Here is a treasure chest or “toolbox” for creating more comfort and joy in your life.
Tool #1:
Examine the words you use to talk to yourself and to think about the things, people, and events in your life. Are they positive or negative or neutral? Try to use positive words and the power of POSITIVE thinking!
Say to yourself: I can! I will! I have!
Tool #2:
SMILE! This will bring you joy. You will feel lighter.
Think about someone you love and what you love about them. Close your eyes and recall a time you felt loved or loving. Feel it in your body. This will bring you comfort.
Tool #3:
Use “comfort” breaths to relax and feel at ease .
— Relax your shoulders, jaw muscles, and tongue.
–Put a slight smile on your face.
— Put your feet on the floor.
–Allow a deep breath into your belly.
— Allow a long exhale with the sound, “Hahhhhhhh.”
— Infuse with pleasure.
Tool #4:
Examine your needs. What do you need more or less of in order to have more comfort and joy in your life? Do you need more sleep, exercise, alone time, healthy food, organization, time in nature, or help from family members? By making adjustments in your daily and weekly schedule, you can add more of the things you need so you feel better about yourself and your life. Next, what do you need to feel comfortable speaking in English? What adjustments can you make to feel more confident and joyous when communicating in English with native speakers? Commit to making one change this week.
Tool #5:
Add more JOY to your life. Laugh, smile, feel love in your heart, dance, sing, use humor, find something to be joyous about in your daily activities.
Tool #6:
Speak from your heart. Focus on content and authentic communication rather than grammatical correctness and perfection. When people listen to you speak, they focus more on WHAT you are saying and the emotion behind it more than HOW accurately you are saying it. So, go head and express yourself authentically with comfort & joy!