How is your internal weather these days?
Is there much mental sunshine going on in your head?
For this week’s Mental Sunshine I want to talk about the idea of focusing outwards, in order to improve our inner world.
It sounds counterintuitive, right?
Surely if I’m feeling rubbish, I need to focus on myself if I want to improve that?
Well, yes and no.
If you feel rubbish because you’re hungry – focusing on getting yourself some food is a good place to start!
But these days we can often feel rubbish for no discernible reason
Or worse – we feel rubbish, we know why, but we don’t feel there’s anything we can do about it.
Whatever the cause of our bad feeling, focusing outwards can be a way of feeling a bit better.
Often when we’re feeling a bit miserable, tired or just a bit flat, our instinct is to turn inwards and focus on ourselves.
But one of the quickest ways to feel a bit better is actually to move our focus outwards.
That might mean removing our headphones for our commute, and paying attention to the world around us
It might mean paying someone a compliment
Or maybe leaving a good review for a local business
Research shows that being kind to others can boost our mood
Engaging with the world around us reminder that we have a purpose and connection in life
And purpose and connection are two things that can help to improve our Mental Sunshine!
How will you focus outwards today?