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If wedding planning has you feeling stressed and overwhelmed, hit the pause button and boost your happiness with these easy ideas that you can try this weekend!
1. Give. Happiness experts know that the quickest way to boost your mood often has nothing to do with you. Think of something you can do for someone in need, whether it's a pal or a complete stranger, and spread some joy, which will rub off on you too! (One of my personal favorite ways to make someone smile, and improve my mood in the process, is to pull up into a drive-through Starbucks line and buy the coffee drink of the person in the car behind me. Try it, it's surprisingly mood-boosting!)
2. Take yourself on a date. Yes, you're used to spending time with your husband-to-be and your bridesmaids, but when's the last time you had a solo afternoon or evening? You might be surprised at how good and head-clearing it feels to be alone with your own thoughts, even for just an hour.
3. Be a tourist in your own city. Whether it's an evening with your maid of honor at a local museum, or a date with your husband at a local tourist attraction in your city, try seeing your hometown through new eyes, and you might be surprised at how it energizes you.
4. Hit the spa—at home. Candles, hot bath, herbal tea, facial mask. This is your recipe for insta-calm, and it's also an awesome way to hit the happiness reset button after a long week or a stressful stretch of wedding planning.
5. Make a list. A tried-and-true strategy for lifting your spirits is a simple one: grab a pen and paper and write out ten things you're grateful for. Put it on your bulletin board, or better yet, on your bathroom mirror, so each day you can start the day with a reminder of just how lucky you are.
6. Pick a word. Think of a word that centers you. Maybe it's "calm" or "peace" or "joy" and repeat it to yourself throughout the day. Some people call this a "mantra" but you can skip the woo-woo label and simply refer to it as your uplifting word that helps you focus more on what matters and less on what doesn't.
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