To Your Health: Book offers tips to get variety, joy in your life
By GILLIAN SLADE on January 27, 2020.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com
At least the frigid weather is over for now but the snow grunge still has a way of making this time of the year difficult for many of us.
It is time to “Spice Up Your Life,” as author Rosabella Daugela says in her book about ways to be happier.
Daugela lets us know that happiness is a “choice” and there is plenty of evidence from other sources to prove that. However, Daugela is also chock full of ideas to help us along the way.
Everyday do something you absolutely love for at least 15 minutes. These can be really simple things such as playing with your dog, or enjoying a special cup of coffee while you do a crossword puzzle. Anything that brings you joy.
It is important to do something that you are passionate about for at least two hours a week. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed by the things you have to do that you totally neglect the things you are passionate about.
Perhaps you think there is no time. I suggest observing how you spend your relaxing time. Perhaps you watch TV or browse your phone. Consider whether that time spent doing something you are passionate about would give you more pleasure.
Daugela suggests we all have some wonderful memories of instances in our past, those moments that are burned in your mind and bring you intense pleasure even now, just remembering them. Lingering over those memories and enjoy them.
If you have a memory that brings you pain and that it the image that often occupies your thoughts, you may need help to reach the point of forgiving the person who contributed to your pain.
Now I have some very practical ideas to add the spice.
Don’t drive to work or the grocery store using the same route every time. Just go down other roads and see something different for a change. You will see new things that can be entertaining to ponder over long after the journey is over.
Prepare a meal that is really different. Find a recipe that you have not used before with ingredients you do not usually buy. It may not become a favourite but it is stimulating to try new things and it can give you something interesting to chat about with your friends too.
If there are things you have been putting off doing – this is a good time to tackle them. Just walking past the things that remind us of what we should be attending to can be really discouraging and affect our happiness.
Decide to tackle one job a week and if they are large jobs allocate a time limit, even putting the timer on, to work on the task. It feels so good when you make progress on these tasks that you’ve been putting off.
Here’s to spicing up your life, authors like Rosabelle Daugela and here’s To Your Health.
To Your Health is a weekly column by Gillian Slade, health reporter for the News, bringing you news on health issues and research from around the world. You can reach her at
gslade@medicinehatnews.com or 403-528-8635.
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