NEW YEAR, NEW ATTITUDE By Christa Melnyk Hines
HOW TO TAP MORE JOY IN 2018
Want to bring more joy into your home this year? Try shifting your mindset. Not only can adopting a more optimistic attitude create a happier life, but you’ll influence how well your kids respond to life’s daily challenges too. “Children watch their parents. They pick up on moods and beliefs. A positive attitude is contagious—as is a negative attitude,” says Dr. Kristen Hensley, psychologist and director of the Center for Psychoeducational Services at the University of Kansas.
Positively rewarding. A positive outlook boosts productivity, energy and motivation; helps reduce stress; enhances confidence and self-esteem; benefits health and even improves relationships with others. “A positive attitude can also help us be more flexible in our thinking and make seeing solutions to problems easier,” Hensley says.
“Looking for silver linings in life can help build mental resilience and general optimism.”
A positive outlook boosts productivity, energy and motivation; helps reduce stress; enhances confidence and self-esteem. Practice self-awareness. Try tracking your moods to get a better sense of what you’ll need to do to better care for yourself each day. Jessica Mostaffa, early childhood mental health specialist and therapist who works with mothers suffering from depression, says this tactic helps her clients take a more mindful approach to their day-to-day emotional well-being. Continued on page 6
ItsYourMagazine.com • EC Parent Magazine • January+February 2018 • 5