5 days, 5 exercises to begin the practice of feeling better. 

According to Martin Seligman, Happiness has 5 components- 

• Pleasure 

• Engagement 

• Relationships 

• Meaning 

• Accomplishment   

Note: 

• For the next 5 days, we will perform exercises for each of these components. 

• Some components have more than one exercise. In this case, you could either choose one for yourself or do both. 

• You can do the task at any point of the day, however, start your day by reading what the task is, just so you are prepared. 

Day 1: Pleasure 

Sheila realized that she had begun feeling very exhausted after her work. She barely had any energy to interact with her family once she was back home. So, she began taking 10 minutes to herself when she reached home. She would close her door, keep her phone aside and lie down for a few minutes. Sheila found that what helped during this time was to listen to tracks with the sounds of water flowing- this helped her feel like she was in nature. The thought of being in nature, around a water body helped her relax after a difficult day at work. 

Exercise name: Daily Vacation 

1. You’re going to choose a 5-minute vacation for yourself. For example, going for a walk, having a hot bath, watching the sunrise while sipping on a mug of tea, trekking along a waterfall, walking deep into a dense forest, watching the waves by the beach at night…  The only limit is your imagination. Just choose something you enjoy doing. 

1. Your daily vacation is a time to relax. So set aside your worries and fears for a while- just for 5 minutes. 

1. During the daily vacation, try to be present and experience what is happening. One clue is to use all your senses- your sense of touch, sight, sound, scent and taste. What does the place in your vacation smell like, what are some things you’d love to eat there, what are the things you could touch and feel around you, what are the colours and objects you can see, what are the distinct sounds you can hear etc.? 

1. What will tomorrow’s daily vacation be? Feel free to look forward to it.
 

Day 2: Engagement 

Raj valued his workouts immensely. But, due to social commitments and obligations at the workplace, Raj’s workouts had taken a back seat. One day, Raj woke up to plan where and when he could get 40 minutes of uninterrupted time. He set up the place with the equipment he needed and planned his other activities around this. 

Once Raj began, he began to focus on his breath and the rhythm of his workout. All his attention was focused on the movements of his body and how he was feeling as each moment passed. 

At the end of the 40 minutes, Raj was exhilarated and felt refreshed, both physically and mentally. 

Exercise name: Meaning- pleasure-strengths 

Take a book and pen to jot down- 

Is there an activity that you have always wanted to do, but haven’t had the time to do? 

Set some time from your schedule when you’re away from your gadgets and devices to do this. Even 15 minutes of uninterrupted time could work well.   

Day 3: Relationships

 Knowing that creativity is one of Faiza’s strengths helped her realize that she could use this to show the people in her life that she valued them. To put her strength into her relationships meant that she could invest in room décor ideas, help style her friends or even create art for the home. 

Exercise name: The gift of you 

1.  Take the assessment, “Discover your strengths” 

(https://www.1to1help.net/assessment/discover-your-personal-strengths/43) 

1. Observe what strength emerges as your own 

1. Choose a few people in your life and find a way to offer your strength to them. For instance, reading a new book together, helping them with their chores, buying a thoughtful gift etc. 

Day 4: Meaning 

Exercise name: Your best possible self 

1. Set a timer for 10 minutes. During this time, you will be thinking about the best possible version of yourself that could exist in the future. 

1. Imagine that your life is how you always wanted it to be and that you have fulfilled your personal goals. 

1. In these 10 minutes just focus on expressing all the thoughts that come to your mind. There is no right or wrong; Don’t worry about grammar in this exercise. You could think about the progress you have made in your career, relationships, health, self-development, finances, social circles etc. 

1. Reflection: After completing the initial exercise take some time to focus on the emotion you’re feeling. Think about the following question:  What are the steps you’d have to take to make some of these things come true? Take some time to develop short-term goals. 

Exercise 2: Coat of arms worksheet 

Design your own emblem. If you and your life had its’ own emblem, what would it look like? What would your motto be? Think of characteristics, values, people, tasks etc. For instance, generosity, hard work, healthy living, ambition, helping others etc. 

Day 5: Accomplishment 

Shwetha recently got into a job that was very different from her previous one. As a result of this, she would often feel inferior to her colleagues. As days passed, Shwetha began losing confidence in her abilities. When she began focusing on prompts for self-esteem, she began to see the smaller achievements she was making daily. 

Exercise name: Self-esteem Journal 

Use a pen and a book every night to write down good things that happened during the day. Use these prompts if it gets hard to think of things- 

If you would like to discuss this further or need some help or support in this or any other area, our counsellors would be happy to help. 
 
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