By Caitríona Ní Chonaill
If you’re struggling to feel like yourself, it is often recommended to go back to what you used to enjoy in childhood – be that reading, drawing, painting, arts and crafts or watching your favourite comfort tv shows – and to take notice and show gratitude for the everyday joys around you.
Here are some options for ways to reconnect with your younger self and take stock of all that you have and are lucky enough to experience:
- Rereading your favourite book from childhood and relive that magic now through the eyes of an adult.
- Get your pencils out and doodle to your hearts content.
- Start a gratitude journal and write down a number of things you were grateful for throughout the day – they could be as big as being thankful for the relationships you have with people you love, or as small as appreciating that it isn’t raining that day.
- Go through your old cd or dvd collection ad watch or listen to the ones you had forgotten about.
- Take a walk in nature without headphones and notice the mixture of colours and sounds around you.
- Go to a toy shop and buy yourself that toy your parents wouldn’t let you get as a child.
- Make your favourite childhood meal and enjoy every bite.
- Ring your loved ones and ask about their days – it feels good to make others feel good!
- Rewatch the YouTubers you used to watch when you were younger.
- Watch the sunrise or the sunset and appreciate the world around you.
- If you used to play a musical instrument, or really wanted to but never did, pick up that instrument again.
I hope these ideas remind you to pause and take stock of the smaller, quieter moments in life.