Simple Self Improvement

                                                                                                     Image:Marie Vonow There are many things I feel gratitude for but recently I have become very aware of how changes in the world around me influences what I feel gratitude for. It's May 2020 and COVID19 has caused many changes in our lives. There are things I now feel gratitude for which three months or more ago I didn't think about. There are other things I will feel gratitude for when life returns to some form of normal. Things I feel gratitude for I walked into my usual supermarket just before ...

                                                      Image:Free-Photos from Pixabay Wikipedia says a hobby is 'an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.' Cambridge Dictionary gives the definition of pleasure as 'enjoyment, happiness , or satisfaction or something that gives this.' Today's happiness tip is to spend time enjoying a hobby. Do you enjoy spending time on a hobby? You have probably noticed having a hobby can make you happier. Involvement in a hobby can also make you healthier. Research has shown a hobby can reduce stress, lower heart rate and make a person happier not just while they are actively involved with the hobby but hours later. A hobby also gives one something to lo...

                                                                                   Image:Marie Vonow Following on from yesterday's tip of spending time in Nature, comes the tip for day 5, spend time gardening. If spending time in Nature makes people happy, it makes sense that time doing some gardening will contribute to happiness. As well, when you are gardening you are getting exercise which increases happiness (happiness tip day 3). Easy to grow plants can be very colourful                    ...

                                                                      Image: Public Domain Pictures from Pixabay This self imposed shopping ban experiment is interesting. I have bought the odd item here and there but only after careful thought. I have to admit being a bit like a naughty kid in that I have got a kick out of 'breaking the rules', even though I was the one who made the rules in the first place. Most of the time I 'obey' the rules and don't buy stuff I don't need. I certainly am thinking more carefully about my purchases. I resisted the urge to buy a novel A couple of weeks ago I went into a lovely bookshop with a friend. I was ...

Child from painting on shop window     Image:M Vonow Okay, firstly I think I need to give a definition of 'fun'. According to the Oxford Living Dictionaries, fun means 'enjoyment, amusement or light-hearted pleasure'. I learnt something new when I simply googled 'fun' without asking for the definition. There is an American indie pop group named Fun. I didn't read any more detail because I was determined not to get distracted. As you may have noticed, the internet can be distracting, oh look over there, what a cute kitten. The difficulty is different people find different activities provide them with enjoyment, amusement or light-hearted pleasure. For example one adult might enjoy blowing bubbles and seeing how big they get before they burst and another person would find that just boring and a bit embarrassing because, well, adults don't do that sort of thing! However, studies have found it can be beneficial for your health to let go of beliefs o...