Written by: Dr Jo Cresswell, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
How good are you at looking after your emotional wellbeing?
I’m great at caring for my body, getting five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. It feels great and when I miss a day my body feels sluggish, and I yearn for something green!
Over the last couple of years, I haven’t been so rigorous about looking after my EMOTIONAL wellbeing, however. I could blame the pandemic and the various lockdowns that we’ve had, yet truthfully, I was struggling long before that. Like many I was working far too many hours in a career that was out of alignment with my values and purpose. I was stressed, overwhelmed, anxious – and I felt trapped, and fearful for the future.
During the pandemic I pivoted my 18-year leadership career and set up my own coaching business. In setting up my own business, I had the chance to build my emotional needs into my life and business from the ‘ground’ up.
Which is how I came up with FIVE to THRIVE – your Emotional Five-a-Day.
1. GRATITUDE
Gratitude is the ultimate superpower. A regular gratitude practice brings positive benefits to virtually all areas of your life. As well as improvements in happiness, self-esteem, and depression, gratitude also benefits your relationships, career, sleep, and recovery from illness.
It is quick and easy to create a daily gratitude practice. Every morning and/or evening, write down a list of everything you’re grateful for. This can include anything – people, places, things – which gives you happiness, comfort, love, and joy. Throughout the day, take a time out to BE grateful for whatever is happening right now. And for an extra boost, give thanks to somebody – and let them know why.
2. LAUGHTER
Oh, the health and emotional benefits of a fit of uncontrollable laughter that leaves you breathless and begging for mercy. Laughter is a short, sharp workout for your body, mind, spirit, and emotions. It boosts your immune and cardiovascular systems and releases endorphins. Laughing also helps diffuse anger and tension while strengthening resilience. To laugh with (never at) others deepens connection and relationships and can even have benefits in the workplace – improving team bonding.
So, reach out, share a joke or funny story. Watch a comedy, read a funny book, or be silly with your kids. Even just smiling will improve your mood – go on, give it a try!
3. MINDFUL BREATHING
How often have you told somebody to ‘just breathe’ when they are overwhelmed or in distress? Mindful breathing is a powerful technique to calm your mind and body and gain perspective. It can be a powerful interrupter of a runaway brain, pausing negative self-talk and rumination and allowing calm and rational thinking. Taking a 30 second time out to breathe deeply can reduce overwhelm and help you to gain perspective and control.
A daily mindful breathing or meditation practice can create lasting emotional and physical benefits. It can help you to alleviate stress or anxiety, and support more positive emotions. And it can help with focus, creativity, and sleep.
Pick a quiet time and place, get comfortable, close your eyes, and start to notice your breath. What it feels like in your body. How long or short your breaths are. All the qualities of your breathing. Try breathing more slowly and deeply and notice how this feels. There are many guided meditation resources available to help you build your practice.
4. HUMAN CONNECTION
Human connection is one of our most fundamental needs. Connecting with another person on a deep human level, and to be truly seen and heard by that person is a powerful experience. This kind of connection helps you to build resilience, learn and grow, improve your quality of life, and feel more satisfied and fulfilled.
The pandemic has exacerbated the impact of technology and overwork on our connectedness with other people, increasing isolation and loneliness. Various sources have shown that isolation can have the same impact on our bodies as smoking or obesity.
Connecting in person is most effective, so where you can, meet up with a friend, join a club, or interact with people as you’re out and about. Simply smiling at a stranger can lift both of your moods. If you can’t get out, call somebody you haven’t been in touch with for a while – let them know what they mean to you and listen to the smile in their voice.
5. CONNECTING WITH NATURE
The benefits of being out in green spaces go far beyond those that we gain from exercise. Connecting with nature is such a fundamental need that the Japanese practice forest bathing (shinrin yoku) – simply experiencing the forest and the nature around you while breathing deeply.
Spending time in nature helps your creativity, focus, memory, and problem-solving. Emotionally, being out in nature helps you to improve happiness, serenity, and joy, while experiencing nature with others can help strengthen relationships. The reduction in stress from being out in nature can also lead to prevention or improvement in some chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Being outside in nature even benefits your eyesight, as it allows your eyes a greater range of focus than simply starting at a screen! So, get out in nature and look all around you at the wonders both near and far. Your eyes will thank you.
If you can’t get out, look out of the window, talk to a potted plant, or close your eyes and visit your favourite nature spot. Even looking at beautiful images from nature or watching a nature documentary has a powerful effect!
I make sure I get my FIVE to THRIVE every day, and I can’t tell you the difference this practice has made to my life, my relationships, and my business. I feel so much freedom and security. I no longer worry about work/life balance because it is built in. I have beautiful human connections, and I feel happy, confident, and abundant. Even my physical state has changed, and my blood pressure is lower than it’s ever been! Above all, I experience overwhelming joy, every single day.
I bring these five practices into my work with my coaching clients – Fun and Fulfilment is one of the six pillars of my 15-week DARING Mindset accelerator coaching programme.
To apply to work with me 1:1, please contact me at jocresswell.coaching@gmail.com
Alternatively subscribe to my weekly email newsletter and receive a free download of my DARING Mindset ebook: https://jocresswell.newzenler.com/f/daring-mindset-30-minute-guide
Dr Jo Cresswell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr Jo Cresswell – The Human BEING Coach is an experienced leader, mentor, and coach, with a highly successful career spanning more than 20 years. In 2019, Dr Jo chose to pivot her career, following her passion and purpose in setting up her business, Dr Joanne Cresswell Coaching. Based on her career experience, and her own 5 year deep mindset journey, Dr Jo has created her signature DARING Mindset (TM) framework and suite of 1:1 and group coaching programmes and courses. By combining aspirational coaching with deep mindset work, she inspires passionate and innovative women to create their own powerful DARING Mindset, so that they can unlock their potential and create the life, career, business, and relationship success that they truly deserve. Dr Jo has a passion for adapting psychotherapy, psychology, and neuroscience tools into her coaching programmes to support truly transformational change for her clients.
