Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up a daily dose of care designed to support you, cheer you on and remind you, always, just how wonderful you already are.

In Today’s Edition:

Be kind to you. You deserve kindness, respect and understanding.
We are all imperfect beings; that is part of being human.
Forgive yourself and move forward.
We are so freaking proud of you!!!

^{In this series we explore common thinking patterns (cognitive biases) that can limit well-being and practice loosening its grip, to empower our thoughts, increase resilience, and live to the fullest.}

Our minds are wired to notice threats more than wins. While that once helped with survival, today it can mean dismissing our strengths, progress, and positive experiences.

Disqualifying the positive happens when you explain away good things. This can look like minimizing them, attributing them to luck, deciding they “don’t count,” and you’ll find an even more specific bullet list below! 

This often feels protective or even humble, but in reality it crowds out the good.

Over time, this thought pattern can quietly erode confidence and joy, even when evidence suggests you’re doing well.

Common ways disqualifying the positive limits us:
• 🎯 Saying “It was just luck” after an accomplishment
• 🙃 Dismissing compliments instead of receiving them
• 📉 Focusing only on what went wrong
• 🏃 Moving the goalpost after reaching a milestone
• 🪞Downplaying your effort or growth

Ways to gently strengthen positive evidence:
• 📖 Keep a small “evidence list” of wins and strengths
• 🎁 Practice simply saying “thank you” to compliments
• 🔍 Ask: What did I do that contributed to this outcome?
• 🌟 Notice effort, not just results
• 💙 Allow good moments to count

You don’t have to exaggerate the positive. But you don’t have to erase it either. Allowing the good helps to fill up our cup.

✅ Action step: Open a new note in you phone and write down one recent win or good thing (big or small) and let it count. See if you can add one thing every day!

^{Love, Lola Graham}

I want to share with you what I take all my clients through at the end of their training sessions with me. It takes a couple of minutes, and it leaves you feeling more relaxed and refreshed, by lowering heart rate, letting go of muscle tension and stress.

Plus, it will help you leave your workout in a better mental and emotional state, which creates a more positive perception and memory towards exercise, making it easier for you to stay consistent with your exercise routine.

It is deep breathing with full-body muscle relaxation.

Step 1: Lie down on your back on the ground. Roll your shoulders up and back, then down, with your palms facing up towards the ceiling; let your hips relax, and your feet fall outwards.

Step 2: Take a deep breath through your nose into your belly and sigh out as much tension as you can, letting your body relax. Do this 2 more times.

Step 3: Take 3-5 deep breaths, inhaling through your nose for 4 seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 seconds.

Step 4: Scan and relax your muscles. Starting from your head, relax your forehead, cheeks, jaw and neck. Keep scanning down your body, relaxing as much as you can as you go, until you reach the bottom of your feet.

Step 5: Take a few more deep breaths, then wiggle your fingers and toes and get up.

Viola, you’ll end your workout feeling more refreshed and relaxed!

✅ Action Step: Try this out at the end of your next workout and see how you feel afterwards :)

^{By: Joshua Graham}

^{A gentle invitation to integrate lived experience with kindness, perspective, and care.}

What’s something you can forgive yourself for, or soften your grip on?

Before you go, let us know what you thought of today’s edition and if there are any subjects you would like us to cover in the future reply to this email and let us know!

If you find our newsletter helpful, we’d love for you to share it with a friend! If you’re that friend, you can subscribe here. Thanks for spreading the word! xo

With love and care,

Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team

^{Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.}

^{Remember: It’s okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).}