Colouring in Mindfulness

Coloring in for adults - say what?!
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When I first heard of this new trend I was so on board, who doesn't remember and love coloring in as a kid?
It has certainly taken off and I can understand why.

Coloring is said to aid in Mindfulness as it allows the mind to focus solely on one thing whilst occupying your hands, letting you be present without even realising it. It helps to increase concentration and often helps replace any negative thoughts you may be having and reduces stress. Along with it being a creative outlet, this can improve the use of the right hemisphere of your brain as you are engaging in something that allows you to be creative and create a end result all by yourself.

 

The coloring book I have I picked up from Angus and Robertson LINK! and I was drawn to it due to the Mandalas. Through some reading I found out that one of the very first psychologists actually used coloring as a method of relaxation for clients and would have them color Mandalas due to the circular design and concentric shapes through them also being beneficial.

Mandalas originated in India and are linked to meditation.
What a perfect combo hey?

These are the ones I've started so far, and I am really enjoying allowing myself just a few minutes each day to stop and color for a bit, I feel like it allows some calm into my day and slows me down so when I get up and continue on with my day I feel like I am more in control if that makes sense?
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I am planning on finishing this one up and framing it in my office, I also think it would make for a lovely thoughtful gift, to color one in thinking of someone and putting as much positive energy and love and time into it, framing it and sending it off to them letting them know your sending them some of the good vibes.
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What do you think? Keen to go back to the good old days of being a kid sitting on the floor coloring in?
xoxo

My Visual Motivation ~ How I Get Happy!

Hello there,

Below you will find my current visual motivation 'board', which I truly thinks is so beneficial - why else would Pinterest and Instagram take off as fast as they did?

The power that self-motivation can have on an individual is astounding, and it is something I am attempting to tap into.

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The ability to have a positive frame of mind, within yourself and with all those around you I believe can truly change how you live your life and the dreams you can conquer. It’s all about becoming 'mindful' of how you see things and how you allow yourself to think. Ultimately the only person who has control over how you see yourself, your surroundings and the things that you encounter each day is you! Therefore, why not make the conscious decision to embrace everything in a positive way?

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Easier said than done I know! I really do believe if you can acknowledge how you think about things, you can then make the choice to change it. How often do you find the voice in your head saying negative things? 'I don’t want to get out of bed, I don’t want to go to work, I look like crap today, why doesn’t my hair look nice like a, b and c, that person was really rude my day is ruined, I am so sick of today etc etc etc.' It is so easy to do and often you probably don’t even realise you’re doing it. You might have a pretty good day, and then when someone asks how your day was you say it was horrible, based on how you let your internal voice view the day. How easy is it to be having a good day, and then your coffee order is wrong, so you instantly think the rest of the day is going to be bad, and the one thing that wasn’t ideal ruins a perfectly good day? Why is it that if your happy one thing can make you upset, yet if your upset multiple things have to happen to make you happy again?

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The small step I have taken to create a positive frame of mind is by counteracting all those negative thoughts that creep up during my day. The voice in my head (I am not crazy I promise!) says: 'I don’t want to get out of bed' so I think about all the things in the day I'm looking forward to, I say to myself, 'if I get up, I get my yummy breakfast (I am really addicted to it by the way!), I make myself find a positive to outweigh that negative thought. Even if it’s as little as 'I'll get to bed earlier tonight and get a big sleep in' I just try to acknowledge the negative and find more positives so that I am outweighing that negative thought.

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Another extremely helpful thing for me is visual motivation. When I can't be bothered to work out, I look up fitness pictures and quotes and it gets me motivated to get up and go, when I am having a 'meh' day I search out positive quotes and it puts me into a better frame of mind to get through the rest of my day in a better way. I save the images to my phone so I can get constant visual reminders to think happy, drink more water, look for the good etc. I pin them on Pinterest - HERE! and post them on Instagram - HERE!

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It all helps to being 'mindful' and is making me become a happier, more positive person on a day to day basis, it's allowing me to think of myself in a more positive light which in turn is making my dreams and goals become bigger and seem more achievable!

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So have a looksee at my current favourite visual motivations and then let me know how you get happy!

xoxo

 

All images have been taken from Pinterest