How to have a great day!

Hello to you! Have you been setting and achieving your goals? You have? Great. That is a super way to have a great day. Tell me about your achievements via email to: serena (at) serenapyke.com I would love to share them in my next blog! So, let me begin: How to have a great day!

How about I give you some top tips on how to have a great day, every day? You'd like that? Thought you'd be up for it. Give them a go over the next week.
Top 10 tips:

Smile – Your smile is a valuable asset, but only if it is on show. Smile to the people you know, but also to those you don't. You will be amazed at the response it has. Not only are the reactions great, physiologically the act of smiling makes you feel good. You don't believe me? Try it! http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm

Be enthusiastic – Think about a subject which gets you excited: Your favourite holiday destination, football team, your children. Imagine how your life would be if you could remain that enthusiastic about your day to day life, in and out of work. Bring that enthusiasm to your day, you'll find others behaving the same way. Enthusiasm is infectious!

Have fun! - The best stress diffuser is laughter. Find ways to keep yourself smiling.

Do something you love – We spend too many hours working, but hey we need to earn the cash to pay the bills. So, when you have free time away form work spend it doing something you love. Always wanted to learn the guitar? What is stopping you? Take up lessons, find a friend who plays, buy a book to teach you. (You get the idea!)

Be present – So often in life we amble along without really being present. Whilst chatting to our friends we could be mentally writing our shopping list. Life is precious and every minute counts, make the most of it. Take time to really be present. How? Really listen to the person you are with, take time to acknowledge what they are saying, understand their meaning. It will make them feel good, but also you too!

Learn something new everyday – Learning new skills helps us stay engaged. How engaged are you when you learn something new? (Imagine a child learning how to sew, the look of concentration on their face.)Wouldn't you love to be that attentive all the time? Learn something new!

Stay active – Take the stairs, walk to work, hop off the bus a stop early.... Better still, schedule time to keep fit. Take your kids to the park, go swimming, a healthy body keeps a healthy mind. Believe me, I have clients aged 83 who play golf everyday they can.... they look 20 years younger!

Eat well – Nutrition is a key part of healthy living. Eating a balanced and varied diet really does have a positive impact on your mind. I was an undiagnosed Coeliac for 33 years....in the past two years since omitting Gluten I look and feel like a different person (check out the pictures!) Nutrition is key to well-being.

Be loved and spend time with those you love – OK so it sounds soppy, but it is true. If you want to feel great, go and give somebody some love. (I'm not advocating hugging complete strangers in the street by the way!) “It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” — Mother Teresa

Take time to reflect – Think about all of the things you have achieved today. Think about the time you have spent with those you care about. Have you made somebody's day? If not, make plans to make their day tomorrow, better still go out there and make it now.