Dear Friends of Balancing Act,
Winter blahs got you down? This month's issue is designed to perk you up. There are strategies for lifting your sagging mood and ways to make your time do double and triple duty to move you toward your goals. And finally, if the kids are marooned at home on snow days, there's a cool Kindle book you can download, to teach them the mood-lifting power of using their natural character strengths. And who knows. Just reading it with a young one may boost your mood as well. Stay warm! |
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Feeling funky as you wake each day to the prospects of gray skies, chilly temperatures, and icy road ruts to navigate?
Here are some strategies positive psychologists recommend as mood-lifters even in ordinary times. Using them now could pay big dividends:
- Gratitude. Each night at bedtime, start writing down three things that well that day, and why. They don't have to be momentous. Little moments count. Look and you will find them.
- Savoring. Whether it's a cup of herbal tea, a piece of chocolate (yes!), or an ice-coated branch catching a sun ray, spend a moment to take it in and enjoy it.
- Self-compassion. Acknowledge your grumpy feelings and be kind to yourself. Treat yourself as kindly as you would your best friend.
- Relationships. Stay connected with other people. Even if you're snowed in, you can usually pick up the phone and connect with someone you care about. Focus on them and how they are doing.
- Random Acts. Now is the time for those random acts of kindness. See how many kind things you can do for other people. Count them. Make it a game. They need not be time-consuming, just thoughtful.
If your sad mood persists, you could be experiencing a form of clinical depression, such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Check in with a mental health professional to see if you might benefit from additional help, such as talk therapy, light therapy or medication.
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Eat and Drink Yourself Happier
 Food choices can also help with the winter blahs. Alcohol and high-fat comfort food, right? Actually not. A review of nutrition sources put those solidly in the NO column. Instead, the idea is to focus on healthier foods that may offer not a short fix but long-term benefits. These include: - Fruits, such as avocados, apricots and kiwi.
- Foods (as well as supplements and sun) high in Vitamin D, such as fatty fish like salmon
- Foods high in the mineral silenium, such as whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds
- And happily, an ounce of dark chocolate a day
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Rethinking Time Through Multipliers
A mood-buster any time of year is the feeling that we're spread so thin, we can't achieve our goals.
Enter the theory of "multipliers," being advanced at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Instead of using an activity to move us forward on a single goal, the idea is to choose activities that can advance us on multiple fronts.
Multiplier fans cheer on activities that they say are "doubles," "triples," and even "home runs." A common example of a double would be walking with friends, which both provides exercise and builds relationships.
The multiplier concept is not to be confused with multi-tasking, which can distract our focus and make us less productive.
Stanford business professor Jennifer Aaker says more about mutipliers in this video.
 | | Jennifer Aaker: Rethinking Time & The Power of Multipliers |
. Copyright 2014 Pat Snyder
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WHAT'S RIGHT WITH THIS PICTURE?
If you're snowbound with your child and your iPad, there's more to do than download the latest game app.
A new Kindle book, "What's Right With This Picture?" will help your child identify character strengths that are at work in stories about kids like themselves.
The book, by childhood happiness and resilience expert Renee Jain, also sends young readers on 99 different "missions" to develop character strengths, such as gratitude and love of learning. Parents can go on these missions, too, and likely experience a mood boost themselves.
NEW TIME-SAVING
STRENGTHS TEST
Are you naturally courageous? Creative? Prudent?
The Values In Action inventory, developed by positive psychologists to detect your highest character strengths,
is now faster to take than ever (around 20 minutes) and free.
Why bother? Strengths use can increase your overall well-being and your energy and flow at work.
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LEASH LAW
NO. 59:
De-Clutter!
There's wisdom in the rule "If you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it." Donate and rejoice!
You won't be one of those folks who at 70 is dealing with a 45-year accumulation.
This is based on one of the 74 leash laws offered in Pat's book, The Dog Ate My Planner: Tales and Tips from an Overbooked Life.
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