My name is Claudine Courey and I wear my white coat everyday as an optometrist from Montreal, Canada! As with many of you, I wear many other “coats” in life as a mother, spouse, daughter, friend, business owner, all while trying to keep it together!
What I have noticed is that, no matter what profession or career we choose, we are all in the same boat. We are all going through the same ups and downs while simply trying to do our best every day.
I firmly believe that our personal happiness and wellbeing has the biggest impact on our day to day success in all aspects of our life. This is why I constantly try to learn and practice new ways to bring happiness and peace into my everyday routine. I am passionate about self-growth and being open and willing to see things from different perspectives.
Here are 5 little tips that overall will shape the rest of the day and how we can collectively begin to shift our daily perspective.
Wake up Happy Resist the urge to reach for your cell phone and scroll through social media. This can take some time since we are so used to it, it might even require leaving your phone in another room during the evening for the first couple of nights. Simply wake up, open your eyes, and smile. This will automatically start the day off on the right foot!
Social Media Unfollow accounts that do not inspire you or make you feel better about yourself. There is so much good to be done through social media. We are able to connect with others in a way that was never possible before. We are able to build networks, inspire and be inspired all at our fingertips. However, there is also a lot of negativity that can unfortunately come from it. Follow people and projects that make you happy and motivate you to be better.
Be Present Being in the moment and appreciating where we are is probably the hardest shift to make. Begin small and the feeling will be contagious. For example, really play with your kids like you are a child again. Get into it, squish the play dough in your palms, paint with your fingers, swing at the park, whatever it may be! Playing like a kid with your kid will not only be fun, but it will also put things into perspective and lighten up whatever it may be that is going on in your life.
Me time This one is very important! Everyone says to do it and we always say we will but sometimes it slips through the cracks (kind of like my relationship with the gym!). The truth is, it doesn’t have to be complicated at all! For some it may be working out, taking a walk, enjoying your cup of coffee by the window, staring into space and daydreaming. Whatever it may be, take the time to do something for 5 minutes that makes you happy and this will provide a much needed break from the daily craziness.
Breathe Breathe deeply 5 times, that’s all! Whenever you have to make a decision, send an email, speak in public, change a plan, just breathe. Taking an extra 5 seconds reminds us that we are able to take a pause and have tiny amount of control over the next moment.
If we try our best and keep a positive outlook, our overall perspectives will change. The truth is, we can only control our reaction to a situation, so might as well live and learn to be in the moment and enjoy as much as we can.
Attribution:
Claudine Courey OD MSc FAAO FSLS is a practicing Optometrist in Montreal, Canada. She completed her residency in Corneal Disease & Contact Lens and has a keen interest in helping her patients with Dry Eye. When she is not in clinic, she is running her e-commerce site the Eye Drop Shop (www.eyedropshop.ca) which provides the highest quality eye care products directly to your door. You can follow her and her journey to help patients one dry eye at a time on instagram @eyedropshop or on facebook
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