42 CalmMoment.com
Open yourself up
to spontaneity
Schedule in some micro moments of freedom
It may sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but this can really help you
become more open to your instincts. “Block out an hour in your
diary for something spontaneous,” Naomi advises. “Don’t plan
any of the details of that hour until you get there and then see
what happens. Ask yourself the question: ‘What would I like to do
right now?’ Then try your best to remove any of the barriers to
doing that thing.”Decide to say yes
Just as we need to give ourselves permission to say no to things
that don't bring us joy, we also need to allow ourselves to say yes
to things that will! There are times when we say no on autopilot,
when an invitation doesn’t tie in to our schedule or we’re nervous
about something new. But choosing to say yes can introduce you
to some exciting opportunities. “American TV producer and writer
Shonda Rhimes said yes for a whole year and it changed her life
so drastically that she wrote the book A Year of Yes," says Naomi.
"You can try it too – perhaps start with a week of saying yes?”Try using affirmations
Open yourself up to joy and spontaneous happiness by starting
the day with a mantra. “Use an affirmation such as the following:
‘Something magical is happening today, something magical is
coming my way’ and look out for it,” Alison suggests. “You never
know what might pop up to surprise you, but I can guarantee
you’ll feel excited to find out!”Go for an aimless journey
Walk simply for the joy of walking. We’re always going somewhere,
or heading in a certain direction, but as Naomi explains, part of
what makes a stroll so interesting is not knowing where you’ll
end up. “Hop off the bus at a stop you have never been to before
or grab your OS map and follow your nose down an interesting
looking path. Make sure you have no destination in mind so that
you can really benefit from the surprise ending,” she says.Call a friend
Text messaging tools are brilliant inventions and, in many ways,
they have opened up a whole new world of communication.
However, many argue that they have also closed down other
ways of communicating and reduced our real-life interactions.
“The next time you have a random thought of an old friend, pick up
the phone and call them,” suggests Alison. “Or even better – drop
by to see them. If they aren’t there you could leave a hand-written
note like we used to.”Try our experts’ top tips if you need
help in being a little more impulsive...how we ‘should’ respond to events and what we feel
about projected outcomes and opportunities.”
But this ‘adult’ way of thinking doesn’t necessarily
allow us to grow and evolve. In Alison’s view, opening
ourselves up to trying new things on the spur of the
moment – much like we do as children – encourages
us to continuously learn things about the world
around us, and ourselves. It can also help improve the
way we deal with challenging situations, too.
“Getting out of the cycles we have created allows us
to increase our resilience to general life,” she explains.
“When we live on autopilot, we allow our routines to
dictate how we respond to situations in a predictable
style, and this limits our allowance for change and
resilience. Life throws many challenges at us and if we
are numb to them through the power of repetition, we
deny ourselves the full experience of feeling,
processing and expansion. By being present in the
moment and choosing our actions instinctively, we can
perceive more and grow emotionally, thereby
becoming stronger for future challenges.
“The experience of enjoying life is living it and not
always planning it, allowing ourselves to be led in the
moment by our feelings and emotions,” she adds.
“These are the things that make memories last and
bring wonderful feelings that overwhelm us with
happy hormones and gratitude for experiences.”Claire Munnings
Claire is a health and wellbeing
journalist interested in helping
people find joy in their
everyday lives. She loves
writing about ways that we can
reconnect with our intuition
and live more mindfully.Take a walk without
a destination in mind
and enjoy discovering
somewhere new.