Modern life is busy. We allocate energy, time, money, and effort into people, things and situations. If we don’t unwind, create joy and relax, our health and resiliency—our ability to withstand or recover from difficulties—will suffer. The 3 C’s can help us live a happier and more fulfilled life. By strengthening the connection with ourselves, others and our community we strengthen our well-being.
Below are some suggestions on how you can strengthen your 3 C’s.
1. Connect with yourself
Write a list of your accomplishments. This list can boost your ability to be grateful for what you have and have achieved. It is also an excellent resource to turn back to when you are feeling low. You can even use it to measure who you are today compared to who you were in the past.
Check in with yourself and evaluate where you are right now. Do you need to readjust your goals and action plan?
Increase your understanding of the human mind and mental health. Learning more about mental health will let you know that you are capable of solving and overcoming your hardships. At the same time, you can see which battles you should take and which you should not.
Keep a journal. Journaling is a great way to learn about yourself because you can be honest with your feelings and reflect on your patterns of thoughts. If you don’t know where to start, have a look at these journaling prompts. You may also find these questions helpful when diving deeper into your inner self.
2. Connect with others
Help others. Offer your emotional support or more pragmatic help unconditionally. By empathizing and validating the experiences of others, you are creating connections with them.You’re also more likely to get help when you need it.
Be flexible in your perspective. Psychological flexibility has been found to be an important factor in successful relationships. Practice putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Neither one of you is necessarily right or wrong. You have a different perspective that you can learn from.
Schedule it. Create weekly opportunities to connect with your loved ones and friends.
If you struggle to know who to connect with, look for people who:
- make you feel valued
- make you feel comfortable
- take your concerns seriously
- are trustworthy
- help you out when needed
Connecting with others can improve your mood, make you feel happier, boost your physical health and both enrich and lengthen your life.
3. Connect with your community
When we are connected to our communities, we are never alone. Not only does your social network support you but you can work on your socials skills as well. There are other benefits to being connected with our community. Strong connections with our communities have been found to promote longevity.
Look for community initiatives. We are able to manage life’s challenges better when we have strong connections with our community. If you feel that your social connections could be stronger, ask yourself what you like to do. Look into organizations that bring people together who share the same interests as you do. Also, consider volunteering with a community organization that reflects your values.
Learn something new. When you connect with your community, you have an opportunity gain from the experiences of others as well as have new experiences.
Work on strengthening you 3 C’s whenever you need to boost happiness and fulfillment. It’s worth it.
