At MyEMQ, we have extensively researched what makes people feel their best, feel fulfilled, and happy. We studied hundreds of sources of data from neuroscience, psychology, mental wellness, and wellbeing, including academic papers, expert opinions, books, and research studies. After using our data modeling methodology, we uncovered 74 attributes across 12 factors that keep people feeling positive, highly productive, and mentally well. What we found included the foundational self-care habits that we all think of: high-quality rest, fitness, and nutrition, and also highlighted the importance of mental wellbeing. Just like we spend time working on our muscles at the gym to give us strength or reduce pain, mental muscles are equally important.
We help people cultivate mental strengths. Just like you take a blood test and the lab looks for different markers to discover what is hindering your physical wellbeing, we do the same, but for the mind. We give people a survey-based test, from which we look at hundreds of indicators to show us what is blocking their performance or making them feel a certain way. From the results, a roadmap is revealed, that cultivates mental and behavioral strengths, increasing wellbeing, capacity, and positivity. Here are 6 habits that you can engage, that will support your mental wellness!
1: Practicing gratitude: If asked, many people will say they are grateful for what they have. However, people that practice gratitude spend actual time acknowledging what and who they are grateful for in their lives and why. This enables them to see things from a perspective of the opportunities different moments bring them, even in challenging times. By thinking about what you are grateful for, and why, it flips your mindset into a positive state and can stop you from dwelling on the negative. It has been found that gratitude stimulates two important regions in our brains, the region that regulates stress and the region that plays a role in our brain’s reward system. Both intentionally practicing gratitude, as well as spontaneous gratitude, have been found to help manage stress, as well as help people better handle negative situations.
2: Reflecting: Spending a little time each day for silence and reflection helps both growth and processing negative moments so that they do not fester. Taking a couple of moments each day to ask yourself: what went well today, what you are grateful for, and what can you do better tomorrow, can help keep you in a productive and positive state. If you feel any negative emotions such as guilt, anger, frustration or disappointment, then asking yourself why and what you can learn from the moment can help you process it before the situation is given more permanence than is needed. Practicing reflection helps you drive towards a life that is more congruent with your value system. When our behaviors, relationships, and work are in harmony with our values, we feel more positively.
3: Experiencing awe: Feeling inspired promotes positive emotions. Inspiration can come from various avenues, but people with a more positive mindset tend to draw inspiration from moments of awe. This can be from being outside in the wonder of nature, watching videos that inspire us, or interacting with people that motivate us. Awe enables us to put things into perspective and brings to light things that we perceive as greater than ourselves. Studies have shown that awe, wonder, and beauty have a positive impact on our health, as well as increase how nice people are!
4: Cultivating resilience: Resilience helps us better cope with challenging moments and is related to mental flexibility. Being able to take pause, reflect, and decide the best course of action enables people to process and progress, rather than ruminate and experience over worrisome thoughts. When faced with a challenging moment, where you feel a negative emotion, it is important to acknowledge it, make room for it and accept it. Then, you can look at why you felt that way, what you have learned, what you can do differently, and move forward. This pattern of thought supports an active coping strategy which can help lower stress levels.
5: Creating and maintaining boundaries: Boundaries enable us to set limits that form what we demonstrate as acceptable behaviors for ourselves and others. Setting and maintaining healthy boundaries can help reduce feelings of overwhelm and stress as well as enables you to foster work-life harmony. A Harvard study revealed that loving relationships positively impacted happiness and health, and healthy boundaries enable you to protect time to nurture these relationships. Creating boundaries also helps you spend time on activities that have been found to promote positivity and wellbeing such as spending time helping others, on your own self-care, and achieving work-related goals.
6: Taking renewal breaks: Too often people push themselves beyond a point of peak focus, flow, or concentration. However, it has been found that taking short breaks for renewal, helps us stay in a more productive and positive state throughout the day. When we start to feel distracted, restless, or lose focus, it is a sign that our brains need a moment to re-energize. Finding and practicing whatever works for you, maybe taking a quick walk or switching activity to something that energizes you for just a few minutes when you feel this way, can help you increase mental clarity and productivity.