Mary Prybylo walked leaders through an exercise on creating lists of things that make them happy. More specifically, sensory experiences that naturally elevate their endorphins. As leaders listened to Mary, they were encouraged to simply list those experiences that brought them pure joy. Some examples included:
- Reading to my daughter at bedtime and feeling the weight of her head on me as she falls asleep
- Enjoying my sister-in-law’s amazing cookies
- Watching the first snowfall in Maine
- Hiking on a fresh spring day
- Taking in the smell of the ice rink when I take my son ice skating
Probably as your read this, one of those special experiences, or perhaps many, came to your mind. Mary encourages us to make these lists of simple moments of happiness, and continue to add to them. It can be done in a notebook you journal in every morning. Maybe you keep a notebook at your desk and write down those moments that create happiness when you’re having a rough day. It could even be an ongoing list you keep on your night stand before you doze off to sleep.
Gabrielle Bernstein, a #1 New York Times bestseller, podcaster and thought leader explains that writing down these “best feeling thoughts,” is a great way to maintain a happy mood, or it can be used to help elevate your mood during a time of stress. How? By thinking of these experiences that naturally elevate your endorphins, you are intentionally shifting your mindset and choosing something positive.
Regardless of your mood, these happy lists are great tools to put in your mental health tool box of tactics.