There are many times when I feel a bit stressed out at work and home during the day. Being responsible for multiple projects at work means that I’m always awaiting responses from colleagues and it’s often quite time sensitive, but it’s also important to realise that it’s out of my control – that in itself reminds me to take a step back and BREATHE!  I also have those days, like we all do where I have meetings all day long, but then I’ll have to get a report out the same day and there doesn’t seem like enough hours in the day.

And then there are times at home where I’m in completely new territory – I don’t know how to deal with a situation that has cropped up… and I just can’t see a solution. Usually, I can tell when I’m feeling the familiar knots of tension in my tummy and it’ll be enough for me to at least stop and breathe – two full deep breaths. But sometimes if this goes on for long enough, say I’ve had a stressful week or fortnight – I can end up feeling pretty overwhelmed and not knowing what my warning signs are, so just not knowing when to stop.

It’s not till I feel a lot worse (you know, the palpitations, hyperventilation and problematic skin) that I finally realise that I need to take two minutes to regroup my nervous energy. So when I was in the middle of a busy day today, to be very honest, I didn’t think that I had the time for Marta’s two minute meditation… but I thought that as it was Day 4’s challenge I’d do it.

I’m so glad I did. It made such a difference and the main theme was bringing you back to the right here, right now, and grounding yourself. It was calming and uplifting and was more relaxing than my normal two breaths. Definitely something that I would be happy to do next time I feel anxious, and the best thing is that it took hardly any time at all.

The second part of Day 4 asked us to take stock of days one to three so far. I can definitely say that I have felt a difference. The Happynesshub Hints have been really good and quick to be able to action and I’ve been carrying on with the Gratitude book since day one –I’m working on the positive focus and I’m enjoying my walks in to work a lot more. The videos are fantastic and so watchable and around 3 minutes long but crammed full of valuable information. The way Sally draws on her own experiences really resonates with me and the added value comes from the meditation and movement videos which I think are amazing – so calming and energising at the same time. In a nutshell, I have been on other self-improvement and positivity programmes but never one as content rich as this and I am truly grateful to all the people – Sally, Marta and team –  who must have spent months and months putting this all together in such an amazing content rich format.

I have really looked forward to opening my email every day to see what each day will bring and what I will be learning about for the day. I can categorically say it’s increased my happiness and I’m looking forward to the rest of the journey!