7 Ways To Boost Your Mood
I originally wrote this as a guest article for Peter's
The
Change Blog.
I hope you enjoy it.
There are times when no
matter how hard we try to avoid it, we sink into a funk or a less than productive mood.
We drag our feet, feel unmotivated and lose perspective.
When that happens we can either roll with it hoping it will wear off,
or we can apply strategies to counteract it.
To help you get moving and back on track again, here are some
helpful suggestions to boost your mood.
- Get some exercise. Exercise is one
of the quickest ways to pick yourself up because it stimulates
circulation and releases the happy hormones, otherwise known as
endorphins. Before you know it you will be ready to take on the world,
or at least you'll feel that way!
- Have a catnap.
If you're worn out and too tired to exercise, perhaps a nap is in
order. It's surprising how a little fifteen or twenty-minute rest can
be refreshing. Not only that, when we nap new ideas, insights and
solutions come to the surface from our sub-conscious. Thomas Edison,
Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy were all known to take catnaps to
rejuvenate themselves.
- Listen to uplifting music. Music
is the ultimate mood changer! It can take you from the depths of
listlessness to the heights of exhilaration. As Plato
observed: "Music
and rhythm find their way
into the secret places of the soul".
- Take a break and have a cup of tea or coffee.
There is a reason coffee breaks are mandatory at most work places. Of
course you need not drink tea or coffee but stepping away from what you
were doing gives you a fresh new outlook and when you get back to it,
you're ready to roll.
- Focus on the positive.
At times when we get involved in a project and things aren't going well
or when we're having a bad day, we have a tendency to become negative
and distort the situation. We forget what has gone well and what is
working. When that happens, it's a good idea to re-focus, look at what
is going right, what you have accomplished and how far you've come. It
will give you the boost you need to keep going.
- Talk to someone.
Expressing your feelings to a friend or colleague can be both
therapeutic and a way to get you out of your mood. When someone
empathizes or commiserates with us, we feel that the burden is not all
ours to bear and that someone understands what we're going through.
Knowing that others care or have had similar feelings gives us a pickup
and helps motivate
us to move on.
- Switch direction completely.
Sometimes getting in a rut or down mood can be the result of spending
too much time on one particular task. In those cases you need a
different type of break. The best thing to do is walk away from what
you're doing and engage in something completely different. If you've
been working at a computer all day, take a break and go shopping, visit
a friend or clean out your closet (a popular choice I'm sure). When you
get back to the task at hand, you will have a new, fresh mindset.
As you can see, we are not at the mercy of our moods. When we
get stuck (and we all do at times), we have the ability to lift
ourselves up, rise above what's momentarily dragging us down and forge
ahead.
"Absolutely you can change
your mood! Since you are in charge of your thinking, you're in charge
of your moods." Z. Hereford
Related articles:
How To Think Positively
The
Benefits of Regular Exercise
7 Great Tips to Help You Motivate Yourself