My Reminders

As we discussed at the beginning of our programme, sometimes life can get in the way of our happiness. And as we have learned, we can’t always rely on our brain to distinguish between the healthy and unhealthy ways we can respond to all the challenges we experience. 

One way to help us create the time and space we need to look after ourselves effectively is to write reminders to ourselves. We can write these reminders down on cards and post them in our home. You could stick them to the bathroom mirror for example. You could pin them to the refrigerator door for instance. 

We can write our reminders in a journal and read them before bed time or when we wake up.

We can set digital notifications so they frequently pop up on our screen to nudge us. We can add them to our screensavers. 

We can even write them in a letter or postcard and mail them to ourselves.

Doing one or more of the above will mean that we have to use less energy to remember our all the habits and routines we’re trying to build. This means that we’ll have more energy in reserve to put our habits tools and techniques into practice. After all, when we have to keep too much information at the front of our minds without any assistance it's like spinning plates: eventually they’ll fall. 

What should your reminders look like? You can use voice messages and images if that works for you. The most common approach is to create simple, clear, kind statements you can read. Keep them pretty short, write them in your own words, and make sure they are clear and kind.

For example, you could leave yourself reminders such as…

I am a survivor

I am strong

What are you grateful for today?

Don’t forget to look up

You can also organise your reminders into themes or categories. For example you can have statements that fit under the following…

1. The Universe and Me - statements on big picture ideas that deal with meaning and purpose

2. The Real Me - statements on who you are deep down and who you strive to be

3. My Daily Routines - statement on what can you do practically to live happier every day

Below is a list of 10 statements. Can you organise them under the three themes stated above?

1. I give myself permission to be human - I forgive myself and treat myself with the care and compassion I would treat somebody that I love

2. I am Brave Enough to Be Vulnerable - I take risks to be the real me and show that self to others

3. I am mindful - I slow down, I pay attention, I see the little miracles that happen every day

4. Everything is Connected - I zoom in to pay attention to the moment, I zoom out to see the bigger picture, I recognise that all the parts of me comprise an interdependent whole, which itself is part of a wider universal, interdependent whole

5. If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything - I embrace curiosity and experimentation. I don't fail, I just find a 1000 ways not to make work

6. Love is a Skill You Have To Learn - Like a gardener I labour to allow myself to love, I labour to allow myself to be loved, I labour to grow love

7. Pleasure, Meaning and Engagement - I check in with myself to promote a balance of things that give me joy, things that give me purpose, and things that give me value

8. I inflate my happiness tires every day - I treat myself in the now, I engage positively with others in the now

9. I Live My Best Life (even when I have to fake it a bit) - I know the difference between ‘espoused’ theories and ‘in use’ theories, I nudge myself to be in use more than espoused

10. I am grateful - Everyday I think of the things I have that I truly appreciate

Write your own reminders. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly right the first time. Put your ideas on the page and review them later.