I've learned in my own experience that one of the keys to establishing resilience and stress management is to break the code of positive energy - learning how to hack our built-in "feel good and strong" neurochemicals that our brain releases into our body system.

Here's a list I came across of those chemicals and some simple activities you can engage in to experience their release throughout your brain and body.

Keep this list handy. Resilience and managing stress don't appear magically. We need to be intentional about accessing them via strategic stops in our busy lives. 😀

For example, one of my energy boosts is completing a task on my To Do list - when I check that "baby" off as Done I get a shot of dopamine feel good energy. And even if, upon review of my list, I realize that I completed something that wasn't on my list, I add it and then check it off. It always shoots me some dopamine. Love it!

For another example, I had a reader write me about this list, asking the question, “Where does playing a musical instrument fit into these four categories?” Great question!

If I’m practicing my piano I’m getting dopamine (being rewarded for my practice) or endorphin (the pain killer boost). If I’m playing for my mood I’m getting seratonin (the mood stabilizer). If I’m singing to my wife I’m getting oxytocin (the love hormone) and giving her an oxy boost too! Who knew music could be an all-encompassing chemical shot in the arm.

Have you noticed how any of these activities listed in the four categories have made you feel? Experiment to see what happens to your positive energy? What kind of a boost do you get? How does that activity make you feel? Are there other activities not on this list that might even combine all four neurochemicals as a boost to you?

Have fun with this chart! Remember, resilience and stress management, as well as happiness, don’t happen magically. You have the opportunity to be intentional about accessing those built-in boosts. So take some strategic stops away from the nonstop busyness and stresses of your life to give yourself a shot of “feel good” energy. You deserve a break today!