30 Days to a Better Us Challenge - Day 6 Bake Some Cookies
Channeling on of the great philosophers of the world, Cookie Monster...mmmmmm, cookies!! I am not a baker, I can’t even remember the last time I made any cookies. I don't even have any flour! Breathe sweet girl, today isn’t just about the cookies. Today is about doing something nice for somebody else, even when we are in the midst of a storm ourselves.
We have all heard that is is better to give than receive, but I had no idea there was actually some science behind it. Life is just generally too busy and/or too stressed to stop and worry about others OR we keep waiting for that perfect time slot in our schedule to magically open up. If I told you that it was actually good for our overall mental, emotional AND yes, physical health...would it rank higher on your priority list? Overall health benefits of the Cookie Challenge include:
It feels good. It makes us happy (watch the video to see how giddy I got during the baking process). It distracts us from ourselves WHILE doing something that matters.
It reduces our tendency to isolate. Now let’s be real here...when stuff gets overwhelming, many of us have a natural bend to withdraw. I know I do. When all the masks get too heavy, it makes sense that we wouldn’t want to go where we would have to wear one, BUT we need face to face interactions in order to avoid allowing ourselves to dip into a full blown depression.
Perspective. Here is that word again...anyone else beginning to wonder if a change in our perspective might just be a key to experiencing a happier, healthier life? In the case of the cookie, when we stop focusing on ourselves, our needs, our circumstances and begin to focus on someone else, if only for a moment, it can give us a fresh outlook on our own situation...and sometimes that is all we need.
It’s contagious! Imagine if the entire world caught the cookie disease, i.e. a crazy desire to stop and do something kind for somebody else? We could change the world with these cookies today, ladies!
Give your future self something good to look back and reflect on...it will actually make you feel good just to REMEMBER you baked these cookies. I know right? Get the butter out, STAT!
Physical benefits of baking these cookies include:
Reduction of overall stress. Honestly I had a huge knot in my neck when I started this process today, but by the time I preheat the oven, I was dancin’ in the kitchen.
Helps us live longer...yes!
Most importantly (in my opinion), it pushes out the negative emotions. Ladies, if you are drowning in a sea of, well, crap...you can literally drown out “the noise” by doing good stuff for other people.
So, don your cutest apron, cock that spatula and (as they say on Master Baker) BAKE...or just get up and go do something nice for somebody else today. THEN jump on over to the conversation to tell us all about it and see how my cookie adventure turns out :) #SummerReboot