How can guilty pleasures make you feel better?

Laura Williams, SBL coach and trainer, L J Business Consultancy, discusses why it’s time to give in to those guilty pleasures!

Someone posted on Twitter recently, ‘What a week! how is it only Monday?’
 
My first thought was…it can’t be…is it? Seriously?! Followed by some words that aren’t fit to be published online!
 
It may seem crazy but it is the first term of a new academic year – a time where all the potential apocalypses converge like a flash mob over our schools.

Like we haven’t got actual jobs to do!
 
I know it’s tempting to duck your head and keep running into the chaos but, if there’s one thing we learnt last year, it’s that that does not serve us well. It’s ok in the short term (a week or two), it’s do-able in the medium term (three weeks, maybe four) but in the long term…(hello, half-term colds, sickness bugs, migraines and a general feeling of ughhhh…) Not good.
 
One thing I don’t do is to tell you to do things that I know I can’t. I know it’s not as simple as going home and ‘switching off’. (Though my go-to recommendation of wine, chocolate and GIFs has been known to improve moods!)

No, sometimes you just need to take a time-out and do something to deliberately break the momentum that chaos is creating. Sure, walks are good and getting some air and having a lie-in and reading a book…but I don’t mean those things either.

I mean indulging in a guilty pleasure…
 
What is the one thing you love to do that’s a bit silly, that you might feel a bit nervous to openly admit to, that, perhaps, you feel a tiny bit guilty about but you absolutely love?

Not sure what I mean? If you’re stuck, I’ll share mine.
 
I love scrolling through cleaning and crafty accounts on Instagram.
 
There, I said it!
 
Now, I absolutely detest cleaning and I’m shocking at all things crafty, but catching up with what Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon are up to just makes me feel a bit brighter – for a few minutes, looking through their stories switches a gear in my brain!
 
It’s a bit random, given the absence of cleaning and crafty enthusiasm in my own life – and it’s something that people who know me well would probably not guess…and would even be like ‘Whaaaaat?!’ but somehow it works for me!
 
So what’s yours?
 
What can you do today that will give you that nice fuzzy feeling inside? What can you do that will help you both de-stress and slow down the crazy train that is your mind?
 
– Maybe it’s listening to your favourite band (from when you were 17) and singing along at the top of your voice in the car…(after all, nobody can hear you!)

– Maybe it’s buying home accessories online (that you really don’t need but you really, really like…)

– Maybe it’s scanning through property websites looking at your potential next home…(even if you’re not ready to move right now!)

– Maybe it’s hunting down a bargain on eBay…(just because).

– Maybe it’s looking at Christmas decoration inspiration on Pinterest… (even if your decorations don’t go up until the 12th December!)

– Maybe it’s binge watching Love Island or the Real Housewives of Wherever…(and nobody in your house even suspects!)

– Maybe it’s popping into WH Smiths or Paperchase on your way home (because you really need a new notepad…)

– Maybe it’s searching for the next piece to add to your teapot collection…(okay, that’s Chandler!)

I know it’s tough but stop and take a breath.

The next chance you get, take a few minutes to do something that makes you feel good – for no other reason than it makes you feel good! 

You’ll feel better for it. Trust me.