5 Ways To Keep Your Vibes High
High vibes! We’ve all heard that phrase, haven’t we! But what does it actually mean?
Is it just some term coined by wellness marketers to paint a picture of perfection to the masses? Or is there something else in it?
In my humble experience, yes there really is. It is an important aspect of maintaining good mental health, productivity, and self-regulation.
This article is going to:
✔ Explain what it actually means when people talk about raising your vibes. and discuss its benefits.
✔ Demonstrate how your energy can affect your mood.
✔Provide a framework for improving feelings of depression or anxiety
✔ Provide 5 ideas to raise your vibes daily
What are high vibes??
Vibes is a much-used term and is short for vibrations. Everything in the universe has its own vibration, including your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Since everything is vibrational, it is one way that everything is connected and on some level, how everything communicates. High vibrations are associated with states such as love, peace, gratitude, and acceptance. Low vibrations surround states such as fear, hatred, and anger.
If constantly exposed to negative expressions like fear or judgment, it is possible that you will operate from a low vibration.
Perhaps you have heard of the theory of attraction. This theory denotes that, basically, what you put out, you get back. It proposes that positivity reproduces positivity, and negativity reproduces negativity. There are many critiques of this theory by researchers claiming it lacks any real scientific evidence. Which makes sense really given that it refers to aspects little studied or understood by western science. Some researchers call it pseudoscience.
I guess a less niche framework for this concept is mindset. Mindset mindset mindset. It stands to reason that if you are in a negative mindset, believing that everything is rubbish and nothing is going to happen for you, well, let’s face it, it probably won’t.
Personally, I can speak from experience on this one. And what I really relate to, is that when I was in a period of depression, my mindset was so negative and my perspective so closed, that it was incredibly difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It didn’t matter how many people told me that everything was ok, my personal view was clouded. On many levels, I absolutely knew, intellectually, that everything was ok, and sure I could say the words and agree, but I didn't truly feel it.
I was lucky enough to find yoga and meditation which kicked off my healing on all bases. I started to look after my body, which had a knock-on effect on my mind. I began to feel strong and active, I started pushing my comfort zones and questioning my negative thoughts. I was introduced to CBT which further reinforced the idea that I was actually alright, and maybe all the negative ideas I had about myself weren’t actually true! My mindset started to improve, and boom, so did my life. It was, literally, like an auto-response. I was able to blossom and try new things because I was no longer trapped in an incredibly limiting mindset! It’s not all about energy, it‘s about brain chemistry and neural pathways. Find about more about this here.
How energy affects your mood and vice versa
Thoughts affect emotions, and emotions affect actions. In this way, we can reproduce negativity by getting into a loop of negative thoughts, negative emotions, and subsequent negative actions which then reproduce themselves. Likewise, if you have low energy, it is likely your thoughts will be affected. To read more about how negative thought patterns develop, just head here.
I was oh so familiar with negative thoughts and the impact they had on my energy levels. This I then projected into my life so that much of the energy I was receiving back from the world was negative. And nothing really happened for me. I was, to use the phrase, stuck in a rut.
Here’s a useful article that helps frame this concept, explaining how depression affects energy levels and vice versa. It also provides information on helpful nutrients and supplements and discusses other ways to boost your energy. Much research is emerging about how gut health affects your mental health, if this subject piques your interest then find out more just here.
But here’s the secret - the negativity doesn’t just disappear. I still struggle with my mindset at times. This means I just have to try that bit harder to stay positive sometimes so I can live my life in the way I want to and achieve, which is why mindset work, self-compassion, and yoga are so valuable!
Balance vs Relentless Positivity
I’m not talking about obsessive or relentless positivity either. Not at all, duality is in everyone and everything - light and shadow, masculine and feminine, yin and yang. It’s about finding a balance so that one energy doesn’t overwhelm you. It’s important to look at painful or difficult thoughts and feelings to find the root cause and allow them to be seen. Nope, we’re not talking about ignoring negativity, we’re talking about integrating. Reaching a place where you understand what the negativity is and why it’s there, but ensuring that it doesn’t run the show! To rationalise that the thoughts are not you, and replace them with a more positive outlook. There is a wonderful practice called shadow work which I have worked with over the years. It’s a truly empowering practice because you aren’t looking away, your eyes are open. You are facing your challenges head-on and accepting those aspects of yourself. It’s not easy, and it takes work, but it’s worth it. For more information on shadow work just head here.
What I am talking about, is implementing daily habits that help keep your energy levels up, because as we’ve already seen, low energy affects your thoughts, and low thoughts affect your energy. This also has an effect on productivity levels. When my energy is low I am sluggish and find it more difficult to focus, get excited about my work and get stuff done. Whilst I’m all too aware of the neo-capitalist sentiments of wrapping up wellbeing in a rose-tinted, employee-focussed silk scarf then happily chuckling as employees make more money for the company. I can definitely say that as a small business owner, yoga facilitator, aerialist, and massage therapist, it definitely helps if I’m feeling positive about my life and business, and if I have the energy and focus to be productive!
Doing it for me, not for the man.
It’s about doing things that make you tick. Those activities that bring you life and excitement. That make you feel alive. It’s about implementing self-care, affirmations, and mindset practices to help you start your day feeling great, rather than allowing the negative thoughts to creep in. At which point, suddenly the day is tinted grey and there’s a dullness to life. Without even realising it, life becomes mundane.
Sure, we all want to get to the point where even the most simple slurp of that morning cup of tea is all it takes to send a tingle of happiness through our hearts and set every day off smiling. But it’s not as simple as that. We are complex beings dealing with a very complex social structure and meta events that are creating global anxiety. So we need to look after our mindset! We need to care for our mental health and wellbeing to ensure we are prepared to weather the storms from a strong and stable foundation.
What works for you will be different for everyone. But here are 5 ways to explore keeping your vibes high and your mindset attuned for success:
5 Ways to Boost Your Vibes
Gratitude practice
- it is proven that actively practicing gratitude daily improves life satisfaction (Brene Brown).
Morning routine
- implement a morning routine. Yoga, meditation, journaling, affirmation, exercise…Whatever it is that resonates, carve out time especially for you and set the tone for the day.
Daily exercise
- 30 mins of exercise daily releases endorphins and raises your energy. It doesn’t have to be vigorous every day, yoga is a brilliant way to find balance and energy in body, mind and spirit.
Affirmation
- positive affirmation setting is a helpful tool in embedding new neural pathways in the brain.
Do your favourite activity
- that thing that makes you smile. It might be seeing friends or family, walking in nature, giving to someone else, reading a book, art, exercise or cooking. Do it daily.
If you’d like a structured guide to embed these practices into your day to day then check out my free 10-day nurture challenge. You’ll receive daily yoga, meditation and journaling prompts straight to your inbox to have you caring for yourself daily, nurturing your soul, and nourishing your spirit. If this sounds like something you need right now, just get involved here!
