After a pretty tough week at work filled with a lot of frustration and challenges I suddenly remembered a post I had written a few years ago on How  to Turn Your Mood Around. I think this is a great time to share the key message from that post as a reminder to us all that our Happiness and Mood are entirely in our own hands.

If something bad / frustrating / angering happens to you, you can choose to either dwell on that bad experience over and over … or you can choose to do something that will lift your mood and get you back to a happier version of yourself.

Have a think about all the things that have lifted your mood in the past, the things you enjoy doing, things that bring a smile to your face, things that remind you of enjoyable memories, things that distract you from frustrations and lift you into better feeling mood. Find all the things that work for you to change a low mood into a better one, and if you have to, make a note of them.

Sometimes everything won’t be going to plan but that doesn’t mean you should dwell in a foul mood or worse, slip towards depression or anxiety. You have to take ownership of the situation and your own well being.

Certain problems like, for example, a career change won’t happen straight away … but you shouldn’t wait for everything to be perfect to allow yourself to feel happy. You have a responsibility to yourself to do whatever it takes to lift your mood and to do this all you need to do is be aware of your Mood Boosters.

Every problem is temporary, remember that, there is always something you can do to work towards a happier life … but in the mean time you must do everything you can to lift your mood whenever it dips.

Remember the things you can turn to when you need a simple pick me up. These alone can bring you back to a more positive mind set and that will help you work through any challenges you do have in a much more productive manner.

Here’s my own pick me up’s, my mood boosters!

The Mood Boosters

• Listen to a variety of uplifting, cheery music
• Watch comedy (sitcoms, stand-up comedians, movies… basically anything that gets you laughing)
• Take big action to build towards my dream (the big goal)
• Talk to people that you enjoy talking with
• Sing along to some cheesy / cheerful songs
• Look through old photos and reminisce about good times
• Tell the story of a happy / proud experience you had, if you have nobody to listen just write it down instead
• Watch old family videos, the ones that make you smile
• Plan out or talk about future big goals – think of bucket list goals proportion
• Do a bit of virtual shopping for things you’d like to have one day, take photos of them all (don’t get hung on not having them now, just know one day you’d like them and think about how you would feel if you did)
• Plan an exciting day out (as expensive or free as you like)
• Write down all the things you would like in your life (exactly how you would like things to be, in every area)
• Write down a positive journal of your day – focus only on the best bits, not things that made you sad or angry that way tomorrow you’ll be looking for more good things to write about.
• Gratitude List – pick a subject (your family, your house, your job etc) and write all the things that you are grateful about that area. Tomorrow write a list about something else.
• Daily Achievements – each morning or at night before you go to bed, list out the good things from your day

If I feel myself starting to slip downwards toward a negative / downbeat mood I immediately jump to one of my Mood Boosters for a quick pick me up. What you perceive as Mood Boosters are likely to be very different from what I have above so take some time to figure out your own mood boosters. Think of all the things that you could do pretty easily to instantly lift your mood … now why wouldn’t you do them more often!

Happiness is a choice people, if you know yourself well enough you will be able to master your own Happiness Management and keep yourself in a much more positive upbeat mood for so much more of your time.

Thanks

Scott J

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