BOOK YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION TODAY - CALL FLEUR ON  |   07704 429577
LoveMyMind Bath and Online Logo

That Weekend Feeling!

Fleur Dash • Mar 23, 2023

Thank crunchie it's nearly Friday! 

For most of us, this means a whole weekend away from the work routine. Being able to relax, no alarms dictating when we get out of bed, and choosing how we spend our moments, doing what feels good. Whether connecting with friends or family, being restful or productive, having the freedom to be spontaneous and just to be on our own time clock. 

Why does this time “off” feel so golden? It basically comes down to routine. When we are in work mode, our brains become very streamlined so they can achieve more. Routine engages automatic pilot mode which aids productivity. We go through the motions when in “work mode”, get out of bed, clean teeth, put on work clothes. These activities are hardly even noticed as they are so embedded into our daily lives. Travel to work, sit in your office, make a coffee, read emails, again, unless something is unusual, these moments are easily forgotten. Chat to colleagues, clients or customers, with routine conversations of “How are you?” “Fine thanks, you?” “Doing anything nice on the weekend?”

No wonder work feels DULL!!! Of course we can’t wait for the weekend! Our brains are so firmly in automatic pilot mode that we barely notice or remember a thing. 

My suggestion to you is to get off the grey conveyor belt of work. Shake it up, just a little. Make every day more interesting by doing things in a different order, alter your routine a touch. Take a different journey to work, use a different mug for your coffee. Consciously look through a different lens as you approach each task. Try putting your left shoe on before your right and swap the following day. Being aware of our bodies actions for each mundane task encourages mindfulness and pulls us into each present moment. Give each of your senses  a chance to digest by taking an extra millisecond to breathe. Allow yourself to be on a Sensation Scavenger Hunt. Waking up each routine activity by really experiencing it by being in the actual moment. 

It’s ok if the feeling of mixing it up is a little uncomfortable, this is because our survival instincts like everything to stay exactly the same. When everything is completely consistent, we do not challenge our comfort zones but we can create a claustrophobic safety net. We have two distinct parts of the brain that we use everyday; the intellectual brain, and the primitive brain. The primitive part of the brain’s job is solely used for protection, and it believes that the dangers around us might still be lions, tigers and bears. This is because it hasn’t evolved since it was created to survive the cavemen era, and thank goodness it was there as without it we wouldn’t be here right now. This part of the brain is not creative or intelligent. It is not concerned about feelings of happiness, fulfilment or joy, so to find contentment in each of our lives we must push the boundaries set by exploring the edges of our comfort zones and allow our intellectual brains the chance to sit in the control seat.

Ideas for your Sensation Scavenger Hunt

How many yellow things can you see on your way to work?.

How many smiles can you witness in an hour of interaction?

How many breaths does it take for the kettle to boil?

How does it feel to alter the order of getting dressed?

How many birdsongs can you hear as you stand outside?

What order do you taste each mouthful of lunch?

What is the nicest smell you can discover today?

How does it feel to touch the floor as you wiggle your toes against it?

How alive do you feel after splashing cold water on your face?

Charge that love battery

by Fleur Dash • 12 Mar, 2024
Even the best couples can have tricky moments. Life can throw challenges, misunderstandings can occur, emotions might misalign - leaving even the most perfect relationships feeling unnurtured at times. We can get stuck in a rut, feel unheard, unappreciated and ultimately lonely in our own love stories. It is so important to make time to cherish our partners, remember what it is we love about each other, and why they are our chosen person.This is why when my husband and I went on a trip, I decided it would be an even better experience for us both if we went with fully-charged love batteries! We created this lovely affection workout to ensure our glow was turned up to maximum.This simple sweet-talking exercise is an amazing way of reconnecting, rekindling and allowing the love to shine through! The idea is to take it in turns to think of something you really admire about the other person. It is important that these are compliments and reflections on THEM, not on how they make YOU feel. For example, “I love it when you make me a cup of tea in bed” is actually about YOU, whereas “you are so considerate” is about THEM. Emphasising and accentuating another’s pleasing qualities makes it a deeper and more rewarding sentiment. It is so wonderful to search through memories that created that love connection, and recall them together as you examine what it is about your partner that you actually fell in love with, and even better to have your qualities noticed and reiterated. The act of thinking about nice things to say about your loved ones pulls affection and tenderness into the forefront of your mind. This sparks oxytocin- THE LOVE CHEMICAL. Listening to genuinely felt compliments about ourselves helps us to regain a positive perspective on our own personalities, allowing the flow of serotonin- THE HAPPINESS CHEMICAL. When these glorious chemicals are cascading we feel AMAZING! Connected, celebrated and full of love. Mission complete, your battery fully charged.

Christmas tips to joy

by Fleur Dash • 13 Dec, 2023
The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

The easy way to build resiliance

by Fleur Dash • 09 Aug, 2023
The easy way to build resilience To help our well being, we know we need to sleep, eat healthily, exercise, and maybe meditate, and these habits are certainly useful in building happiness, feeling calm and being able to cope with the demands of our busy lives. But there’s another way we can create strength and resilience that’s often overlooked and that is to boost our creativity. Creativity unlocks our internal resources for dealing with stress, solving problems, and enjoying life. When we are creative, we are being resourceful, and we are able to problem solve in new and original ways. Being creative is something we can do, but is also an attitude we can cultivate. It can develop from being a habit into a way of life with practice, and studies into resilient people have identified creativity as a key behavior trait. Creativity is a habit that needs to be developed, and can make many people feel fearful because they don’t think they are good at art. The fear comes from trying anything that is different, as our brains like routine and will protest when pushed out of our comfort zone. It is worth giving a go though, as the creative process enables us to see problems with new perspectives and see situations in a different light. Creative thinking allows us to make connections between things, gain new perspectives, and find innovative ways to deal with anything. Creativity is good for your brain because it stimulates alpha waves, the signals in the brain that closely correspond with feeling relaxed. Scientists have discovered that when people are calm, they’re much more likely to have a “light bulb” moment, and impossible problems can somehow seem to solve themselves. This is why when you’re going around and around a problem, the best thing to do is go for a walk, grab a shower, or make dinner as these activities produce alpha waves in your brain. Studies show that activities such as drawing, sculpting crocheting and writing in a journal actually raise our serotonin levels and decrease our anxiety hormones. Creativity helps to build our resilience, helping us to deal with problems in a way that makes us able to deal with them with ease next time. We can build our creative thinking by asking questions, being curious and by experimenting. Allowing ourselves to make mistakes, congratulating ourselves for trying and speaking kindly to ourselves internally means we are more likely to try more things, and trying means there is a high chance of succeeding. If you follow your curiosity, experiment with ideas, and learn from your mistakes, the quality of your creativity will constantly improve. Human beings need to express themselves, it is a part of who we are. For your emotional wellbeing, nourish your creative spirit, give it a go!  🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
Share by: