Good news stories

It was late October, and I was having a pretty crappy day. I had just returned from a work trip that had left me feeling tired and run down. Right before I left, my best friend at work had left the organisation, so I was back in the office and feeling lonely. I'd had to clean up cat vomit that morning, and then arrived at work to realise I'd left my laptop at home. Not a good start.

I'm sure you've had those crappy days. Sometimes it's the small things that are amiss, sometimes the big stuff is going wrong, and sometimes a bunch of these tend to coincide with each other. What's the saying... when it rains, it pours?

Sometimes we persevere through it. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Sometimes we get a lucky break. I got a lucky break that day with some good news that broke my frustration. My application to present at a conference next year had been accepted!

I went from feeling pessimistic to optimistic. My energy increased and I suddenly felt like I could take anything on! I also felt completely aware at how one small event - receiving an email - changed my outlook for the day entirely.

This has made me wonder how we can build good news into our day, and create a happy story rather than just waiting for one to happen. What can you do that will brighten someone else's day - and in turn brighten your own? What could you make happen today that will boost your energy - even just a little bit? If life is made up of a series of small moments, what small thing could you do that will make the next moment better?

Often we think that it's the big stuff that matters most, so we wait for the monumental things to happen before we allow ourselves to celebrate. What if we challenged that belief? What could you celebrate today? And what difference might that make - to yourself or to others?

Bek is delighted to announce that she will be presenting a session at FILEX, the Fitness Australia national conference in April 2019. She is also pleased to let you know she wrote a few paragraphs of text today that her colleagues found really useful in their work, and is celebrating that as her good news story for today!

To explore evidence-based ways to improve your happiness, wellbeing and mental fitness, visit the Smith & Wellness Events page to find out more about our upcoming workshops.