By Courtney E. Ackerman, author of 5-Minute Bliss<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/p>\n A<\/span>s we age, we tend to lose some of our bliss. It’s easy to find bliss as a child, but the older we get the less we happen upon that easy, uninhibited joy that used to come so naturally. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck! You can find bliss at any age, you just need to set the right intention and put in a little bit of work.<\/p>\n Mindfulness is a wonderful tool. It can help you feel calmer, more focused, more relaxed, happier, and just all-around healthier. As it turns out, it can also make you more blissful!<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve never engaged in mindfulness before, this exercise is a great way to ease into it and familiarize yourself with the practice.<\/p>\n 1. Find a comfortable spot to sit or lie down\u2014but not too comfy! You don\u2019t want to fall asleep in the middle of your practice.\n2. Settle in and close your eyes.\n3. Allow your thoughts to come and go, your mind drifting from one to the next.\n4. Spend a few minutes simply allowing your thoughts to pass in and out of your mind\n5. If it helps, you can focus on your breathing. Feel each breath as it enters your lungs, fills your chest, and slowly escapes through your nose\n6. When you\u2019re ready to end your practice, simply bring your awareness back to your surroundings and let go of any lingering thoughts.<\/p>\n Congratulations, you practiced mindfulness! You\u2019ll find that this practice is an excellent way to feel peaceful, relaxed, and even blissful. Do it regularly for best results.<\/p>\n For this exercise, you\u2019re going to come up with a list of things you like about yourself. If that sounds scary, you\u2019re not alone! It can be difficult for us to get real and get positive about ourselves, but all it takes is a little practice.<\/p>\n Grab a piece of paper or a notebook and something to write with and follow these instructions:<\/p>\n 1. Think about yourself from the perspective of your partner, your best friend, or a beloved family member. You want to come up with some accurate strengths and features you appreciate about yourself, but you also want to take a kindly perspective rather than a completely cold and detached one.\n2. Identify at least five things you like about yourself.\n3. Think about how much you appreciate friends and family with these good traits, and tell yourself what you would say to cheer them up or make them feel a little more positive about themselves.<\/p>\n Engaging in reflection is a healthy way to make sure you have perspective, stay grounded, and identify any potentially troublesome thought patterns or habits; however, it can also be an excellent way to find a little extra bliss!<\/p>\n Direct your attention to three areas:\n1. Your personal values.\n2. Your goals and aspirations in life.\n3. How your values and goals align.<\/p>\n Think about how your values and goals fit into your life. Ask yourself whether your regular daily activities reflect your values and whether they contribute to your goals. If you find any incongruence, think about how you can fix it.<\/p>\n Check in and reflect often to keep your life in alignment. When you live your life in a way that is congruent with your values and goals, you open yourself up to experiencing bliss daily.<\/p>\n Grab some crayons or colored pencils and let your inner child out to play! Color inside the lines, color outside the lines, make it look realistic, or make it as exotic and surreal as you\u2019d like\u2014however you feel like doing it is fine.<\/p>\n As you color, let yourself remember what it felt like to be a kid. Remind yourself of how great it felt to be carefree and full of joy as a default setting. Allow some of that untarnished joy in life to seep into you and fill you up.<\/p>\n For an added bit of bliss, remember that a glass of wine makes a great companion to an adult coloring book!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re like a lot of people, you don\u2019t always like what you see in the mirror. Or at least you don\u2019t like everything that you see in the mirror. We all have some insecurities and areas where we wish we could make some changes, but we should always be mindful of appreciating ourselves overall. That\u2019s what this exercise can help you do.<\/p>\n Go to the closest and most convenient mirror. Your bathroom mirror is probably a good choice, but any old mirror will do.<\/p>\n 1. First, take a minute to simply look at yourself in the mirror. Don\u2019t make any particular expressions yet; just take a good, long look at your face.\n2. Next, try saying a few positive affirmations to yourself. Make them healing thoughts that will help build your self-esteem and self-confidence. No negative talk allowed!\n3. Now, give yourself a grin\u2014a big, natural smile at yourself in the mirror. If you have trouble putting on a natural smile, think about one of your happiest memories and try to relive that feeling.\n4. Note any laugh lines or smile wrinkles, the brightness in your eyes, the glow of your face, or anything else that acts as a visible reminder of your happiness and appreciate them for what they represent\u2014a life filled with laughter!<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing quite like the beach: the sound of waves crashing, the smell of ocean in the air, the breeze that brings you some of that salty sea spray. Just picturing it can make you feel calm and blissful!<\/p>\n Even if you don\u2019t send it, writing a heartfelt letter can do wonders for your mood and for your relationships.<\/p>\n Whether you mail the letter or not, embrace the boost to your happiness and the enhanced sense of connection with your loved one.<\/p>\n When you are authentically \u201cyou,\u201d you are happier, healthier, and open to more bliss. You are also more comfortable and secure in your relationships when you know that your loved ones understand and appreciate the real you.<\/p>\n To reap the benefits of being authentically you, try this exercise.<\/p>\n Sit quietly and take a few deep breaths to get centered. Ask yourself:\n1. Who am I?\n2. What do I want?\n3. How does it feel to be me?<\/p>\n As you think about the answers, make sure they are not tinged with thoughts of who you should be, who others want you to be, or how you would best fit in with those around you.<\/p>\n Keep your answers to these questions in mind, even if they\u2019re only half-formed, and check in often to make sure you are acting in accordance with your own personal values.<\/p>\n Doing something new on your own can be exciting, exhilarating, and growth-inducing, and so can doing something new with someone you love\u2014but trying it out together offers another valuable benefit: it can improve your connection and bring you both more bliss as well!<\/p>\n Talk to your partner about what you can do together that\u2019s new and fresh. See if there\u2019s something she has always wanted to try, like taking a French cooking class, going parasailing, or taking a salsa dancing class. Tell your partner about things you\u2019ve been wanting to try as well, and hopefully you can find something you are both interested in doing!<\/p>\n Enjoy the anticipation of your upcoming activity and savor the feelings of joy and bliss as you try something brand-new!<\/p>\n It\u2019s usually not a great feeling to get lost, but it all depends on your perspective. If you\u2019re an adventurous soul, or if you\u2019d like to work on being more adventurous, try getting lost!<\/p>\n It can be a surprisingly enjoyable experience, but it can also help you get to know yourself better and bring you the joy of getting in touch with the inner \u201cyou.\u201d<\/p>\n 10 tips to find happiness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2020","category-winter-2020-columns"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9682"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9864,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9682\/revisions\/9864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Try the 10 tips below to find your bliss:<\/h3>\n
1. Practice Mindfulness<\/h4>\n
2. What I Like About Me<\/h3>\n
3. Reflect on Your Life<\/h3>\n
4. Color a Scene in an Adult Coloring Book<\/h3>\n
5. Look in the Mirror with Love<\/h3>\n
6. Put Your Toes in the Sand<\/h3>\n
7. Write a Short Letter to a Loved One<\/h3>\n
8. Commit to Authenticity<\/h3>\n
9. Do Something New Together<\/h3>\n
10. Get Lost, Find Yourself<\/h3>\n
Adapted from 5-Minute Bliss<\/em> <\/a>by Courtney E. Ackerman. Copyright \u00a9 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"