Attitude Determines Altitude
Your attitude determines your altitude – in business and in life. You can’t change someone else’s attitude for them. But this powerful adage is a great reminder that you can put in front of anyone who needs an attitude adjustment. I want to talk about a few of the many ways each of us can develop a winning attitude every day. It’s what leaders do.
Marcus Aurelius, the great philosopher who ruled the Roman Empire, said it simply: “Our life is what our thoughts make it”.
Dale Carnegie, speaking to that quote said: “Yes, if we think happy thoughts, we will be happy. If we think miserable thoughts, we will be miserable. If we think fear thoughts, we will be fearful. If we think sickly thoughts we probably will be ill. If we think failure, we will certainly fail. If we wallow in self-pity, everyone will want to shun us and avoid us”.
Am I advocating a Pollyanna attitude toward all our problems? No. Life isn’t that simple. But I am advocating – in the strongest terms – that we assume a positive attitude instead of a negative one.
Mental attitude – the power we hold in our heads. Reality can be changed dramatically by a single thought. In nutrition the adage is you are what you eat. In terms of leadership, it’s more likely you are what you think. Contrary to what people want to believe, outside influences don’t usually determine your happiness or success, rather it is how we react to those influences – good or bad. So how do you change your reactions to those outside forces?
Make how you react a conscious priority, which means practice daily.
Humor is vital. When things aren’t going your way, keep everything in perspective and relax. I laugh. Others throw up their hands. Whole industries get very cynical.
Positive self-confident feelings not only help you achieve more; they also make others want to be associated with you. People are drawn to others who have an upbeat outlook, who have a can-do attitude. Constant complainers don’t collect an easy following.
One of a leader’s most important jobs is to set a positive and self-confident tone, exuding the attitude that failure is not an option. A positive attitude is the cornerstone of leadership. It’s the same confidence that a quarterback, a golfer, or a tennis star projects every time they come out of the locker room.
To gain strength from the positive and not be sapped by the negative, here are a few ideas:
Focus on the 90% of your team who will run with your vision and your plan – don’t let the “negative nellies” drain you or poison your team.
Tap your spiritual essence at work too – use your spirit and your heart to move you and your work forward.
Break the negative energy cycle – if you see yourself spiraling down or in a rut, mix it up, breakup the routine and do something fast that lifts you up. When you see one of your team members in a rut of unproductive or unprofessional behavior address it, don’t let it fester.
Active listening – takes time. Work at it, to hear what your team wants. Often just by being heard, problems can go away and people really make a big turnaround.
You must be the emotional manager of your office – not your assistant, not the new hotshot you just hired. In a family, parents must be the emotional managers or chaos rules the home. In your business, you must wear that mantel, albeit reluctantly at times. It’s part of your leadership role and power. Hone it, as well as your reactions to external events, and you’ll see the culture around you shift to the positive.
Jim Collins points out in Good to Great: When in doubt, don’t hire – keep looking. You can’t grow revenues consistently faster than your ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a great company. So unless candidates for the open position have that can-do attitude and are a strong fit for your company in who they are – don’t hire them. The skills can be taught; the and-then-some positive attitude cannot.
Attitude is the one thing we can’t change in employees. You’ve got a good attitude or you don’t. Given adequate ability and desire to learn, everything else can be taught to employees with good attitudes. I have tried many times to teach good attitudes and have come to the conclusion it is about as easy as making a mud fence.”
A negative attitude will pull you down and with it your professional results. A positive attitude will pull you over the rough spots and energize you to lift your results to new heights – to match your vision. Whether you need an attitude adjustment a couple of times a day, once a week or only occasionally, never forget that your attitude determines your altitude. Don’t let outside people or events bring yours down.
3 Reasons Why Sales Professionals Need A Life Coach
No matter how well you’re doing in your sales career, I guarantee that a life coach can help you rise to an even greater level of success – a life coach could probably even double your income this year alone. That may sound like a bold statement, but I’ve seen results exactly that dramatic time and time again. So, if you’ve never heard of a life coach, or are familiar with the concept but aren’t really sure how they can help you grow as a sales professional, let me fill you in.
A life coach specializes in inspiring you to go beyond the ordinary, to raise your standards and definition of success to a level that you’re truly capable of reaching. Most people will never achieve what they’re truly capable of, simply because they haven’t formed the right partnership to make it happen. A life coach is exactly that – a true partner in your success.
Here are three more concrete reasons why all sales professionals should consider teaming up with a life coach:
* A life coach not only celebrates your victories, but helps you learn from your setbacks. Let’s face it, in sales we have to get used to rejection. But how you use and learn from that rejection is a major determining factor in how successful you can be. A talented life coach helps put perspective on your successes and failures, so you can benefit from both.
* A life coach doesn’t judge you. I’m not saying that all you’ll ever hear from a life coach is a rosy picture of where you’re headed. That wouldn’t be fair and it’s not the way I handle my clients. But what a life coach should do is listen to what you’re saying without sitting in judgment, and without over-analyzing you.
* A life coach gets to know your values, passion and life-purpose …and holds you to them. It’s easy to get sidetracked, to lose sight of what’s truly important for your life and career. A life coach’s job is to help you maintain your focus so that you don’t get sidetracked. Simply keeping you working towards your ultimate goal is one of the most powerful services a life coach can provide. Take advantage of it.
A Sample Test to Test Your Positive Thinking
To find out how positive you are, answer the following questions as honestly as you can using this scoring system:
Answers Points
Always or almost always 5
Usually 4
Sometimes 3
Rarely 2
Never 1
Put your score in the block on the right:
When something unexpected forces you to change your plans, and you are quick to spot a hidden advantage in this new situation? [ ]
Do you like most of the people you meet? [ ]
When you think about next year, do you tend to think that you will be better off than you are now? [ ]
Do you often stop to admire the things of beauty? [ ]
When someone finds fault with you or with something you have done, can you tell the difference between useful criticism and ‘sour grapes’, which is better ignored? [ ]
Do you praise your spouse / best friend / lover more often than you criticize him or her? [ ]
Do you believe that the human race will survive well into the twenty first century [ ]
Are you surprised when a friend lets you down? [ ]
Do you think you are happy? [ ]
Do you feel comfortable making yourself the target of your own jokes? [ ]
Do you believe that, overall, your state of mind has had a positive effect on your physical health? []
If you made a list of your 10 favorite people, would name be there on it too? [ ]
When you think back over the past few months, do you tend to remember your success before your setbacks and failures? [ ]
Total Points [ ]
Scoring:
If the sum of all the scores is:
Above 55: Consider yourself a superstar – someone whose optimism is a powerful
healing force.
50 – 55: Excellent. You are a genuine positive thinker
45 – 50: Good. You are a positive thinker, sometimes
40 – 45: Fair. Your positive side and your negative side are about evenly matched
Below 40: You tend to be pessimistic. Think of ways to improve your pessimistic
Approach to life.
A Good Leader Knows The Team’s Colours
Leadership can be a very challenging task. As leaders we don’t always get to choose who is on our team. In fact very often a leader inherits a team, of which most of the members have been there far longer than the leader, and may even know more about the work than the leader. Whatever the situation, one of the responsibilities of a leader is to motivate the team to all work together towards the common goal. This can be a daunting challenge. So often the team is comprised of very diverse members, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and work styles. The team dynamics are also often complicated by internal disagreements and personal conflicts. The leader, not only has work with this group of people, but also needs to achieve the results expected by their superiors.
Leaders can greatly benefit by being able to identify the types of personality characteristics of team members. By understanding the basic personality types, the leader can use individual strengths of members for the good of the team, as well as assign tasks that individual team member’s naturally excel in. A leader can also learn to communicate in a way that is motivating, by taking into account the needs, values and working preferences of different team members.
A good leader will see the greatest results by working and utilizing the strengths and working style characteristics of the personalities on the team. By correctly positioning the individual member strengths and compensating for weaknesses, the leader can bring the team into a productive balance and harmony.
A brief overview of the different values and working styles of the four main personality types demonstrates the importance of this knowledge being part of the successful leadership toolbox. The four types of personality will be described using the colours Gold, Blue, Green and Orange.
The strong Gold employee takes work and responsibility very seriously. Gold personalities want to contribute, be part of the team, and to be successful and productive. They respond well to recognition, rewards and incentives. However Gold team members need well defined responsibilities and structure, firm expectations and timelines as well as being reassured from authority that they are on the right track.
The strong Blue personality needs an open, social atmosphere to be able work well. Relationships are very important for them, and they need the freedom to be able to nurture relationships with coworkers, customers and employers.. Conflict and intense competition are painful for a strong Blue, but they will thrive in a positive, creative, service orientated atmosphere.
A strong Green personality is more noted for expertise rather than people skills. They are excellent working with facts, data, research and analytical projects. Greens shine in their ability for designing, understanding complex systems and strategy. Facts are of utmost importance for the Green, but they have a weakness for routine follow through and are somewhat insensitive in social interactions.
Orange team members are noticeable by their energy, skill and creativity. A key factor for an Orange is the freedom to be able to use their skills and abilities. If there is too much structure, or their boss is very authoritarian, the orange personality feels blocked and does not function well. Orange personalities like people and work well in a spirit of teamwork, competition and camaraderie. They are action orientated, though and become impatient with prolonged talking and detailed administrative tasks.
A leader, by knowing the colours of his team, can use this knowledge to blend the team members into a unified, well coordinated picture poised for success. By facilitating each team member to function in their areas of natural strength and motivating them by communicating in a way that inspires harmony and team work, the leader is well on the way to achieving extraordinary results.
20 Ways To Make Someone Smile
Do you want to put a smile on someone’s face today? Maybe make their day a little better. It won’t cost you a single penny or much time to do just that. And because smiling is contagious, it probably won’t just be one person you make smile today.
Here are 20 ways to turn that frown upside down.
1. Send some flowers to your partner at work.
2. Compliment a friend or work colleague on their appearance.
3. Donate something to charity.
4. Take a friend out to lunch.
5. Let someone know you miss them.
6. Make a surprise telephone call to your partner at work, just to say hi.
7. Hold a door open for someone walking behind you.
8. Hug your partner for no reason.
9. Leave a joke on a friends answer machine.
10. Send a card to a friend letting them know what a good friend they are.
11. Give up your seat on the train to someone when there aren’t any left.
12. Share your umbrella on a rainy day.
13. Ask a friend if they need anything while you’re out shopping.
14. When it’s raining, plan an indoor picnic with your children.
15. Leave a love letter somewhere where your partner will find it.
16. Send someone an unusual and unexpected gift like chocolate, flowers or toys.
17. Tell your child you’re proud of them.
18. Tell someone you thought about them the other day.
19. Cook a surprise meal for your partner one night, especially if they normally do the cooking.
20. Tell your partner you love them.
Did you know it takes only 17 muscles to smile, but 43 to frown. Why waste all that energy frowning when you could just smile.
Here are 5 more facts about smiling.
1. Women smile more than men.
2. Smiling releases endorphins that make us feel better.
3. We are all born with the ability to smile, it’s not something we learn from others.
4. A smile is a universal expression of happiness.
5. A smiling person is thought to be a more pleasant, attractive, sociable, sincere and competent than a non-smiling person.
Just remember, smiling is the easiest and cheapest way of improving your looks.
3 Simple Strategies For Never Losing Out Again
Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes has a few sideways thrown in too. When things go wrong or don’t go as planned, or when something happens to throw us off balance and doubt ourselves it can be tough to deal with. After all, we all want things to go well and to end up as ‘winners’. But life will always throw challenges at us, and we can’t control everything. Nor should we try. It’s not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you that makes the difference. Here are three easy ways that you can always come out on top.
1. Focus on Your Strengths
We’re a bunch of contradictions – sorry to break it to you. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad; sometimes hopeful, sometimes pessimistic; sometimes childish and sometimes mature. We also have a whole load of strengths and weaknesses that affect what we do and how we do it, but tend to put more focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths.
A strength is something that you do consistently well or at a near-perfect level of performance – it’s something you’re just able to do, you’re hard-wired to do it well and you get an inherent satisfaction from doing it. It could be tackling and solving complex problems, empathising with people, having a lively imagination or being able to make the perfect omelette.
Focusing on what you do well rather than what you’re not so good at makes all kinds of sense. When you look at what you’re not good at you feel bad about yourself and your ability, but when you focus on and play to your strengths you’re guaranteed to get results, and can even eliminate any negative effect your weaknesses might have.
There was a guy I worked with who hated public speaking and recognised that it was one of his weaknesses. He worked as an advertising executive and as he climbed the ladder he found he had to do more and more presentations – he’d stutter, freeze, forget his point and not perform at his best at all. But when we focused on his strengths we found that he had amazing social skills, an ability to establish great rapport with people in no time at all and had a fantastic sense of humour. Using those strengths he was able to connect easily with each person in his audience, enjoy himself a whole lot more and to deliver presentations that had fun, humour and warmth in them. He used his strengths to overwhelm his weaknesses and went from strength to strength himself.
2. Set Things Up Ahead Of Time
Sure, there will be times when you can just head into something, do brilliantly at it and get the result you were hoping for (normally if you’re playing to your strengths), but other times you might blunder forwards, wing it and not get the result you wanted. Whatever challenges or opportunities you’re facing you’ll stand a much better chance of getting a great result if you set things up to succeed ahead of time.
So what exactly do you want to happen? What solution, outcome or result would be great? Get really clear on the outcome you want from what’s facing you and how it would feel to get the outcome you’re looking for. Then start breaking it down – what can you do to set things up so that your desired outcome happens? What needs to be put in place? What will help to make what you want to happen, happen? And to ensure the best outcome, what are you willing to do?
Whatever faces you, it’s possible to get the result you want by being crystal clear about the kind of result you want and by putting effort into setting things up so that it happens. Look at this way – you’re infinitely more likely to get your most wanted result by putting time or effort into setting things up ahead of time than if you don’t. Your choice.
3. There’s No Such Thing as Losing Anyway
What’s life all about, really? Getting a good job, getting married, feeling valued, having fun? It’s about different things to different people, but to boil it down I think it’s about doing the best we can to have, do and be the best for ourselves and those we care about. Sometimes it’s a struggle and sometimes it’s a joy, but what is constant through it all is our capacity to learn, develop and grow. Humans have an unparalleled ability to learn and adapt, which is exactly why we’re able to do the best we can and find ways to have, do and be more.
That’s why everything you do takes you one step forwards and it’s only by doing one thing, then another and another that the most astounding things in our world came about. As Thomas Edison said while he was on his 207th prototype for the electric light bulb – ‘I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.’ He’s absolutely right – everything you do that doesn’t work out is another tick in another box and another step forwards, because you know one more way not to do something and what not to do next time. You’ll never get to 100% without going from 1% to 99% first.
In all that you do, whether it turns out how you wanted it to or not, there’s the capacity for learning. That means that it’s all part of the process and everything that you do and learn is an important step forwards.
There’s no such thing as losing, only learning and growing. So here’s to your continued success!”
Why Is It Important To Improve Your Self?
Sometimes, when all our doubts, fears and insecurities wrap ourselves up, we always come up with the idea of “I wish I was somebody else.” More often than not, we think and believe that someone or rather, most people are better than us.- when in reality, the fact is, most people are more scared than us.
You spot a totally eye-catching girl sitting by herself at a party, casually sipping on a glass of drink. You think to yourself, “she looks so perfectly calm and confident.” But if you could read thru her transparent mind, you would see a bunch of clouds of thoughts and you might just be amazed that she’s thinking “are people talking about why I am seated here alone?… Why don’t guys find me attractive? …I don’t like my ankles, they look too skinny… I wish I was as intelligent as my best friend.”
We look at a young business entrepreneur and say “Wooh… what else could he ask for?” He stares at himself at the mirror and murmur to himself, “I hate my big eyes… I wonder why my friends won’t talk to me… I hope mom and dad would still work things out.”
Isn’t it funny? We look at other people, envy them for looking so outrageously perfect and wish we could trade places with them, while they look at us and thinks of the same thing. We are insecure of other people who themselves are insecure of us. We suffer from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and lose hope in self improvement because we are enveloped in quiet desperation.
Sometimes, you notice that you have an irritating habit like biting off your finger nails, having a foul mouth, and you – of all people, is the last to know.
I have a friend who never gets tired of talking. And in most conversations, she is the only one who seems to be interested in the things she has to say. So all of our other friends tend to avoid the circles whenever she’s around, and she doesn’t notices how badly she became socially handicapped – gradually affecting the people in her environment.
One key to self improvement is to LISTEN and TALK to a trusted friend. Find someone who you find comfort in opening up with even the most gentle topics you want to discuss. Ask questions like “do you think I am ill-mannered?”, “Do I always sound so argumentative?”, “Do I talk too loud?”, “Does my breath smell?”, “Do I ever bore you when were together?”. In this way, the other person will obviously know that you are interested in the process of self improvement. Lend her your ears for comments and criticisms and don’t give her answers like “Don’t exaggerate! That’s just the way I am!” Open up your mind and heart as well. And in return, you may want to help your friend with constructive criticism that will also help her improve her self.
One of Whitney Houston’s songs says “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” True enough. In order to love others, you must love yourself too. Remember, you cannot give what you do not have.
Before telling other people some ways on how to improve themselves, let them see that you yourself is a representation and a product of self improvement. Self improvement makes us better people, we then inspire other people, and then the rest of the world will follow.
Stop thinking of yourselves as second-rate beings. Forget the repetitive thought of “If only I was richer… if only I was thinner” and so on. Accepting your true self is the first step to self improvement. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others only to find out at the end that we’ve got 10 more reasons to envy them.
We all have our insecurities. Nobody is perfect. We always wish we had better things, better features, better body parts, etc. But life need not to be perfect for people to be happy about themselves.Self improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It’s the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy.
A Science Breakthrough That Could Change Your Life Forever
Ever think the world is out to make you fail? Do you think that “If you didn’t have bad luck you wouldn’t have any luck at all ? “ Wrong!
You make your own luck and your own failures and successes.
Are you one of the positive ones who think “Everything happens for a reason!” ?
Good for you! You are correct! Well, sort of…
Everything DOES happen for a reason, but not in the way many people think. Everything in your life happens because you made it happen.
Car break down ? Yeah, that was you!
Can’t find the right partner? Yeah that was you too!
Your life. Your events. You made it happen.
How can this be ?
Its all because of the laws of the Universe! Time, space, quantum physics, vibrations and energy. Its all around you every moment of every day reading you and transforming your life.
Sound too “New Age” for you ? Its all real science and real life.
Your world is built on one main law. The law of attraction. The law of attraction means that energy attracts like energy, vibrations attract like vibrations. This means that what you feel is what you get out of life. Having a bad day and things just keep getting worse ? It makes perfect sense in context with the law of attraction.
So what happens when you use this law to your advantage? When you take all of your goals and dreams and treat them like they will happen, and you stay positive ? Well your dreams come true, and miracles happen. In the universe anything is possible, and you can make it happen if you know how.
Here are a few tips to to get start on on your way to become a master of manifestation.
Stay Positive. The Universe is always listening and you can sabotage yourself and your dreams by becoming self critical and negative. Pay attention to your “Inner Voice” and make corrections when needed.
Stay connected. Staying connected with your inner self is very important. You need to listen to your instincts when you are trying to fallow your life path you are dreaming of. You also need to be aware of what you really want in life instead of what you THINK you want in life. One way to achieve this is through meditation and self-discovery.
Stay Strong. Don’t let anyone smash, steal, or put your dreams down. Not everyone will agree with or support your dreams, but don’t let that get you down. They are your dreams alone, and are completely possible. Don’t let anyone stand in your way of accomplishing your goals!
I would wish you the best of luck, but you have something better than luck when the Universe is on your side!
Bring Love Into Your Life
So many people are complaining about the lack of love in their life. They act as if some stranger decided one day to take away the love out of their lives. They hold on to lovers already gone since eternity, or they dream about a partner coming into their life to give them everything they are not able to give themselves. They balance between hope and desperation. They look for love outside themselves and believe one day a charming prince on a white horse will knock at the door and take them away to live for ever happy in a castle for away from reality.
Other people are trying to survive in a bad relationship that holds their greatness hostage. They live in fear and anger every day but don’t know how to get out of this prison.
Do you know such people? Does this sound like you? Do you feel lonely, are you dreaming of the right one who will show up one day and end all the misery you’re going through now?
The bad news is this will not happen.
The good news is YOU can do a lot yourself to feel loved.
Let me explain.
Life is like a building. There are a lot of floors : the ground floor, the cellar, the first floor, second floor and so on. The higher you go in the building, the more light there is, the easier and lighter things are, the more friendly and energetic people are, the higher are the vibrations and most of all : the more love there is.
Picture this building of life in your mental eye. In the cellar you will find people like rapers, thiefs, harassers, killers, people who beat their children or companion and others who made a life out of hurting others.
On the groundfloor you will find a lot of people. In fact most of humanity lives here. These are the ones who content themselves by vegetating instead of living. They don’t think by themselves, they undergo life. They do nothing. They live like robots. They go to their job every day, come home every day, watch the same television program every day with a drink in one hand and a hotdog in the other hand. They do not dream. They are stuck in their lifestyle and think everything will always be the same.
Then you go up. As I said, the higher you get, the easier, the lighter life is. Life IS easy, life IS light. The cellar, groundfloor and lower floors are creations from the human mind. We created these lifestyles by our heavy thoughts, thoughts about scarcity, fear, death, anger, sadness, revenge and so on. Here are the lives of those who choose to think low energy thoughts. Those who live in fear, hate, jealousy, doubts, low self esteem, troubles. Those have bad relationships, where struggle and anger and negativity set the tone. They are not happy. They maintain the illusion everything is someone else’s fault and they have either to wait for the other to change, so their life will change, or they have to destroy the other one to have a better life (think of the one who kills the husband of the woman he wants to live with, or those who kill other minded people in order to be free to live like they want). This will never give freedom or love.
So what to do if you want to move up in that building of life and live free and in love?
First you have to make a decision. Yes, you have to decide WHERE you want to be. On which floor do you want to live your life now?
Is it the cellar? No, I don’t think so. Is is the groundfloor? I don’t think it either. Let’s say you want to be at the 17th floor. But you feel you are at this moment in your life at the 3rd floor only. You hate your job, you have a lousy relationship with your partner, you’re in bad shape and your energy is low.
So you decided you wanted a life in the vibration of the 17th floor, where there is love, real friendship, positive expectations, inner strength, power, a job you like, health and wealth.
What to do? You decided where you want to be. What you will do now? Should you wait until someone will knock on your door to take you there? No way! Will never happen! Even if you would meet someone with an energy level of 17, he will never carry you from the 3rd to the 17th floor, because he will be exhausted. It needs to be YOUR decision and YOUR action!!
So YOU have to move yourself up. How? Read! Read more! Read how you can create your life by changing your thoughts and your behavior! Go to workshops where you can learn how to unleash you inner power. Use the wonderful information bank which is called Internet and which offers you a bunch of positive information and e-courses (often for free). Surround you with loving people. Learn how to love yourself.
So first you decide where you want to be. Than you do whatever you can to get there, on your own. You may ask help of course, you may find yourself a coach (which is really a good decision!) but don’t look for somebody to carry you. You will fall down immediately the moment he puts you down. If you didn’t get there by yourself, it won’t last, it is not worth anything because you moved yourself up with somebody else’s energy and you are depending on his energy.
Once you get at the floor of your choice, let’s say 17, you will meet automatically people who vibrate at this level of energy. Energy-17 people. Loving, caring, wonderful people. People who feel good about themselves and who don’t need others to steal their energy. They learned how to generate energy by themselves. They are not slaves. They are not dominators. They love and respect others.
Do you want to meet someone like that? Do you want to share your life with somebody who has a 17-energy (or more)? Go there! Go at their level and you will meet them, that’s a guarantee!
Move yourself up.
If you live in a bad relationship right now, and you do whatever you can to get yourself moving higher, you will see what will happen. Your partner, who is still vibrating on energy 3 or 2 or on cellar-level won’t be able to follow you and you will take separate roads.
Don’t make the mistake of trying to pull someone up who wants to stay at his low level. You will never succeed. Especially women should be aware of this : don’t spoil your energy at trying to get others moving up with you. It’s a waste of time. Everybody should decide for himself. Don’t carry others on your back, you will crack down! Decide for yourself, go for it, and see what happens. The higher you get in energy-levels, the better it will be. There you will agree with me : life is wonderful!
7 Surprisingly Quick And Easy Ways To Feel Happier
All of us have days when we’re out of sorts. You just wish you were in a better mood. You’ve had days like that, haven’t you? Perhaps you tried to get yourself into a better state of mind but struggled to achieve it.
Sometimes we get stuck in our own emotional dumps and forget how easy it is to feel happier, so here are seven simple ways to lift your mood. Many people have found them useful. Some of them may surprise you!
1. Go for a walk.
Most people know that going for a short daily walk is one of the best forms of exercise. When you are feeling down it is even more beneficial. If you can, go into a natural environment with plants and birds. Can you think of such a setting not? What do you notice first? The different shades of greenery, the fresh smell of country air, the sounds of birds, or the sunlight shining through the trees? Make it real by taking a short stroll.
2. Listen to quality music.
Music can shift a listener’s state within moments. It’s effect can be nearly magical. Dig out that CD you haven’t listened to in ages or tune in your radio to something you’ve never listened to before.
3. Open yourself to discovering something new.
Read something (printed, not on line) different than what you would normally watch. There are a ton of different types of magazines can you get these days. Visit your local library or browse through a magazine rack. Pick up or buy a magazine you wouldn’t normally buy. You may discover something wonderful.
4. Find something to laugh at.
Laughter is one of the best ways to lift your spirits. Find a humorous book, or watch a comedy. Even better, try to learn a few new jokes and tell them to others.
5. Simple breathing meditation.
Breathing meditation is a great exercise that you can do anywhere. Simply allow yourself to sit comfortably with your back straight. Now close your eyes and become aware of the flow of air into and out of your nostrils. That’s all there is to it. Do this for 10-15 minutes. Notice how pleasantly surprised you can be at how you feel afterward.
6. Doodling for the fun of it.
Most people can remember when they were young and used to doodle for hours. Kids love drawing silly little pictures. Drawing is not just for kids or artists. Whoever you are get some pens, pencils, crayons or whatever you have and just draw for the fun of it. Notice how your state of mind shifts.
7. Think of others less fortunate.
The fact that you are reading this article suggests that you are probably much better off than most people on this planet. At times this may be hard to believe, but if you can read and have access to the internet, just those two things alone means you are better off than most people in the world. There are many human beings that barely have access to the basics of survival. There are people in lots of pain. Allow your compassion for them to grow.
These are all pretty simple. There’s nothing profound or life changing, but when all you need is a quick pick me up these may be just the thing you need. Putting simple ideas, methods, tools and techniques into action will help you achieve change more quick and easily–surprisingly so at time– than you imagine.
