Cultivating Happiness ~ Part 1

Contentment During Hardship

My friend, it’s been a while! I hope you’re doing well, remaining constant and consistent in choosing a healthy and happy lifestyle. Unfortunately, I got sick not too long ago and I’m still sort of in recovery mode. Ugh, covid sucks, so please protect your immunity and practice stress management for yourself as well as for others. Remember, health makes up a huge part of our happiness.

It took me a couple of months to get back into a rhythm of life that I consider to be my own version of normal and I had the baby version of all of the symptoms that one could have. Nevertheless, while my eye muscles hurt so bad that I thought my eyeballs were going to fall right out of my head and the fatigue was so strong that I couldn’t stand for longer than five minutes at a time, it gave me some time to think about how to continually choose happiness even during difficult times of stress and sickness.

Here’s a friendly reminder: Holding oneself accountable by proactively cultivating health and happiness is crucial during recovery from illness and injury. This is especially important to remember because whole mind-body wellness is not a passive process, it is a dynamic and personal path. Also, hard truth, no one else is meant to do the work for you to heal!

If loved ones play a major role in your bounce back from hardship, their role is that of support. And even the most successful folks and the greats of all time get off track every now and then. They too must review their personal intentions, decisions, and actions as well as adjust their approach to achieve their life goals accordingly.

When we are willing and ready to play the lead role in our lives, especially through adversity, there’s nothing that can stop us!

Below are a few simple and practical resources that can help us to create, maintain, and get us back on track in an encouraging and positive way:

Encouraging Accountability Resources

• Fabulous App: If I’m being completely honest, most phone notifications annoy me. I'm working to be more present in life, so I continue to minimize them as much as possible. The Fabulous App (Fab App) notifications, however, tend to keep me in tune with enjoying my daily routines. The app allows you to set various goals, gives you reminders about these goals, and suggests challenges that may suit your interests. It’s also filled with playful animations and encouraging sounds when performing and checking off tasks. The Fab App provides motivational quotes along with ways to connect with your loved ones and others around the world that use the app for self improvement and engaging with like-minded communities. If you're looking for an easy and fun way to track your daily habits that’s backed by science, here’s the Fab app’s full name and helpful links:

  • Start Your Journey: Fabulous Daily Routine Planner (Website)

  • Google: The Fabulous App (Google Play)

  • Apple: The Fabulous App (Apple Store)

• Yearly Planner/ Digital Calendar: I use my planner to keep sight on major goals and events that I don’t want to lose sight of as I get into the daily details of life. I prefer a hard copy over apps and sites, though I do use a digital calendar as well. With a hard copy planner I find it easy to review and adjust my daily habits, appointments, family chats, and more with a big picture perspective. For instance, the Fab App will remind me that I have blocked out time to write everyday, but I use my planner and digital calendar to remember when I have scheduled appointments for car maintenance throughout the year or when I set aside time for a video call with family and friends in different time zones. In short, I use the Fab App to focus more on the everyday small steps to cultivate health and happiness, while my planner/digital calendar helps me to view ahead and plan for future goals.

• Lavendaire Workbook: At first glance the Lavendaire Artist of Life Workbook seems like it's designed for women with it's beautiful pastel color themes, however trust me when I say that it’s a great reference for anyone working on coaching themselves through various life areas including business, wellness, relationships, and more. The workbook makes it easy to review your progress by combining the essence of a journal and a planner together. The workbook is filled with thought provoking questions and practical exercises. I use this particular book to keep focused on the big picture as I move forward with the small details of maintaining health and happiness. This way, if and when I get wrapped up in my day to day activities and lose sight of why I got into the details in the first place, I have a specific tool to help me to remember, re-center, and reset.

  • Get Your 2023 Workbook: Artist Of Life Workbook

  • Shop All Lavendaire Collections: Lavendaire Shop

Keep Going, You’ve Got This!

Life’s obstacles are inevitable, yet if joy is truly important to you, you have to make time for rest, recovery, and leisure as a non-negotiable part of the daily routine. The above resources can help to do just that!

Remember, recovery from hardship of any kind is different for everyone and I can’t fit all of my helpful tools here in this one post. However, outside of having a solid support system you can learn and relearn how to coach yourself through difficult times to cultivate genuine contentment. Though the path towards more happiness will have areas of tricky terrain to navigate at times, may you always remain open to the beauty of life and share your lessons with others!