What is the key to being happy?

This Friday, 20th March, is the third International Day of Happiness! The International Day of Happiness was originally created by the United Nations, with the intention of recognising the relevance of happiness and wellbeing as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world, and highlighting their importance within public policy objectives. I truly love that happiness and wellbeing is being recognised so broadly, and that how we feel is being taken into account, alongside what we do and have. 

To celebrate this week in the run up to the International day of Happiness, I created a free 5 Day Happiness Plan which we have been sharing through optimallyou. Today is Day 2, and we are focusing on move! I suggested that everybody take just ten minutes out of their day today to get moving, and to share with us what they had been getting up to. I wanted to share my move with you too! 

This morning I went to boxing, which I am absolutely loving. This is one of my new years resolutions - to learn a new skill - and it is still going strong! I am loving seeing myself make progress and have really noticed how much my reactions have improved across the past few months. My technique is much better now and it is such a good workout! Boxing is really different from my usual workouts and I definitely notice the difference in mentality compared with my running. When I run my mind is open and I my thoughts can run wild - I have some of my best ideas when running and sometimes have to stop to make a note of them in my phone. There is no way that would happen when I'm boxing! Boxing requires so much focus and concentration. Focus but not thinking at the same time. As soon as my mind wanders I get knocked out. Not really, but the potential is there! 

I ran tonight too, so it was interesting to notice the comparisons in the same day. I ran with Tyne Bridge Harriers and one of my personal training clients, Sophie, and we did a pyramid training system which involved a mile of jogging to warm up, followed by 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 minutes of running, each with half the time ran as recovery, and then a mile of jogging to cool down. This was so much fun! I have ran for a lot of years and have never ran like this. I really enjoyed it, and it was great to run in a group. 

Everyone at Tyne Bridge is lovely, and there were a few familiar faces from parkrun. I think it is always nice to get out and train with other people, as it helps to motivate you, and you experience so much positivity from the social interaction as well. This is an actual fact, and when I researched running as a positive intervention, it was the combination of the physical activity and social interaction that created such a powerful impact on wellbeing and flourishing. Working out makes you happy! 

I hope that you can all incorporate some move into this week and that you enjoy getting on board with the positive focus on leading a happy life that the International Day of Happiness has helped to create. I will be offering more happiness tips in Day 3 of your happiness plan, and the optimallyou vlog tomorrow. 

If you would like a copy of your 5 Day Happiness Plan then just get in touch, or leave your email on our website at www.optimallyou.com

Have a fab week! 

With Gratitude, 

Niyc xx

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What you do every day matters

It seems an appropriate time to revisit the commitments I made at the beginning of January. New Years Resolutions - who has forgotten about them already?

I seem to have done okay with fulfilling the intentions that I set at the start of the year - to incorporate more spinning, yoga, and boxing into my weekly routine, to cook more and eat out less, to practice forgiveness daily, take one day off each week, and to read something and write something every day. 

Firstly my MOVE related intentions, I have been to yoga twice this month - I would like to do more of this, and can plan to include yoga once weekly going forwards. I would also like to work out when I can fit spinning into my schedule as yet I haven't made it to a spin class! I think a little bit of organisation will go a long way here. Boxing is something that has really been working for me, and I have been loving having a personal training session each week to teach me how to box. I've even found some anger in there somewhere and I'm getting better! Even with my background in exercise and having been a personal trainer for almost ten years myself, boxing was something that was a little out of my comfort zone. I've really benefitted from having an appointment to show up to each week, where I'm pushed and my fitness and skill level tested in different ways than I am used to. I've learned to punch from my hips, and to keep my back foot planted instead of lifting it off the floor like a fairy! Thank you Dan! So grateful for your teaching! 

My NOURISH related intentions involved cooking more and eating out less, and this has been going well, although I have seemed to still manage to enjoy a few meals out each week. I realise that eating out is my social time, and I really love to enjoy that space with friends. I have made the effort to eat breakfast and lunch at home a lot more, and have been cooking up my favourite green veg stir fry on many mornings as the perfect start to my day. Stir fried kale, broccoli, and mangetout, with beansprouts and a green juice! Stir fried with coconut oil, and also sometimes some chilli. It seems like a strange breakfast to have, but when your day starts at 5am and breakfast is at 10am, it's kind of like lunch time already anyway!

The final intentions that I set for myself for January and 2015 were FLOURISH related, and involved practising forgiveness daily, taking one day off each week, and reading and writing something every day. This has actually been one of the most impactful areas of my intentions, and I have really noticed new habits forming as a result. I have practised forgiveness every single day in January, and have made the effort to take notice of how this process has made me feel. The effects have been so overwhelmingly positive, that I am going to keep using this daily practice for February too. I figured that if I set an alarm to remind me to practice forgiveness, that I would make the effort each day to do so, and this has really worked. 

I have had one day off each week, and I am really looking forward to a day off again this weekend. Sometimes my working days have extended from 6am to 9pm, and so a day off each week to look forward to having no plans has been a really valuable thing. I love to cram as much as possible into my days and my life, but I also realise the importance of time to just be. To relax and be still, and be present and unwind. 

I would like to have written more this month, and whilst I have kept up to date with my blog each Tuesday, outside of that I have written little, other than notes and ideas, and to do lists. My February intentions include writing every day - and using a method that I found to be effective for my reading, which is to do just a little every day, even if it is 15 minutes, just to make sure that every day I am making progress. I will be discussing this in more detail in tomorrow's optimallyou vlog. I have noticed that just doing a little of something every single day means that so much more progress is made. 

For now I am going to continue with the commitments I have made, and build upon the habits I have begun to form. I will be focusing more on fulfilling my intention to spin more and write daily, and will see what February has in store! January has been an amazing month and I have so loved everything that has been brought into my life. I have worked with some amazing people already this year and am open and allowing everything else that is on its way. I will love to hear how your positive intentions are coming along for 2015 and so please get in touch by leaving a comment below, or reaching out on social media. 

With Gratitude, 

Niyc xx

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(Current site & online store - order your products and book your event places here!)