Find the Joy!

“Let your joy be in your journey—not in some distant goal.” — Tim Cook

Welcome to the November 2020 edition of TotalWellbeing, your guide to the 8 dimensions of wellbeing. This month we will be talking about finding joy and appreciating the little things. With the pandemic, politics, and everything else going on it is easy to dwell on the bad stuff, however it’s important to understand that while we don’t have control over all the negativity, we do have control over how we choose to react and feel about things. To help you control your emotions and find joy every day, try focusing on the positive and let the negative move on. You can’t stop the bad, so it is a waste of your energy to try. Instead pick out the good things in your life and focus on those! See our resources below for more tips and resources on staying positive.

Don’t forget, November is National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Awareness Month and is an extremely important month if you are one of the many caregivers that are currently caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, or if you have a loved one that is living with dementia. The good news is that there are resources out there to help you as well as promising progress on treatments, diagnostic capabilities, and even a potential cure. Take a look at the latest update from our resident Alzheimer’s/dementia expert JJ Jordan here, and if you or someone you love is either a caregiver or is impacted by Alzheimer’s/dementia in some way, please call MINES today to get connected to caregiver support resources, trainings, and more.

As a quick reminder, your online portal, PersonalAdvantage, also has helpful resources, tips, and resources on happiness, joy, and emotional wellbeing. Please log on today for articles, self-help tools, health assessments, and more.

To your total wellbeing,

The MINES Team

Looking at Happiness as a Choice

Are you a person who can act on tough questions? Questions like: What am I grateful for? What choices do I have? What actions can I take to improve my life? What are my primary strengths? How can I live a more balanced life?

People who can act on these questions likely also describe themselves as happy.

“Happiness is neither a mood nor an emotion. Mood is a biochemical condition, and emotions are transitory feelings,” says Dan Baker, Ph.D., director of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Ariz., and author of What Happy People Know. “Happiness is a way of life, an overriding outlook composed of qualities like love, optimism, courage, and a sense of freedom. It’s not something that changes every time your situation changes.”

Read the full article here.

If you or someone you know would like more advice or coaching around finding joy, increasing work/life balance, managing stress, or anything else related to your happiness and wellbeing, remember that Your Employee Assistance Program is here to help. In addition to free and confidential counseling, you have access to wellness coaching and resources as well. Call us at 1-800-873-7138 to get connected right away. Also, PersonalAdvantage has a ton of great resources and FREE webinars.

1. Believe in yourself – A sense of inadequacy can prevent you from achieving your goals, but self-confidence can lead to self-realization and achievement. Make a list of all your good points if you have lost confidence in your ability to succeed. Reaffirming your assets will help you overcome your doubts.
2. Use your mind to restore your energy – How you think has a profound effect on how you feel physically. If your mind tells you you’re tired, your body will accept it as fact and be fatigued. You can maintain your energy level indefinitely if your mind is intensely interested in what you are doing.
3. Create your own happiness – You have two choices when you get up in the morning: to be happy or unhappy. Choose to be happy by telling yourself that life is good, things are going well, you can handle all your problems and you’re grateful for all you have and will have.
4. Expect the best, not the worst – You release a force in your mind that promotes positive results when you expect the best.
5. Don’t believe in defeat – Make your mind more positive by eliminating negative expressions in thought and speech. Statements such as “I can’t do that” and “I’m afraid I’ll fail” clutter your mind and condition it to expect negative results. Speak and think positively about every situation.
6. Break the worry habit – Several times a day, use your imagination to empty your mind of anxiety and fear. Picture all your worries flowing out of you, just as water empties from a sink when the stopper is removed. When all your worries are gone, fill your mind with faith, hope, courage, and positive expectations. In time, you’ll find yourself worrying less.
7. Practicing silence is also effective – Sit in a quiet place for 15 minutes. Don’t read, write or speak. Think peaceful thoughts, meditate, or pray.
8. Replace irritation, anger, and hate – Deal with hurtful situations or misunderstandings immediately. Seek out the person involved and strive to resolve your differences. To cool an angry response, reverse your body’s natural reactions by unclenching your fists and lowering your voice.
9. Maintain a positive, optimistic attitude – Instead of letting life’s difficulties get you down, keep your mind open and responsive to new ideas, exercise initiative and resourcefulness when dealing with challenges, and use your creativity and good judgment when solving problems.

Remember, your Employee Assistance Program is here to help you reach your positive thinking goals. This includes counseling, self-help tools, wellness coaching, and more. If you need additional information, or to access services, please call MINES and Associates at 1-800-873-7138 today.

Question of the Month

What is one activity that you used to do for fun or find joy in that you no longer get to do? Why are you unable to enjoy this activity any longer? What is stopping you from building time back into your life for this hobby/activity?

This Month’s Focus

Free Webinar:

Reclaim Your Joy

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Back to School During the Pandemic

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