As we head towards the end of the year at a dizzying speed, let’s pause for a moment at the big 5 pillars to a healthy, fulfilled, and successful life:
1) Emotional Regulation
2) Behaviour / Lifestyle
3) Productivity and Output
4) Meaningful Relationships, and
5) Environment
Using our other ‘Big 5’ – the senses – to enhance and improve all of the above will make for a more manageable and enjoyable year-end, festive season, and certainly start to a new year! (We actually have seven sensory systems, not five, as the hidden senses of head movement and body movement, are often overlooked).
1) For emotional regulation and stress management, nothing is quite as effective as using our senses to ground and anchor us in the present. Simply identify 5 visuals to focus on, listen out for 4 sounds, experience 3 tactile objects, breathe deeply and identify 2 smells, and put one thing in your mouth to taste.
2) For lifestyle management, our unique sensory threshold scores are GOLD in clarifying preferences, and assiting in scientifically replacing unhealthy patterns with more helpful behaviour, from screen addiction right through to sedentary lifestyles.
3) Productivity is quickly and effectively improved through activating sensory strategies, activities, and environments just right to our unique sensory preferences.
4) Sensory awareness at individual and social level, will increase empathy and understanding, while reducing conflict and misunderstandings.
5) Knowing which environments overload and overwhelm, as well as identifying the environments resulting in boredom and under-activation, empower us to choose and adapt best-fit study, work, and home environments.
To me, the sensory system is simply magical, and the secret to enjoying this magical time of the year, yet again.
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