By Amber Bezney, LPC
Starting the Day Positive
What if I told you that doing something simple for 5 seconds each morning could change the way you feel about yourself and start your day off in a more positive way? And what if I told you that this was based on scientific research, mirror neurons and changing brain chemistry. Would you be interested?
We all look in the mirror in the morning. What do you tell yourself when you first see your image staring back at you? Do you see the wrinkles, the crazy bed head, the sleepy eyes? Most of us don’t like what we see. What if you were to look at yourself, your reflection staring back at you as another human being? Tricking your mind into seeing not yourself but someone else. Someone who looks just like you, exactly like you and that you can have the most compassionate generous view of this person? Could you think about this person staring back at you in a more loving way?
Ditching the Negativity
We are so critical of ourselves, which makes us critical of what we think and how we act. We end up shooting ourselves in the foot, literally crippling ourselves spiritually and mentally, before we have even taken steps to get to the kitchen to make our coffee. Just by looking at ourselves in the mirror and feeling negatively about ourselves.
Here is the experiment, which was shared in a podcast I listened to about a month ago and it blew me away. It made so much sense, I had to try it. And you know what? It works!
Some days I forget to do it and it still works.
It goes like this.
How About a High Five?
You’ve heard of a High 5 right? Up top. Down Low. It can be two handed or one handed. And it’s usually between 2 people. Athletes “high 5” when they make a good play. Moms or dads give this to their kids when they do something good – peeing in the potty, making a good grade on a test, hitting a home run etc. A High 5 is a universal signal, and it’s truly world wide – everybody knows it. A High 5 and the feeling you get when you get one or give one is ingrained in our brains, hard-wired. It says to our bodies, GREAT JOB, YOU DID IT, AWESOME.
Here is the experiment. Go to the mirror, look at yourself right in the eyes and give yourself a mental High 5. It may feel so awkward at first that it may take thinking that you see someone else looking back at you who needs a High 5. Or you may recognize yourself and believe in this little experiment and be able to give yourself a High 5. You don’t even have to say it. Just think it. And let that quick positive affirmation take a second to sink in (this is brain reprogramming at work here!!) and move on about your morning. That daily High 5 will create that feeling in our bodies that we are up and awake and doing ok. It really is THAT SIMPLE. Just spending a few seconds to really see yourself and feel the feeling in your body of a High 5 is enough to change your brain chemistry and will work to rewire how you think of yourself, and how you feel in going about our day.
Try it. Do 7 days, and see how you feel. If you forget, don’t beat yourself up, just pick it back up the next day. Now, picture me giving you a High 5, and me saying, I know you can do it. : )
Learn more about Individual Counseling or Counseling for Anxiety in Texas.