5 Ways To a Chilled Out State of Mind

Howhappyis.com5 Ways To a Chilled Out State of Mind

Relaxing and unwinding is about being in a chilled out state as much as you possibly can throughout your day, rather than having to take time out to do it as a reaction from the rest of your day, which you have decided to make stressful. So here are a few ways in which you can stay permanently calm regardless of what you are going through and what is going on around you.

Tip 1: Change Your Language: The every day language that you use will govern whether you see life as exciting or frightening, easy or hard, effortless or worrying. If you go through life as if it's a struggle and you wake up to "battle a new day" or you think people are "out to get you," your body is going to be in a heightened stressed state, thinking that it is at war. Perhaps if you take the time to become a bit more conscious of the words that you use to describe your experiences then you will be aware that you need to use words that relax and excite you, rather than those that have you in a state of constant defense.

Tip 2: Let Go Of Tension: Every now and again in the day check in to your body and notice where you are holding tension. Could your shoulders be more relaxed? Could your jaw loosen its grip? Could you perhaps breathe a bit more deeply? If you are aware of where you hold your stress, you can direct your attention to those places in order to let it go.

Tip 3: Be Present, Now: At the same time that you notice where you are holding tension, take your mind from the past and out of the future and become a bit more present to what is happening around you. Listen to three noises you are hearing right now as you read this and notice three colors that you see in front of you. If you really want to know where you are, then take a look at your feet, as where your feet are is where you are.

Tip 4: Let It Go: Let your thoughts and feelings pass in and out of you, because they are always changing. The more you can let go of being attached to them, the better. They are not who you are, you have them. So, if you feel mad, let it go quickly, if you feel anxiety, release it and move on. Remember, that when you react to something that happens, after the incident is over you are reacting to the memory of it, not the actual incident itself. So let it go!

Tip 5: Happiness VS Achievement: Do not mix up having a sense of achievement of reaching your goals and your ability to be happy and calm regardless of whether you have or haven't. It's important to have goals in life, as it's exciting to work toward reaching them. But be a bit patient and don't let the fact that you might not have reached them yet suspend your ability to be happy and stress-free every day. Be happy, regardless of where you are on your journey, because if you are waiting to reach a goal before you decide to enjoy your life, then you will look back and notice that you have wasted most of it.

That's it for this week. Please come and visit my website at http://www.howhappyis.com, where you can read many more articles, watch me on the KTLA morning show, make contact with me and sign up for a monthly newsletter. I look forward to hearing from you. Love Sophie

 

 

 

Comments

[wm1066]

06:17 PM on 05/27/2010

I had a coworker that was a real pain in the budt to work with. So what I would do is when I went into the restroom I imagined this guy and his latest antics when I was taking a dump and then I flushed the toilet! I would just flush it all away. That helped me to chill out.

[bluebells4love]

09:08 AM on 05/27/2010

Love these techniques, Sophie! I like how you suggested listening for three sounds, looking for three colors, or looking down at your feet to center you in the moment. I agree with avoiding language such as "I have to battle another day at work". I used to set my alarm clock to Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" and I would wake up to beautiful music and it would put me in a good, appreciative place. It's much better than the "beep beep beep" of an alarm clock blaring. Thanks for the tips!

[No One You Know]

11:11 PM on 05/26/2010

#6 Smoke a Joint

[Toni Bernhard]

01:10 PM on 05/26/2010

I enjoyed this post. I'd like to add something to Tip #4. I suffer from chronic illness and have worked on "letting go" for nine years -- letting go of regrets about the past (the career I had to give up) and worries about the future. When these thoughts arise, I gently say "drop it" and then I focus on something in the present moment -- a sight, a smell, a sound, a taste, my breath. I find that it's easier to "let go" if you replace those stressful thoughts by anchoring on something that's right here in the present moment. It can be a tremendous relief! I write about this in my book on living well with chronic illness. It's one of the practices I depend on to get me through the day.

Toni Bernhard
www.howtobesick.com

[Freddc]

03:34 PM on 05/26/2010

you've just be diagnosed with a serious case of nowzheimers, fortunately the you isn't going to make it out alive. the good news is... you're already there!