Simple Uplifts
Simple Uplifts offer a sustainable, easily-available boost to our state of being. Our energy is buoyed by focusing on something pleasing to us and allowing it to influence us consciously. They are called simple uplifts because they are not a “big win” or “joyous surprise” but rather one of a myriad of pleasantries that can please our senses and warm our hearts.
- Energy becomes available to us almost everywhere.
- What matters to us becomes more pleasurable as we weave in simple uplifts.
- Reduces binge behaviors like social media scrolling, video watching, and eating.
- Coming down from a win and coming up from a defeat becomes softer… and more reliable.
17 Second Uplift
Our brains actually notice lots that could be pleasing to us, that could give us a little boost. It just filters most of them out. But why?
Most people go through life with their sensors watching out for potential threats. A dandelion growing through the pavement reaching for the sun is… not a threat. The dog poop nearby is a threat if you step on it and then have to clean up.
Next time you take a walk, anywhere, at the end of it, recall how many things you noticed that you did not like or that posed a threat. Then recall how many things you noticed that gave you a smile. How much attention did you give to threats vs. smiles?
The core skill here has two parts:
(1) Notice what gives you a little boost.
(2) Take time to pause, allowing what pleases you to change your body-mind.
How long does that take?
It’s true that a millisecond-long smile changes us.
It’s even more potent when we pause what we’re doing, focus on the feeling, and allow it to influence us… to uplift us.
Yes, take a minute or two if you want.
We know that even 17 seconds can change your vibe and provide a longer-lasting uplift. It also tunes your brain to notice more and more of them!
While our primitive brain is designed to look for and avoid pain and threats (as well as mate), our whole body is nourished by essential comforts, natural beauty, useful tools, tasty food, and even a glass of water when we’re thirsty.
Try pausing and letting 10+ seconds go by while you savor and feel uplifted.
I’m Too Busy to Be Uplifted
Yes, you’re too busy for something like a simple uplift.
You’re working towards the Big Win!
You’ve got work to do and places to be!!
Absolutely. No argument.
Yet, we’ve noticed that busy people often fall into scrolling on social media or binge-watching videos. Why?
We assert that a lack of simple uplifts leaves our system depleted. Once depleted, we need some boost more intensely. Social media and videos offer both distraction and dopamine. So do food cravings.
We are designed to thrive on simple pleasures that uplift our spirits and bathe our cells in chemicals of well-being.
Where Are All The Uplifts?
Uplifts are everywhere you look… in the music that stirs you… in what you touch that attracts you… in that which evokes curiosity… in anything that holds a sweet memory.
When we’re stressed and overwhelmed, we can filter out ALL those things. It’s like they don’t even exist.
If you find yourself insisting there are no simple uplifts available, we honor your stress level is off the charts. Perhaps start with some comforts. What is something you used to enjoy in the past that you could fit into your schedule for 17 seconds (or 20 minutes) today?
We find that Nature offers an abundance of choices, some surprising like smelling moss or wrapping your hands around a tree. One person’s uplifts are not necessarily someone else’s. Pick something pretty common that appeals to you (rocks, animals, trees, flowers, sunshine, wind… you choose) and scan for it.
Emotional uplifts are also available more readily than most imagine. If we doom scroll social media, we’ll see lots to be repulsed by. Scroll with the intention of pausing at the first thing you notice that gives you a boost – and take 17 seconds to let it touch your mind, heart, and legs – and the simple uplift will be yours (and available with ease).
Useful Questions
- What in my vicinity might give me an uplift right now… if I let it?
- Am I noticing the uplifts that are available, or am I so focused on stress and threats that I walk by them?
- When I do notice what pleases me, do I give it a chance to truly influence how I feel? What do I notice when I do pause, notice more deeply, look more closely, touch, engage, breathe, and smile?
- If I let simple uplifts influence me today, what also changes in my outlook, my energy, and my need for my coping mechanisms?
Resources
- Exploring Simple Uplifts - Discussion
- Savoring Simple Uplifts - Podcast
- Finding Essential Comforts - Workshop
Related Concepts
Vitality, Regulation, Allowing, Comforts, Awareness, Powerful Pause
