3 weeks to be a bit happier

3 weeks to be a bit happier

3 weeks to be a bit happier with our “Loving ourselves a little more”. It is a simple proposal which only requires a few minutes a day. Read my article to dig deeper into the motivations and start with more awareness.

This is a quick summary of the video series, which can help you to stay on track!

How does it work?

The best way would be to watch the videos released throughout three weeks, which you can find here.

Take a few minutes, without distractions. Prepare a notebook and a pan. I like blank pages and colourful sharpies. Concentrate on your breath until it slows down and gets more relaxed. Don’t fight against the many thoughts – let them slip away.

Create a nice space, made just for you – and, if possible, always use it for our meditations. If you are any religious or spirituals, use symbols that can help you.

As soon as you feel ready, look at the 3-minute videos and follow the indications, or read here the daily exercise here.

Once you have done the exercise, return to daily like after having thanked and breathed deeply.

Take a few minutes, without distractions.

First week – Living in a state of gratitude

The first week is dedicated to “living in a state of gratitude.” Gratitude generates deep peace; it helps to see what is good before what is bad, it makes us realize that not everything depends on us. But living in gratitude is very difficult, starting from gratitude towards ourselves. And that is where we will begin.

1 – Take a notebook and a pen, try to look inside yourself and start reflecting: I congratulate myself, in my life I have been good at…”

For some people, this is the hardest exercise. Do not be discouraged if you do not manage to write more than a few things. You will solve the problem, when you continue our three weeks of reflection. And you will see how the pages will start to fill up.

2 – Now do something a bit easier. Complete the phrase: “I am grateful to…” – fill it with the names of the people you are thankful to. See them in front of yourself, thank them one by one – all the people who gave you a part of their life.

3 – Today’s exercise might be easier for those who have faith or a religious path, but you can do it if you live other dimensions. Express, and write, your gratitude towards the Creator, God, the universe, according to how you live your spirituality. Living gratitude towards someone bigger than us makes us lighter.

4 – Today is dedicated to one of the symbols of gratitude – the gift. Think about a rose: the person who gave you the rose; who sold them the rose; before that had watered it and taken care of it; planted the seed… Write down the most important gifts you have received in your life, and stop for a minute to think about the deepest value of every gift. Write it down, and be grateful to whoever offered you a gift.

5 – Think about a trip, a day out in your nearby area, a moment in which you experimented wonder: perhaps during a sunset, in a forest, at the seaside. Go back to that moment in your life where creation awakened your heart. Choose one of those moments and relive it with your imagination. Were you hot? Cold? Let that image fill you up and be grateful.

Go back to that moment in your life where creation awakened your heart.

Second week – set goals

It is time for you to go out from your comfort zone. And to do so, it is the right moment to set goals: they do not have to be massive, unattainable, but small and concrete steps. In the videos, I prepare to climb a mountain.

6 – Make a decision, set yourself a goal concerning your body. It can be about what you eat, for instance, giving up on that kind of food that is not good for you. It can be a commitment to workout, or walking… In the first 6 months of this pandemic, I lost 13kg with clear and concrete goals. And today, I prepare my climbing boots, as a concrete symbol of the body in contact with the world.

7- Set a goal for your mind. Something small: choose to follow a meditation path, to read books, to watch films. Think about a plan to nourish your mind.

The backpack is full of my thoughts, my experiences, moments of suffering, wounds. I bring all of it with me in the journey of life, and by doing that the weight will become ever-lighter.

8 – Going on with the path it is time to set goals in your spiritual life, whether you have faith or not. Write down something that might help you in your path – small objectives.

I prepare my walking sticks, a valid help on which to count on for support, just like faith.

9 – Work. In this period, many people have lost their job, or are having great difficulties. Try to reinvest yourself, take out creativity and new ideas. Don’t stop. Think about ideas on what could help you in your profession, aim high and be hopeful.

In my backpack, I put my pocket knife, a symbol of creative manual work.

10 – The goals in the last day of this week have to do with relationships. It is difficult if you are isolated, or if you have complicated relationships – how can you improve this? Call someone who is far away, or simplify your relationships, only maintaining those that are true.

I prepare the symbol of relationships – coffee, real coffee made with the Italian moka.

Third week – free from chains. 3 weeks to be a bit happier.

It is now the time to climb up – aim for the peak of the mountain with your goals. But then you realize that there are obstacles, chains that keep you tight. And so let’s dedicate the third week to freeing ourselves from the obstacles, the walls, the chains.

11 – In the fog, think about and write down the major obstacles that you encounter with your body. Simply writing them makes them lose a bit of power. I could not wake up in the morning – now, I wake up at 6:30 to workout.

12 – Walking up the mountain is not easy – but don’t give up, go ahead with strength and courage. If you want to be free, strengthen your spiritual life by identifying and removing the obstacles that impede it.

13 – Now you are ready to identify and remove the chains in relationships, with friends, with people you meet. It is not easy. Many times, it seems like they take your energies away, or that someone is taking advantage of you or perhaps you are trapped in a possessive relationship without freedom. Walk free, leave your nets, leave your chains!

Walk free, leave your nets, leave your chains!

14 – If you are feeling a bit dry along the path, or you do not feel like you are loved enough, try to remove the chains that keep your heart like stone, or like a piece of ice. Sometimes, the deepest wounds make it nearly impossible to love. Wound after wound, if we do not embrace our pain, and if we do not let go of it, if we do not forgive ourselves and if we do not feel forgiven, our heart becomes a piece of ice. What are the chains that keep it cold?

15 – You got to the top of the mountain, you reached the peak. You can be happy and proud. It is not easy to walk for three weeks with a small programme to commit to.

While you enjoy the landscape (watch the video for this – it’s worth it!), take your notebook and read all you have written throughout the three weeks. At the end, redo the very first exercise, and write: “I have been good at… I congratulate myself for…”

You will be able to taste something new and live with more awareness, and a little happier.

Most read last month