The celebration of the New Year arriving is exciting and offers all kinds of opportunities and fun adventures. Yet, having to pack away the holiday decorations can also bring the disappointment that the fun bright lights and cheer are gone.
Emotions can really get mixed up when we move forward. The more you can refocus on your positive thoughts or affirmations, the easier you will recover when something negative hits you.
Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., suggests in a Psychology Today article, to ground your positive affirmations in your body, "Use facial expressions, gung-ho gestures, thumbs-up, affirmative sounds like 'Ho!' or 'Yes I can!', clap your hands, or jump forward."* For several years, I have been doing gestures to embed positive words to jumpstart my morning. It’s easy and fun to do.
Try This: Peace Joy Happiness for ME!
Want to try something new this year to pump up your morning, your day, even your year? Here is something to do each day this week:
- Choose 3-4 words that make you smile and feel good.
- Determine a gesture or hand movement that matches each word.
- Repeat the words with gesture three times.
Example: To focus on three words like Peace, Joy, and Happiness, you can use hand movements of the peace sign, thumbs up, and jazz hands.
My first version that I still use every morning is Courage (fists up), Determination (hands on hips), Love (hands out in front) and Enthusiasm (thumbs up). The words with hand movements get me ready for the day because this small ritual puts a big smile on my face!
*Positive Affirmations: 11 Keys to Affirmations That Work: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201901/positive-affirmations-11-keys-affirmations-work