January seems to be the month when the word 'detox' makes its annual appearance into people's vocabularies. I once decided to embrace this allegedly healing concept and gave up eating chocolate for three hours. It was tough. But the health benefits were worth it. And there's another way we can benefit from a detox that's not related to what we eat. A detox of the mind. You see, perhaps mentally we've consumed too much rubbish. Trust me, it's easy to do.
One source is the daily consumption of negative news that seems more concerned with feeding our fears than filling us with facts.
And then there are those toxic people we hang around with. Those people who take delight in sharing their misery and telling us how bad things are.
Let’s have a detox of the mind.
If you don't, you're likely to worry more, be more prone to stress, and be less effective at work.
Now this is a huge topic and one I’ve read a great deal about, so here's just one idea to help with your mind detox.
Get yourself a pair of gratitude glasses.
Sound cheesy? Maybe. But it helps.
On a daily basis, perhaps just before you crash out, think of one thing you're grateful for. Now if you're ambitious you could take this a little further and do what I've been doing for the last 12 months and keep a weekly gratitude diary.
Here's the deal.
Looking for the positives and being more aware of what we have to be thankful for is good for you.
OK, I realise it doesn't eliminate the negatives - life will still throw you challenges. At times life can even be painful. But in the midst of it all remember your gratitude glasses might just well help you see things a little more clearly and in perspective.
You see, despite what the media tells us, if we're living in the developed world we are the safest, healthiest and richest humans who have ever lived.
Be grateful.
