Replace stress and anxiety with Joy now

Today I want to introduce myself apart from a Life Coach and a Tarot reader. I do one of the toughest jobs on the planet. I’m a mom. A Mom to two boys. And they somehow think I’m a carpenter, I’m a painter, a coach, a chef, a baker, an origamist, a mechanic, an electrician, a doctor and sports coach all rolled into one. I want what all parents wish from their kids. I want them to be happy. I want them to grow up into a kind, compassionate and giving adults. Today there’s a small challenge in these times of pandemic. The world is going through a major shift. Already world statistics were on a higher side where the anxiety and depression are concerned (over 1 billion adults and over 200 million kids are suffering for different kinds of mental problems at any time). Now things are going from bad to worse. The statistics have increased manifolds. I know I’m not painting a pretty picture. Remember our kids are learning from us all the time. If we are stressed, depressed and anxious then it’s just a matter of time that our kids would start picking from us, and this is something we do not want them to.

So let us talk about how we can bring this shift. How from stress and depression we turntable to happiness and joy. I believe that there is a very simple tool that can help us anytime anywhere.

The art of giving – Yes, its as simple as that. Do we know that we are wired in such a manner that giving comes naturally to us? I saw in my mentor, my guru who believed in giving and gave away abundantly to those in need. He kept telling us to inculcate this virtue to be happy and satisfied. Post marriage I saw my husband giving to whomsoever would come and ask him or he felt were in need. He said he felt tremendous joy in the act and that this joy is incomparable to any other work, activity or material possession would bring. This brings total satisfaction. The giving may not always be in terms of money. Making someone happy. Giving love, compassion and your time as well falls into giving. This act of giving raises your happy hormones. Our endorphins kick in, and we feel elated. They are also called helpers high. Our oxytocin levels rise and we feel happier as well as younger as this hormone brings in the fountain of youth. And on a lighter note, people who are looking out for anti-age remedy, then here it is. Serotonin levels enhance when you find yourself helping people in need. But the most important point is that our cortisol levels drop. Cortisol is the stress hormone. And high Cortisol levels may bring about many health problems like weight gain, acne, diabetes, blood pressure and many more. 'Giving' reduces stress and anxiety in turn making us happy.

Its very simple friends. Let us be more giving by being more kind to strangers. Being more compassionate to needy. More empathetic to people who are suffering.  Happiness quickly replaces stress, anxiety and depression if we go the giving way. Your happiness quotient rises up.

Children are quick learners and if we start teaching them the art of giving then they would hold the key to their happiness. They would have robust emotional health. And over time they would start seeing the world beyond themselves. We think that our problems are humungous and we crib about it, creating stress, anxiety and depression. Once our kids start looking at the world from a different perspective they will be soon thankful about themselves.

I’m teaching my kids the art of giving. It can be anything. Like today my kids took homemade desert to an old lady whose husband left the world earlier this month. She was overjoyed. My kids took towels for the stray puppies so that they can survive difficult weather and they were so happy after doing it. (It was a secret that my kids kept for 3 days, and I was glad that they knew the art of giving).

A very relevant saying by Plato goes this way “Reality is created by the mind. We can change our reality by changing our mind.”

So let us teach our kids and teach ourselves the art of giving and move towards happiness and bliss.

Let's take this up and start spreading happiness. Our world needs us now more than ever, so let’s make it a better and happier place.