.
-Cheri Kimbel
