100th blog post – 10 things that put me in good mood

I am so excited that this is by 100th Blog post. When I started out this blog in 2019, the vision was simple, to be accountable to my goals, keep track of them, and share sidestories in between. I love the community that it has built. The mini courses that have come from it (you can see a list of all my mini courses here).

In this blog I wanted to do something fun, and positive. Planning over coffee is a place where i share my thoughts on my life, be it finances, travel, health, lifestyle. The last couple of years have been have been hard for all of us. Uncertainty and stress have been constant companions. If that has taught me one thing, is that gratitude goes a long way. So here are 10 things that put me in a great mood when I am feeling stressed, or burnt out.

1. Chocolate – Jay always jokes that it makes me behave slightly drunk when I have chocolate. For obvious reasons, chocolate makes my mood change for the better right away. *Nerd alert* it reminds me of Lupin giving it to Harry and saying “it will make you feel better.” For real.
2. Walk/run – outdoors, nature, sun. That is the perfect combination for better mental health. Just walking my dog, Jack and seeing the sunrise, or sunset. saying hi to other people around me. It remind me that it is such a blessing.
3. Think about how far I have come – It could be money, health, job, lifestyle. Just anything. We have all come a long way from where we started and sometimes just looking back helps us see that small changes lead to big results.
4. Snuggles and cuddles – with partner and pet. Jack (my cuddly labrador) is at his cuddliest right before bed. My favorite part of the day. and Jay of course 😉
5. Plan something to look forward to – We try to plan our next travel once we are back from one just so we have something to look forward to. Our travels are usually nature-oriented. They are more of hikes, beaches, mountains. We like to plan our bookings and things to do so we are not scrambling around in the last few days.
6. Music – this is a no brainer, listening and, for me, loudly singing and dancing, to songs I love, changes my mood right away.
7. Journal – I like writing down my goals and affirmations to reconnect with my vision. It reminds me why I started.
8. Clean – Cleaning is the best way for me to feel reenergized. It is calming and relaxing.
9. Declutter – Just removing things and reducing clutter, makes me feel so satisfied and organized.
10. Catch up on a hobby – Knitting, crochet, sewing, gardening. Lift my mood right away.

Each one of these and more are definitely a part of Self-care. While working and hustling are great, you do need to take time everyday out to elevate yourself mentally. Life can get hard, but be gentle and kind to yourself. We are all doing our best, and cant do everything everyday. Remember to prioritize, plan and action things in that order. Also all of this reminds me of this meme – It hits me on another level some days.