A Simple 4-Step Approach to Building a Grateful and Empowered Environment

Julie Jones 11/21/2022

As we look forward to family, food and a little break from our regularly scheduled programs this week, I find it hard not to shine a light on the benefits of being grateful. Since most things you read this week will be focused on gratitude, my thoughts leading up to this Tip threw me back to the post-training practice ritual we used for years with our teams. This is a simple, yet powerful way to end any training session or meeting and send the participants, no matter what their age, off with a shot of positive emotion. Each day, our practice plan included a “quote of the day.” Each day’s quote was chosen intentionally to fit the time of the season, the goal of the…

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Categories: Wellness & Personal Growth

Julie Jones

Does Practicing Gratitude Really Work? Here’s What the Science Says

Does Practicing Gratitude Really Work? If you’ve ever done any reading in the self-help realm, you’ve probably heard this piece of advice: “Be grateful.” But does this tip have any basis in science? Does gratitude really improve our mental health? And, if so, how can we practice it effectively? Here’s everything we know about the psychology of gratitude, and how you can harness it to become a happier, healthier person. What Gratitude Really Is — and What It Isn’t Before we talk about the science behind gratitude, it’s important to define what gratitude really is. Many people express that they feel that gratitude is “toxic positivity.” You may have felt like practicing gratitude feels forced, as if you’re not allowing yourself to feel upset about…

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Institute Editorial Team 12/13/2021

5 Essential Ways to Take Care of Yourself This Holiday Season

How will you take care of yourself this holiday season? The holidays can be merry, festive, and jolly 一 but they’re rarely so 100% of the time. “‘Tis the season to be jolly,” but for many people, it’s also the season to be stressed, anxious, sad, or overwhelmed. During this time of year, it’s more important than ever that you practice meaningful self-care practices to protect your mental health and get through those tough family gatherings with grace and your sanity. Here are 5 essential ways to take care of yourself this holiday season, from putting up boundaries in your schedule to not overindulging in the desserts. Avoid overscheduling. The holiday season can get chaotic quickly if you say yes to every invitation. Family is…

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Saya Des Marais 12/26/2022

Put Down the Scrub Brush for a Moment and Clean Your Life Up with Gratitude

I was curious, so I did a quick Internet search to investigate how many hours we spend, on average, cleaning our homes. What I found was many different results ranging from one hour per day for the average person, to seven hours per week for parents, to two hours per day for women, and to about 20 hours per week for full-time working women. Wow. When you really think about it, we spend a lot of time cleaning (perhaps some of us more than others!). The good news is that cleaning has been found to promote mental health (although I’m not so sure I want my partner to know this!). Cleaning helps us gain a sense of mastery and control over our environment, calms the…

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Jessica Headley, Ph.D., LPCC-S 05/09/2022

woman sitting at table thinking about self-care and work-life balance

4 Self-Care Practices to Disconnect from Work

Why do we need self-care practices to disconnect from work? As we cope with the stress of phase 2 of the pandemic, many women are headed back to the office. Finding a healthy work-life balance seems to be more difficult than ever. Imagine this: You finally leave the office after a long day at work. You’re exhausted, and can’t wait to get home. But in the car, you start thinking about that project you’re working on, or that client, or that meeting tomorrow. You’re filled with worry and self-doubt, and you can’t stop thinking about work the whole way home. You get home and you are still thinking about it. Your body is physically at home with your family, but your mind is still at…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 09/06/2021

Want to change something in your life? Here’s how to train your brain.

How do you become that person who works out three times a week? The one who doesn’t get distracted when she’s trying to get something done? The one who manages to read for pleasure or get enough sleep or start a new side hustle? You get there by building habits. When you turn exercise, going to bed early, or carving out time for reading into a habit, that’s when you end up sticking to it. Getting there, however, is the tricky part because change is hard, even if it’s good for us. Sometimes especially if it’s good for us. We spoke to Julie Jones, Mental Performance Coach and Institute instructor, to get some insight into making those positive changes a little easier. “Change happens for…

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Institute Editorial Team 01/24/2021

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