Taking responsibility over satisfaction and happiness

The old saying "do as I say, not as I do" can ring true for many allied health professionals. Constantly having to take on the weight and pain in other people's lives can take its toll, and it's often difficult to point your expertise inward for help.

When your boss acknowledges your hard work, when a client gets great results because of your help, or when someone waves after you give way to them in peak hour traffic this can be enough to make our day! But when your hard work goes unnoticed, a client makes unfair complaints, or the driver you let in doesn't even bother to wave, we let it get to us and allow these external factors to influence our mood, satisfaction and overall happiness for longer than it should. We focus on the trivial things in our life and depend a little too much on what happens around us, what others do and don’t do to make us happy.

So how do we take responsibility for our own happiness and not let trivial external factors influence us too much? Let’s look at some potential solutions:

1.       Emotions and the Mind

Learn to accept your emotions, even the not so warm and fuzzy ones!  

It is argued by some health professionals that most of our problems come from an inability to adequately experience our emotions, especially so-called negative emotions, because we don’t allow ourselves permission to express them. How can this be resolved?

(a) Writing about negative emotions after having a bad day at work, using a process called cathartic writing can help. Research has shown that people who write about their deepest emotions are less depressed and more positive about life. However, make sure to check out some guidelines and examples before you begin. 

(b) Laugh. Take some time out to have a giggle! We have to remember that sometimes we take life way too seriously. Laugh at the little things but also don’t be afraid to get creative. Play a game of charades, google funny cat photos, spend some time talking about something funny that happened at work, or rent a comedy. Laughter really can be the best medicine!  

(c) For more pervasive problems like chronic road rage, seek assistance from a mental health professional before you break your horn. This will allow you to better understand your feelings and what strategies to put in place to assist the situation in the long term.

2.       The Body

Experts tell us time and time again how the mind and the body are connected. This means that if we do not look after our body, then this can have a negative effect on our happiness too. Here are some tips to keep your body (and mind!) in check:

(a) Get plenty of quality sleep – Yes, your parents were right when they told you that you’d wake up grumpy in the morning if you didn't get enough sleep. To improve your sleeping habits, try going to bed at the same time, develop a standard pre-sleep routine such as reading a book or taking a warm shower or bath, and avoid things like caffeinated drinks and chocolate before bed.

(b) Exercise. Physical activity can open the brains pleasure pathways, releasing endorphins, which make you feel great. And if running a marathon isn't your thing you could try meditation or stretching exercises like Yoga and Pilates. When at work, take a quick stroll around the office block or organised with a work friend to take a walk to the local café or cafeteria for a lunch catch up.

(c) Healthy Eating. We need good nutritious food for growth, healing and healthy functioning. Try to eat a balance diet of healthy, wholesome, fresh foods and skip on foods that are highly processed. Eating meat and fish, rich in protein, iron and Omega 3 fatty acids will give you that extra energy to get through the day. Not a big meat eater? Try eggs and vegetables like lima beans and lentils which provide a healthy alternative instead of grabbing a dim-sim or potato cake from the local café on your lunch break.

So now you have a few tools to get you started in finding your own happiness! Keep adding to your new happiness tool box and you might even be the next work-life balance guru!