Feel-good Friday #10
Health and wellbeing wisdom to help us all feel less sh*t
Hello all —
It’s been quite the week with all the big decisions being made — more to come on that soon. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, going back to school, work, normal life… See my post on back-to-school parental anxiety here:
Meanwhile, here are three ideas to provide comfort, inspiration and joy for you this week. I hope you enjoy them, and if you do please share this Substack!
Thank you so much for reading.
Liz
Take a field trip with yourself. This is more than just a solo outing, which is exciting in itself, this is more like a little study trip. Perhaps there’s something you are interested in, but you never have time to indulge your interest? See your solo day out as a chance to truly educate yourself about a topic, so it’s more than just a ‘day out’, but it has a purpose. Pack a little lunch, take a notebook, and go and spend time with yourself, learning something new. Field trips I’d like to find the time to do include going to the Freud Museum in London, visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park and doing a guided tour around an RSPB bird sanctuary. Wild, huh!? Indulge your interests, become a nerd. You’ll feel renourished and reinvigorated with your new knowledge. Plus the travel time will give you some peace & quiet as well as some much-needed reflection time (see, I know what you need…)
One of my healthy house plants Bring in the plants! I loved this article in the Harvard Business Review about how plants and greenery enhance our wellbeing at work. My office has a ‘no plants on the desk policy’ which is very sad. At home, I have about 30 pot plants all around the house, in particular a couple on my desk, which is obviously why I am so creative when I work from home ;) To quote from the article, ‘Experiencing even small doses of nature at work improved the way employees felt in ways that fueled higher task performance, increased helping, and enhanced creativity. These findings indicate that incorporating micro-nature into work settings can contribute to worker well-being and performance in a meaningful way.’ Micro nature! I love it. Get thee to the garden centre.
‘It is well established that nature makes us feel better. Our emotions, our thinking, our connection to others, and our physical well-being are all enhanced by being in and around nature.’
One day at a time. This poem is by the wonderful Lemn Sissay, poet and author. Lemn wrote a heartbreaking memoir called My Name is Why a few years ago and his incredible story of overcoming all the odds that were stacked against him from a very young age has stayed with me ever since. He is also a talented poet. I love this one, from his collection Gold From the Stone.
Stay well everyone.
Sending love and light.
Liz
Read my popular post ‘The Humpty Dumpty principle here:
The Humpty Dumpty principle
I spoke to a friend this week who had, in turn, been speaking to various therapists during the course of her job. The therapists told my friend that they were seeing more cases of burnout and stress than ever before, and that the term being widely used by people to describe how they feel was that they are ‘broken’. Post the trauma of the pandemic, the r…