You know when you are walking along, busily going about your day and from across the road someone waves and says ‘Morning’ – or when you are waiting in the supermarket queue, bored, and someone in another queue waves and mouths ‘Hiya’ – these tiny moments are really good for our emotional well-being. Why?
So glad you asked – when someone smiles and/or waves to you – it signals to our brain that this is a safe situation. Our ‘back brain’ which is the older part of the brain is concerned with all things evolutionary and survival is at its core. The safety of a smile and a wave, therefore, is encouraging to the brain.
On a more ‘front brain’ level which is concerned with reasoning and communication, if someone bids us a good morning or asks how we are or connects with us in any positive way – we feel not just safe but welcome. If we are welcome, then we feel valued in that moment. This is turn sends a stream of positive endorphins flooding our system and the upshot is whether we know it or not we have boosted our emotional resilience and topped up our feel-good cup for the day.
Now this is where it gets super interesting because………
Studies have shown that it does not matter to our brain who it is that is sending the positive connection our way. The beauty of this is that you can literally DIY! Yep, that’s right you can wave at yourself and wish yourself a good morning in the mirror and receive that same level of emotional support on a systemic level.
So, try this:
'There may be those who think this is utter tosh – and I forgive you for that because I was you a few years back......but try it!'
Every day this week I would like you to wave at yourself in the mirror, smiling (whether you feel it in that moment or not) and either say ‘good morning’ OR compliment yourself ‘Loving the hair today’ / ‘Oozing kindness this morning’. There may be those who think this is utter tosh – and I forgive you for that because I was you a few years back – but really try it, all you can do is prove me right or prove me wrong. If you prove me right it’s a winner and if you prove me wrong you certainly will not feel any worse and you will at least have made time to prioritise doing something for your own wellness, which has SO many positive knock-on effects for your overall health (but that is for another post another day).
Let me know how it goes –
Email : hello@flissgoldsmith.com
Insta & Facebook: @codesignwithfliss
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