The Little Blue Book

3. Be thankful; list your blessings Positive thinking comes from savouring and appreciating ‘the good’ in our lives. If you have children at home, it might just be a little hug, a few funny words, or even the joy in a greeting. Slow down, notice it, smile quietly, and be thankful for it. Say “thank-you” out loud for small kindnesses (like the coffee you got at breakfast) and show your gratitude to your children by giving them your time, and thanking them for the help they give you throughout the day. Start a list of all the things you can be thankful for – put the list on the fridge, share it, add to it each day, encourage your children or partner to add to it. (“Hey, when you walk past, add something.”) Take notice of the things in the day that go well. Celebrate the ‘ordinary things’ that made this day a better one – you had a healthy lunch (high five); resisted the sugar drinks (two high fives); got the broad beans planted (you’re on a roll!); made some shelving for the shed (cool). By being thankful and giving importance to positive thoughts around ‘the good’ in your life, your brain will start pushing these positive thoughts in front of you. And, slowly, being positive, thinking positively, will become a habit. The research on this is clear. Being thankful, being aware, counting our blessings is good for us. It’s good for our health, it encourages positive thinking, positive practices (like exercise and eating well) and it promotes better and longer sleep. 3 4. Smile When something pleasing to us happens, or amuses us, we get a little release of “pleasure hormones” in the brain. These chemical messengers make us feel good and trigger that universal contraction of the facial muscles – a smile. Interestingly, our brain is easily ‘tricked’, and we can work that process backwards. By starting with the smile. Just that physical act of smiling, the contraction of the facial muscles, sends a message back to the brain of what’s occurring (“hey, there’s a smile happening, we must be feeling ok”) which tricks it into releasing a little of those same pleasure hormones: dopamine, serotonin and the neuropeptide endorphin. 4 Which makes us feel good. “When you smile, the brain sees the muscle [activity] and assumes that humour is happening.” 5 Dr Murray Grossan, ENT-otolaryngologist So, just greeting the day with a smile and carrying it around – even if we have to fake it – can improve mood and foster positive feelings and emotions. It will also make others feel happier. When we are given a smile, that too triggers a release of those feel-good hormones. PostScript Section 2 Section 3 Section 1 25 ADA Australia