It’s been known for ages that the types of people we surround ourselves with have a lot to do with how we’re going to think, feel, and grow as individuals. As important as people are, and I’ll talk more about this soon, there are other factors that greatly contribute to the quality of your life.
Here I will guide you through a few of the things that I do to help me see my life in a beautiful light.
- Sunlight. Being in constant sunlight does much for your body, mind and soul. Contrary to common believe, sunlight can actually help to prevent certain types of cancer. The vitamin D that it will generate in your body will strengthen your bones. The chemical reactions that will happen inside of you will actually make you happier. That’s why there is a huge benefit to ‘early to bed, early to rise’. You’re spending more of your waking moments in sunlight.
- Flowers (via Gardenweb). They say ‘flower power for a reason’, and this is the reason.
- Increase energy with red roses: Because red has the slowest vibratory rate and longest wavelength, it stimulates adrenal glands, boosting energy.
- Enhance alertness with sunflowers: Yellow light waves stimulate the brain, making one alert, clearheaded and decisive. And because people generally associate yellow with the sun’s rays and daylight, helps people feel more optimistic.
- Relax with bells of Ireland: Green affects the nervous system, allowing people to breathe slowly and deeply, slowing the production of stress hormones and helping the heart relax.
- Boost confidence with irises: The color indigo stimulates the brain’s pineal gland, which is the regulator of sleep patterns. Indigo also helps to free the mind of worries, fears and inhibitions.
- Get a good night’s sleep with delphinium: Blue triggers the production of melatonin, a brain chemical that helps with relaxation and sleep. Blue also stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroxin, a hormone that regulates metabolic rate.
- Prevent allergies with orange daisies: Orange strengthens the immune system and the lungs, which can ward off spring allergies. Orange also has a strong beneficial effect on the digestive system and can stimulate the sexual organs.
- Relieve stress with lilacs: Violet has a cooling effect, alleviating “hot” conditions like heat rash and sunburn, and suppressing hunger and balancing metabolism. It also stimulates the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that releases tension-fighting beta-endorphins.
- Healthy Food. This is absolutely vital because the stuff we put in isn’t just fuel, it isn’t just pleasurable morsels of food, it’s actually the building blocks from which our body is constructed. Would you want your body built from the ground up using potato chips, cup cakes , and chocolate shakes, or with lean cuts of protein, with fresh nutrient dense vegetables?
- Friends to Play. You’ve heard laughter is the best medicine? Well friends are the best source of that. There is a good time and place to be introverted, particularly when you’re trying to focus and get things done. On the other hand, being extroverted, making lots of friends and socializing with amazing people is one of the best ways to live, love, and grow.
- Person to Love. Having a person to love, such as a significant other, or a family member can all the motivation you need to create ambitious goals and have big dreams for yourself and your loved ones. Having intimate relationships in your life makes everything seem better than it really is. After all, our perception is our whole reality, so we might as well fill it with beautiful things, people, and thoughts.
- Room to Grow. We all need room to grow, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If we confine ourselves to a static definition, instead of a possibility, then we are greatly limiting ourselves. That is to say-by staying open minded, we put unlimited options before us. For example, by saying we are only good at math, we are limiting ourselves from excelling in other areas. By saying we are smart, and able to learn new skills quickly, we are able to take on and accomplish anything.
- Exercise. Exercise makes you feel good in so many ways. You feel good because you’re working towards a goal, doing something good for your body, and being proactive in your future. Since your brain is part of your body, your strengthening your physical brain, as well as building fortitude by keeping at it when it gets tough.
- Integrity. An environment of integrity is one that you create for yourself when you become your word. Be genuine. Give power to your words! This means saying who you are and being that person with yourself and with others. We are not perfect, but by having integrity, we can recognize times in which we are not being our word and objectively evaluate our actions. This can be so empowering because it dismisses denial in favor of understanding.
- Respect Those Around You. One way of creating a great atmosphere around you is by co-creating an atmosphere of respect with the people around you. By respecting the people around you, you will generate a cascade of respect from one person to another. This is going to come back to your 10 fold as you go about your life.
Written by Alex Shalman, creator of the Happiness Project.