Every day, make a note of one thing you have seen or experienced first hand (not via any electronic gadgets or TV) that you found beautiful, one thing that you found interesting, one thing that you found funny. Make it specific, pick a detail. Not, “My walk in the park was beautiful at lunchtime”, but, “The second tree to the left of my bench was beautiful with its light green leaf buds”. Or, “The dog looking a bit like their owner with fringes falling over both their eyes was funny”, or, “Travelling in my first tube train with walk-through carriages today was interesting”.
Why play the BIF game? As a CBT strategy of not letting worry, anxiety, depression take over. To remind yourself that in this moment, there is nothing majorly wrong, even if your mind tries to tell you otherwise. To break unhelpful thinking patterns, habitual ruminations, what-ifs, if-onlies, to practice seeing the glass as half full.
The BIF game is a strategy in keeping with cognitive behaviour therapy that helps you to get to know yourself better. At the end of a week of keeping track of your BIFs, can you see patterns in the things that make you smile, or that intrigue you? How might your BIFs differ from those of your partner, your friend, your child? What does this say about you? What do you need to seek out in your life to give yourself a chance to experience more joy, to feel more connected to the world around you, more inspired?
