Hello Happy - Small 5 Changes

Okay, so this is a bit of a different post today. Like many people, I have quite bad anxiety and often go through stages where I feel quite down, insecure and not myself. A lot of times I would find myself very stressed, and uncontrollably worry about so many things! Lately, I feel as though I have become a lot happier and my anxiety has improved so much, due to some small changes i've made. I thought that I would share with you some things that I have been focusing on lately that really have made an impact and made me a lot happier!

Stop stressing (well try to!) Try and focus on one thing at a time and set yourself realistic goals. It's so easy to fall into a trap of stressing about 101 different things at once, and when you do this you usually end up acomplishing nothing! I would often sit there worrying and stressing about so many things at once, knowing that I couldn't do anything about half of them at that moment in time, which meant that I was losing sleep etc.. But once I started to set myself realistic goals, even if it was something small like 'go to the gym once a week' it made it so much easier to do and I felt a lot happier knowing that I was making these small changes to my lifestyle, without the pressure of changing my routine drastically. Small steps make a big difference so try and be patient knowing that you're aiming towards what you want/where you want to be.

Say yes to more things. If an opportunity comes up spontaneously - say yes! I used to never go out for reasons like; if my make up wasn't great, if I hadn't planned something to wear for that occassion, my hair was frizzy etc. I'd simply say no because it was easier, but I missed out on so many great opportunities because it was easier to sit at home in bed and watch Netflix (not that there's anything wrong with that, I love my bed!) But now i'm try to say yes to a lot more things. It's great to be out, doing new things and meeting new people! For example, I got invited to a Summer Ball not that long ago, I got asked at 3pm (I was at work) and had to be ready and picked up at 6pm. I had nothing to wear, my hair needed washing, my skin wasn't great.. It was so easy to say no because I wasn't 'prepared' but I had a YOLO moment (lol) and decided to go for it. And I had an amazing time and met some really nice people, despite how unprepared I was! I often find that the nights out that you have which are a 'spare of the moment' thing are usually the best, as you don't have so much time to plan it, and expect everything to be perfect. Live in the moment as cliche as it sounds!

Stop waiting around for everything to be perfect. Unfortunately, we can't chose everything in life and not everything is perfect. BUT, we can choose to make the most out of what we have. I decided to stop constantly comparing myself all of the time and with some things 'wishing they were another way' and focused on acting like the person that I want to be. I'm guilty of putting off so many things in the past because I was always waiting for everything to be perfect first. For example, I would put off going to certain events or starting certain things, (even starting blogging) because I thought 'I'll go/do this once i've lost weight' or 'i'll go/do this once my braces are off' because I always wanted things to be perfect and in place before I started something, it sounds so silly looking back on it! Now I just think 'yeah, I would like to shift a bit of weight' and 'yeah, I hate my teeth' but i'm not going to let it control my life and stop me doing the things I want to do. I don't want to spend my whole life waiting for things to be perfect and look back when i'm 80 years old and wish that I hadn't missed out on so many opportunities just because I was so insecure.

Remember that tomorrows another day. Everyone has their good days and their bad days. I got very caught up with stressing and almost punishing myself in some respects if something bad happened. And would worry so much about how it would make me feel tomorrow, next week, next month etc. I was always in my time machine! One main example of this is with losing weight. I have literally tried every diet there is - and it wasn't until recently that I realised how much it really should be about having a healthy lifestyle and not a diet. If you diet then you are automatically setting rules for yourself - and once you have broken those rules you feel terrible and start punishing yourself. Before, if I had one piece of chocolate I would think 'i've failed now - might as well eat the whole bar' (and then everything else in the cupboards!) But now I see it more as a lifestyle change. I'm not the healthiest eater in the world, but making small changes in my diet has made me feel a lot healthier, happier and better about myself. Even if I have a really bad day, I just remember that tomorrow is another day - and that I do not have to wait for a Monday to start things again! I've mentioned it before, but Madeleine Shaw's 'Get The Glow' book is great - it really inspired me to make small, healthier changes in my diet and her raw brownies and protein balls are incredible!

Be more organised. I am a massive believer in lists, plans, diaries - everything! I really think that keeping organised plays a massive part of making you feel happier and less stressed. If it's organising what you're going to eat for the week, or just getting your clothes ready the night before - I find that it all makes a big difference. I have a filofax and it's my saviour! I write everything in it, from diary dates, finance expenses, shopping lists to general notes. Filofaxs are so great as they're really customisable. I have a yearly, monthly and weekly view in mine (bit eccessive I know) and I use them all for different things. I know that sometimes life gets hectic and busy, which is usually the most stressful times, but making small changes to be more organised really does help take some of the pressure off and you have one less thing to worry about!

These are just some ways that I have started to feel less stressed happier - i'm not saying that any of you have to listen to a word I have said, these are just things that have worked for me!

Other things that are also making me happy at the moment are:

Flowers in my room

Guinea pig cuddles 

Getting outside in the sun (when it's actually out!)