In recent months I have written about using the current pandemic situation as a possible opportunity to make a new start, or even to reinvent yourself. In a similar vein, today I am talking about refreshing your life.

“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” — Ralph Marston.

We all go through phases and degrees of feeling lost and unmotivated. Sometimes it has a physical cause – we need more sleep, exercise, a better diet, or a holiday. Other times, it’s due to some uncontrollable things such as the pandemic lockdowns so many of us have experienced recently. The pandemic lockdowns has taken a huge toll on our everyday lives. It has been really strange getting used to a “new normal” of staying inside more, working from home, home schooling, even going to the shops has changed! Today, we’re exploring how to refresh your life, make it more enjoyable, give it some renewed zip, zest and zing, especially during these trying times.

We all go through ups and downs. But when the downward dip lasts a long time, it’s sometimes difficult to keep a positive attitude. You might begin to second guess the plan, doubt your direction, lose confidence, and feel stuck. But the staleness can be overcome – recognising the problem is often a large part the solution.

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” — J. Pierpont Morgan.

There are several things you can do to push past staleness, shake things up a bit and refresh your life:

1. Look after your health.

Self-care should be uppermost in our minds as we emerge from the pandemic lockdowns, for several urgent reasons. Self-care returns a sense of control over your own life. It gives you an integrative approach to mind and body.

When you’re out of shape and eating poorly, you’ll get weary more easily. Your capacity for stress is higher when you’re healthy. Plus, you’ll feel physically better – feeling better is refreshing!

2. Hang out with people who are encouraging.

Try to surround yourself actively and purposefully with people who encourage, inspire, and push you to chase after your goals, as this is one of the most effective ways of ensuring success and feeling renewed. Make sure they aren’t afraid to challenge you and let you know when you’re spending too much time feeling sorry for yourself or just treading water.

The people you closely associate with influence how you feel, how you think, and the kind of action you take towards your goals.

3. Become an optimist.

Despite equal talent and drive, research shows us that optimists will succeed where pessimists fail. The good news is that we can all learn to become an optimist, responding better to adversity. Behind optimism is a set of skills we can adopt and develop.

It’s natural to feel uncomfortable while embracing change. You’re about to embark on a journey through unknown and potentially inhospitable territory. You’re going to have to say goodbye to old ways sometimes and the stale patterns and say hello to new patterns, new approaches, new attitudes, new routines, and potentially new people.

So you need a resounding celebration of self, to shore yourself up for the journey by believing in yourself.

Here are a couple of great articles to help you further with this:
– 11 Ways to Be More Optimistic and Increase Optimism. https://www.adam-eason.com/11-ways-optimistic-increase-optimism/

– Have Increased Optimism: Using Self-Hypnosis To Be More Optimistic. https://www.adam-eason.com/increased-optimism-using-self-hypnosis/

4. Hang onto the vision.

You are likely to have a vision of your goals, a vision of your ideal life, or a vision for how you’d like things to be. It’s so easy to let go of your vision in a time of challenge and crisis like we’re in with the current pandemic. Everything can look bleak, and everything can look dark, and everything can have a downside. But we can’t let that lead us in the same direction. We have to shift our thinking, and even in the midst of this crisis, we have to look for potential upsides, and we have to (re)connect with that vision.  Here is a great article on that topic: Creating a Vision For Your life. https://www.adam-eason.com/creating-vision-life/

When you’re feeling stuck and unmotivated, remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. What’s the purpose? What made you excited about it in the first place?

5. Surround yourself with passionate people.

Excitement is contagious. Get around others who love what they do.  When you talk with people who are passionate like that, you can’t help but get fired up yourself. You want to go out and do something exciting. Being around passionate people can help invigorate you and get you feeling passionate and purposeful once again.

6. Learn and grow.

“You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.” — Marianne Williamson.

Staleness and weariness can’t exist in an atmosphere of continual learning and growth. Young children are never weary. They’re always learning and growing so they go through life permanently excited. Learning and self-education will refresh things beautifully in your life.
Read this article about the virtues of lifelong learning as an attitude to life: Why Self-Education Is So Important, and How To Engage In It Regularly. https://www.adam-eason.com/why-self-education-is-so-important-and-how-to-engage-in-it-regularly/

7. Re-examine your source.

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” — Joseph Campbell.

What feeds you? Is it other’s opinions? Choose carefully because many sources fluctuate erratically. If you only feel energised when everyone is happy with you, weariness will push at you often because people’s opinions change. Find what feeds you (what makes you feel alive and gives your soul sustenance!) and go to it often.

8. Don’t compare.

Don’t compare your life with others. Thinking other peoples are happy and you don’t have money like them neither you are handsome to date girls they date will make you upset.

No human being is perfect. Try to find which things will help you to be the best version of yourself. Learn things , get out of your comfort zone and you will see the change in yourself that will automatically bring smile on your face.

Read this article for more on this topic: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others. https://www.adam-eason.com/stop-comparing-yourself-others/

9. Upskill yourself.

Learning new skills and knowledge shows is key. A training course, attending a seminar or conference will be helpful in breaking the monotony. Expand your capabilities!!!

10. Psychological counselling.

If and when things run out of control and you feel difficulty in managing alone, a counselling session with a professional psychologist can be very helpful, or speak to a hypnotherapist or other mental health professional. The psychologist (or other professional) will help unpick the issue and also offer practical solutions.

These break-out techniques and approaches mentioned in this article will refresh your mind and leave you feeling more energetic. You do not need to overhaul the whole routine necessarily; a little reshuffling can make your life more colourful and less mundane. Choose the combating technique according to your mood….

“Perhaps the earth can teach us, as when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.” — Pablo Neruda.

The feeling of staleness is a choice. It’s in your control. You can choose to remain stuck or we can get up and keep going.

Take some time to enjoy family and friends and recharge, don’t allow yourself to get stuck. Set some goals. Make 2020 not your worst year yet!

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Has this piqued your interest in this field? Then have a read of these pages:

Would you like a satisfying and meaningful career as a hypnotherapist helping others? Are you a hypnotherapist looking for stimulating and career enhancing continued professional development and advanced studes? Explore the pages of this website.

Adam Eason’s Anglo European training college.

Likewise, if you’d like to learn more about self-hypnosis, understand the evidence based principles of it from a scientific perspective and learn how to apply it to many areas of your life while having fun and in a safe environment and have the opportunity to test everything you learn, then come and join me for my one day seminar which does all that and more, have a read here:

The Science of Self-Hypnosis Seminar. Alternatively, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book.