As I was surfing the web the other day I came across an article on the best zoos to visit. My daughter loves animals and she loves to visit the zoo. We have a great zoo here in Seattle, the Woodland Park Zoo, but we have visited zoos from Miami to Cleveland to San Diego and aquariums from Baltimore to Vancouver, British Columbia. Her relationship with animals stirs a place deep inside, making her feel wonderful. I smile just thinking about it.
It’s important to take note of all the different things in life that make us feel good. It’s also important not to take something that should make you feel good and turn it into something that actually makes you feel worse. Exercise and diet are two great examples of this, and I sometimes see this in my Type A personality clients.
First let’s deal with the exercise. Exercise is meant to be fun, to get your heart and muscles pumping and your lungs working. It’s supposed to reduce stress, but I know people who make exercise a stress inducer rather than a stress buster. While participating in competitive sports can be a good thing, getting too competitive with your exercise can impede relaxation. Don’t compete with the person next to you on the treadmill; go at your own pace. If you’re not feeling well, maybe take a day off or just go out for a walk, rather than doing that high intensity exercise routine that was planned for the day. Give yourself enough recovery time after an illness, rather than jumping back into it and ending up injured. Remember, fitness is a journey, not a destination.
Next, your diet. The Good Mood Diet is not about perfection. If you can’t do it all, then pick out three or four things, or maybe even just one to do each day, and see what happens. I know many readers who have just tried the hot cocoa at night to start with and done just that for a week or two. Then they recognize that they’re sleeping better and now they can think about eating breakfast in the morning. They do that for a week and then realize that they have enough energy to start to be more active. And on from there.
Each thing builds on the next. So don’t stress out about not doing the plan perfectly, or exercising as hard as your neighbor. As your diet improves and you slowly become more fit, you’ll have the mental energy to do things that you let go of many years ago. Some people pick up old hobbies or start new ones. That makes you feel good. Others notice that they have the desire to interact with their spouses in the evening rather than space out in front of the TV. That makes you feel good.
The Good Mood Diet creates the foundation for you to participate in all the other things in life that make you feel good. Next week we’re going to the zoo to see the brand new baby Sumatran tiger. That will feel great!
Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner