Some of the ways to change this is to get into a routine habit of making some permanent changes. Change is something that many fear but when it is for a good and colorful life, why not do it? According to researchers, laughing raises ones lifespan and prevents from getting depressed more often.
It is very difficult to force yourself to laugh so find a comic to read, or watch a clip online which can make you laugh. This can help relieve stress, anxiety and just make you feel better about life and its difficulties. Secondly, maintaining a colorful diet is always helpful to make life more colorful. Eating fruits of all kinds such as pears, apples, oranges and mangoes (seasonal) can be a psychological way to change ones mood as well as be healthy for the body. After eating, something exciting to do would be to get dressed up and go out. Many think this is extremely silly but it is proven that when getting dressed up, the feeling of importance and excitement runs through the body.
This makes one feel happy and wanted to show off either their clothes, body, or just be part of the whole experience. Some places to go would be to a nice restaurant, a walk in the inner harbor or just a local park. By the end of the day, the feeling of happiness is sure to run through the mind and body. While doing this, spending time with family or friends can make the experience twice as enjoyable. People we are close to have a natural way of making things colorful with funny stories, old pictures, or just new and exciting news/gossip. Lastly, and probably one of the most important things to do is to relax the body.
Everyone needs time to themselves. Whether it is driving, taking a walk, or just getting a massage, the time to relax is essential to have a happy and colorful life. Things always feel and turn out better when one relaxes. Whether it is before an interview, or a school meeting, relaxation can make things go by so much smoother than if it was done in anxiety.
During these hard times in life, it is almost impossible to be relaxed and enjoy the few moments of happiness filled with the colors of life. Even though it may be difficult to accomplish, the trail is the key factor. Hopefully, these few tips can brighten our hours, days and perhaps even our lives.
Are you following the same routine week after week?
Is your life boring you to tears? And do you feel like you have fallen into a rut and can’t get out?
If so, you may be experiencing your life in shades of grey.
On the contrary, a life full of vibrant colour bursts with passion, joy, contentment and connection. You see, it is how we approach and participate in our life that causes our colours to become dull and fade.
So without waiting any further, here are my 8 simple but powerful ways that you can add vibrant colour back into your life:-
1. Be grateful
The constant stream of materialism and acquisition being promoted by the media can make it hard for us to focus on what we have instead of what we don’t have.
To combat these feelings of lack, approach with gratitude all your obligations, activities and interactions with others. Decide that you are going to focus on the good in everything. This will not only make you feel good, but will draw more good things toward you.
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward
2. Practice forgiveness
One of the biggest ways to add colour back into your life is through forgiveness.
Forgiveness is something that you do for yourself, not the other person (although they may feel better knowing that you have forgiven them).
When you forgive someone it does not excuse what the other person has done; nor does it mean that you will forget their transgression. It simply means that you are making the decision not to be bonded to them through anger.
You see, forgiveness releases you.
When you harbour anger, resentment and other negative feelings towards another person, it is like you drinking poison and hoping that they will get ill. The truth is that you are the one that pays the price. Ask yourself who you need to forgive. Is it a friend, a relative or yourself?
“Forgiveness is giving up the possibility of a better past.” Unknown
3. Slow down
This is probably one of the more difficult things to do to add colour to your life!
We fly through life in a hurry, barely noticing the details of our surroundings everything becomes just one big blur.
Have you ever been so preoccupied by what was going on in your mind that you have driven somewhere without remembering the details along the route?
Ajahn Brahm a monk from the Buddhist Society of Western Australia explains that there is a chemical reaction that takes place in the back of your eye that brings the objects that you are looking at into focus, and when you move too quickly, the image does not fully develop.
It is like taking a Polaroid picture when you first look at it, it is faded and as time passes, the picture slowly comes into focus boasting an array of colours.
In this same way, if we hold our gaze long enough at the things in our environment, we would see them come alive in full colour.
“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”
4. Be your own best friend
Do something for yourself first at the start of each day. This simple action reaffirms that you are the most important person in your life. It may be a cup of coffee, exercise, meditation or little extra sleep.
You see, we are taught (especially as women) to sacrifice and give to others and that giving to ourselves is selfish.
As a result we tend to feel guilty. We must stop thinking this way. It is not selfish. It is caring for ourselves, and when we care for ourselves, we can then be there more fully for others.
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”.
5. Give to others
Giving to others is one of the best and easiest ways to add vibrant colour to your life. It helps you (by making you feel good) and provides the receiver with needed assistance.
You don’t need to give something grandiose like a new car or a large sum of money (although that may be nice); it can be a simple hello, a smile, a hug or a kind word.
Your seemingly small act of kindness to someone else may be the best thing they received that day, week, month or even year.
“It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.”
6. Do things you enjoy
You may notice that you feel most alive and bursting with colour when you are engaged in an activity that you enjoy. So make time to “play.”
Remember when you were a kid and your only goal was to see how much fun you could have? Be like that again.
Avoid denying yourself your passions. It will only lead to the resentment, bitterness and frustration that lead to a mundane, grey existence.
Laugh, sing, dance, run, paint, sew and just be silly.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
7. Spend time in silence
Take a break from all of the noise. Between radios, iPods, televisions, phones and computers, how do we ever hear the still, small voice inside?
Spend time in silence each day.
Reflect on our how you feel about yourself and your circumstances. Self reflection and positive change are the keys to achieving a sense of well being.
If we are not aware of the thoughts and feelings that we are having, we cannot affect them. Try meditation and yoga practices to connect to your spirit. Even taking 5 minutes to check in on you can be effective.
“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.
8. Ask for help
Many people think that asking for help is a sign of weakness. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Asking for help shows great strength.
It shows that while you may not have the answer, you are willing to find it.
Many successful individuals, including our current and past presidents have admitted to surrounding themselves with people who could provide them with answers. There is no point in struggling to get something done when you can ask for some assistance.
Many people fill their lives with commitments that bring them little or no satisfaction.
9.Set priorities.
To achieve anything you should concentrate on your goals, to think of them, to work on them.
10. Make a plan of achievement of your goals.
Have you ever thought about why we manage to achieve some goals and with others we fail? For example, you want to give up smoking… sometime. And usually you manage to do it only when a doctor looks at the x-ray of your lungs and is worried about your health. But if your boss tells you to make a report till the next Friday, then you always manage to do it. The reason is obvious, we achieve our goal only when we set the exact terms for it.
Determine your goal with the help of certain steps on the way to its achievement.divide your big tasks into smaller ones. It will be easier for you to concentrate on your work.
11. Choose realistic, achievable goals.
When choosing your goals try to choose those that you are able to do by yourself. Don’t choose unrealistic goals, because you’ll simply waste your time and energy.
Life is too short to live this way.
While we do have obligations that are necessary to our basic living like paying our bills and taking care of our families, this does not mean that we have to live a grey existence.
Your life is like a blank canvas waiting to be painted on.
So pick up your brush and paint your life with the most vibrant colours you can find.
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