Five Regenerative, Enriching Daily Practices for Career Women
Do you want to feel more inspired during your work day? To feel like you’re in a state of flow, and like you can effortlessly access your creativity and perform your job at a high level? Of course you do — who doesn’t?
Instead of feeling run-down, frustrated, and like you’re struggling to do anything beyond simply managing to perform your daily tasks, imagine if you were excited to greet the work day and bring your intellectual and emotional magic to the office.
Even though work stress tends to beat us all down, there are ways to combat stress and access the creative flow we’re looking for. These five daily practices will help you find the inspiration that you’re seeking. Commit to them and see how quickly your mood changes.
Meditation
You’ve heard this one before a million times, but it simply can’t be left off this list. Meditation has been shown to boost creativity and problem-solving ability. It even boosted the mood and mental toughness of Marines preparing to deploy to Iraq, so it could certainly help you stay happy and inspired despite the stress you’re facing at the office.
Meditation doesn’t have to be daunting. The key is to be consistent. Start with a short timeframe. Try a daily three-minute meditation right after you wake up, in the afternoon at your desk, or just before you go to bed. Do it for at least a week and observe how your mind is already starting to calm down. Keep it up for thirty days and, chances are, you’ll be feeling much more inspired. Read here for some tips for getting started.
Take a walk outside
Spending time in nature is another surefire way to ignite your creativity and inspiration. Time spent outdoors boosts your physical and mental health. The problem is, we often feel like we have no time to spend outside, particularly during the work week. The good news is, it doesn’t take much time in green spaces to reap the emotional benefits. Just five minutes in a park, on a trail, or in another type of green space each day is good for your psychological well-being.
Walking in nature is also an opportunity for a visual break from our ubiquitous screens, and encourages semi-athletic activity, which is great for physical health and mental clarity.
Scheduling just a few minutes a day for a nature jaunt will leave you feeling more inspired all day. If you live in an urban environment, try strolling in a nearby park on your lunch break, or walking to work and taking a detour through a park on your way there.
Help one person
Helping others makes us feel good. Studies have shown that regularly helping others, even in small ways, can improve your self-esteem and happiness. Don’t you feel more inspired when you’re happy and feeling good about yourself?
By committing to help one person in a small way each day, even if it’s simply holding the door open or allowing someone who’s in a hurry to go ahead of you in line at the grocery store, you’ll feel inspired by your own good deeds and motivated to keep the positive action going.
Feed your creativity
Nurturing your creativity on a daily basis will create spillover effects and help you to feel more creative and inspired at work.
Make time each day for a brief creative practice: writing, drawing, painting, singing, knitting, building things — whatever sparks your interest. By engaging in creative play every day, you’ll stoke the creative fires in your brain and creativity and inspiration will flow in all other areas of your life, including work.
Read from an inspirational book or website
There are few quicker ways to get a burst of inspiration than to read an inspirational quote or a passage from an inspirational text. There are many websites full of inspirational quotes that you can access in seconds — try this one for starters. Or you can choose a book that resonates with you to read for ten minutes each day. Anything that leaves you feeling uplifted or gung-ho will do.
The truth about all of the above: inspiration is accessible to everyone. It isn’t just for the lucky few who happen to be struck by it at random. By committing to one, a few, or all of these practices, you’ll gain control over bringing more enlightenment and creativity to your work day. And instead of trudging through the day, you’ll soon be soaring!
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