What do I know about what you’re going through right now? I have no idea if you’re feeling good or lying low but I do know that life brings a roller coaster of changes that we are often not prepared for.

We all have an emotional response to what’s going on around us and some of us are better at controlling that emotion or how we react to it.

There are so many different factors that determine how we respond to any given situation and I bet you, if you’re having a particularly bad day, you won’t respond the same way as you would, if you were having a good day.

Let’s keep it simple and say a bad day may equal a bad response and a good day may equal a good response. Therefore, if you want to respond better to challenging situations that come your way, it’s better to focus on the things that will help you have good day.

We can’t control other people and what they do but we can do as much as we can for ourselves to have a better kind of day.

Lately, I’ve been trying this out for myself and through my own daily efforts, I have managed to have more good days and good reponses than not so good ones. Below is a short list of some of the things I have been doing:

Reduced my intake of refined sugar. Although I really do love sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolates and all that lovely stuff, I noticed it was having a detrimental effect on my mood. I certainly had more of a short fuse when sugared up to the max with these delicious fancies. By cutting these out of my diet for the last four months I have noticed a positive difference in my mindset and mood.

Cut out caffeine. Caffeine has always been a tricky one for me, I love to love it but hated the brain crash when the caffeine wore off. This, so called crash put me into a low and cranky mood and I didn’t like that one bit. So I decided, let’s cut this stuff out of my diet and see how it goes. I must say my mood has definitely uplifted and my energy levels are higher and more constant throughout the day.

Got myself back in the gym. I stopped the gym for about a year and I did notice the negative changes in my body because of it. So, I started going back to the gym 2-3 times per week and this also had a positive impact on my energy levels and mood.

Running. I love to run but again, like the gym, I stopped it for a while and I’ve got to say, I really missed my running. Running makes my whole body feel good and alive, so I make sure I run at least twice a week to get the full goodness from it.

Writing. I love writing on this blog and creating poems but I stopped for about four years and that wasn’t good for me – I was unhappy with not satisfying my creative side. So I started writing on this Clarabelle blog about five months ago and that makes me feel on top of the world.

Went on holiday. I hadn’t been on a proper holiday for a number of years and it was well overdue. This holiday really did refresh my body and mind and reminded me of how good it is to ‘getaway’ every now and again.

Positive Relationships. I started focussing on having more positive and meaningful relationships that fulfilled me and inspired me to be a better person and reach for my goals. The power of having these good relationships in your life are highly impactful and can be a real gamechanger in terms of your own love and happiness.

Sleep. One of the most important factors for me in having a better day is by getting a good night’s sleep for at least 8 hours every night. I love my sleep and never feel guilty about putting my head to rest and going for a well deserved nap. Give me a great night’s sleep and I’ll be on point the whole day through.

Water. Since I stopped the caffeine, I don’t drink fizzy soda drinks or anything like that anymore. I mainly stick to sparkling and still water and aim to drink about two litres of this beautiful stuff everyday.

Motivation. I love listening to a little bit of motivational talks everyday, it just keeps my head in the right space. Every morning I listen to “7 Good Minutes” on Spotify and it really does have a positive impact on my focus and mood throughout the day. I always say to myself, “if they can do it, I can do it” – it’s powerful stuff!

There are so many other factors that I could add to the above list, like being around family, going for walks in nature, being by the sea, watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset, doing more fun things and the list goes on.

It really all comes down to choosing to do those things everyday that will help you be a better you and ultimately have better days. I am sure most of us, if not all, would rather be around a positive, good energy person that handles most challenges well and chooses to live on the happier side of life.

By Clarabelle, 23 November 2022