Lost your sparkle? 7 ways to get it back.

Take a moment and think about the very best days of your life. You probably felt on top of the world, and full of energy. You may have seen the world as your oyster and felt as though you could achieve virtually anything. When we feel like this we positively glow; our enthusiasm becomes contagious and we tend to naturally attract positive people and opportunities into our lives.

How are you feeling right now? Are you happy, motivated, feeling energetic and living life to the full? Or are you exhausted, stressed out, feeling frumpy or overweight? Has you ‘get up and go’… got up and gone?

Making even the smallest changes to your life can produce staggering results. So here are some suggested ways to put your sparkle back and get back into the groove of life.

1) Be adventurous. Do something that scares you just a little bit, or something that you’ve always wanted to do. Learn to be spontaneous, book a trip to a new destination, go somewhere new or do something different. Don’t put off doing it…do it now.

2) Respect your body. When we feel down, frumpy, or overweight, we often tend to respond to this by comfort eating or drinking too much alcohol. Left unaddressed this can easily become out of control. To get your sparkle back, start treating your body with the highest respect. Ditch the foods that leave you feeling yucky like sugary, processed and high saturated fat foods and replace them with fresh fruit, vegetables and wholesome foods that will leave you feeling light and energetic instead. Learn to ‘think before you eat’. Try to get into the habit of thinking how the food you’re about to eat will make you feel after you’ve eaten it.

3) Have fun. Think about all of the times when you’ve really had lots of fun in your life. What are these? What makes you really happy? What makes you laugh, smile and feel truly free? Having fun is an essential part of our wellbeing, yet unfortunately it gets forgotten amongst the monotony of our daily routines. Having fun should be a regular occurrence. Start to make it a priority.

4) Swap the news for a motivational book instead. The news tends to be full of negativity and rarely acknowledges all of the positive, inspirational things that happen around the world everyday. This negativity beings our mood down and does nothing to help us achieve a positive mindset. Try replacing the news with a motivational book and begin to watch your zest for life reappear.

5) Get off your bum! Exercise releases feel good endorphins. Start to build exercise into your daily routine. If a session at the gym or exercise class works for you, then great. If not, then why not try something different that you really enjoy. Whether this is hiking up the hills, swimming in the sea, cycling to work, dancing or gardening, the important thing is to just get off your bum and do something physical that makes you happy.

6) Deal with stress. Stress is a killer. It not only affects us physically, but it also holds us back in life, drains our energy, stops us from living a fulfilled life and can lead to depression. Start to deal with the things that cause you stress, as the longer you leave them, the bigger the problem becomes and the more physical damage you will do to your body. If your daily routine causes you stress; learn to delegate, re-organise your routines and clear out the clutter in your life and home. Whether its work, a relationship, home life, finances or your health causing you stress; you need to deal with it. Speak to a friend, counselor or coach; someone who can help you look at things from a different perspective.

7) Be gorgeous. Beauty comes from within. In my opinion, nothing is more beautiful than someone who radiates confidence, positivity and smiles with their heart and eyes. But it’s also important to feel happy and attractive on the outside too. Find your style, take pride in your appearance and wear clothes that make you feel good. Get a great haircut. Do things that make you feel great about yourself.

Remember when you sparkle, you give everyone around you permission to do the same.