3 Strategies to Make You Feel Happy Again

 

What do you do when you are feeling down? I used to just sit there and do nothing and keep thinking about the thing that made me feel that way.

Later in life, I realized that such behavior is actually one of the most useless ways to react emotionally to something that bothers you.

Firstly, because it doesn’t help you at all. Secondly because it focuses your conscious attention on what you don’t like in the first place. So what to do in such situations?

All the situations you face in your life can basically be divided into two broad categories. Situations you can do something about and situations you can’t do anything about.

What I am talking about here are the things over which you have no apparent control. If you are feeling down because of something that you can actually control at some level, then just stop reading and go do what you can do. No point sitting here feeling miserable when you have the reins in your own hands.

If you think that you can’t do anything to change what is making you feel miserable then here are three strategies to use in such situations.

1. Change your state (body to mind)

This strategy was popularized by NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). Basically it states that your body and your mental states are interrelated. If you are thinking depressing thoughts your body will follow i.e., go into a depression reflecting mode and similarly when you are feeling excited your body will reflect that happy and excited state of mind.

So no matter how low you are feeling at the moment, consciously change your posture and breathing. Think how would you be sitting or standing and breathing if you were happy and then adopt that posture.

2. Do some chores and do them really well

Indulge yourself into little things like cleaning your closet or organizing your inbox etc. What you do is not important but your getting involved in doing that is what is vital. Get really involved in whatever you choose to do and do it well.

If you are watering your plants, do it with all your attention. If you are cleaning your dishes, really make them shine. The point is to involve yourself in what you are doing to the point that your conscious thoughts are forced to attend to the task in hand rather than mulling over the bothersome incident and pushing you into a downward emotional spiral.

Another important purpose this exercise will serve is that you will get to do a lot of things you always wanted to do but never got around to actually doing them. As you complete the tasks you will feel little sparks of motivation creeping inside you and the bundled negative energy leaving your consciousness.

3. Absorb yourself in inspirational material

Listen to your favorite personal development speaker through his audio tapes. If audio is not your thing then watch some inspiring movie with a positive message.

If you are more of a reader, pick up a good book and start reading. If you’d rather listen to music, go for it. The only thing to remember here is that whatever the medium, the message needs to be empowering and positive.

So there you go, with 3 effective techniques that you can use to make yourself feel better when you are feeling under the cloud. Start with smiling. Hey, I mean Right Now!

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