You are the only one who is in charge of you´re feeling. No amount of money, person or thing can do that for you. That is always what I think of when I have another bad day. Sometimes you just have those kinds of those days when everything is going wrong. But it is totally possible to snap out of that kind of funk and feel (a little bit) better. But YOU have to do the work. Don’t go (online) shopping when you feel bad. There are many ways to feel better fast. These are 15 ways to cheer yourself up.
15 Ways to cheer yourself up
- Do something different. Sometimes we feel bad because we feel stuck. We are doing the exact same things every single and sometimes that gets really boring. Doing something completely different can help to feel a little less stuck. Try a new recipe, try something new after work instead of watching Netflix or just take a different route to work.
- Exercise. When you exercise, your body releases feel-good hormones, which makes you obviously feel good. Find a workout that you like to do. I still think working out should be fun. Don’t go to the gym if you really hate it. Find something else, maybe a team sport or maybe you like to run.
- Dress up. When I look good, I feel good. Just wear your favourite outfit to work/school or when you have to run errands. I feel totally different when I wear my favourite outfits. Wear something that makes you feel sexy and confident.
- Do something you like to do. What are your hobbies? What brings you joy? What gives you more energy? Those are the things you should do more often. Maybe you like to read for hours or hang out with friends. Everyone is different, so find out what those feel-good things are to you.
- Pick better thoughts. Become aware of what you are thinking right now. How are you feeling right now? Use the Choose Again method to pick a thought that is more positive than your previous thought.
- Spend time with positive people. They say that you are the average of the 5 people you spend most of your time with. So who are those 5 people for you? If you realize you spend a lot of time with people who complain all the time, find more positive people to hang out with. Energy is contagious. If you spend time with happy people, you will feel good too.
- Read positive books. Whether you like to romance novels or maybe books about manifesting, make sure it makes you feel good. Right now, I like to read Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein. I just read one chapter in the morning and it helps me to feel good during the day.
- Focus on the good things in life. In every situation, there is always something to be grateful for, because even when you feel bad in a certain situation it shows you what you want. If you don’t like your job, be grateful that you now know what you don’t want and know what you DO want. So you can focus on that.
- Music. Listening to the right kind of music can change your whole mood. Put your headphones on and turn on your favourite music. I like to put on songs that are powerful. I start dancing and singing and suddenly my mood gets slowly better.
- Stay away from the negative news. Maybe you feel bad because you read something on the news. For some reason, we are attracted to dramatic headlines and we can’t stop watching or reading. But to feel better, you have to stay away from it.
- Give to others. Being nice to others and giving or helping them, will make you feel better. Focus on giving instead of receiving. Don’t help others and expect something in return. Do it because you really want to help them and because it makes you feel good.
- Meditate/Mindfulness. When we feel bad, we worry about the past or future. There is a simple thing that can bring us back to the present moment and that is meditation or mindfulness. Focus on your breathing, and ask yourself how you are feeling right now. What do you see, hear or smell? And every time, you notice a new thought, bring your attention back to the present moment.
- Journaling. Writing about your ‘problems’ can also really help. Or you can talk about it with someone. Personally, I like to write about it and sometimes I even realize that my problem wasn’t even a problem. It was just me creating non-existent drama inside my head.
- Cry. This sounds kind of weird but hear me out. Every time I cry, I feel so good afterwards. If you find it hard to cry, watch something sad like a movie or something. This is a list I recently made of sad movies to watch when you need a good cry.
- Take a nap. Sometimes we feel bad because we are just tired. When I am tired, I tend to have more negative thoughts than on other days. This is why I think getting enough sleep is so important. But if possible, take a nap. Somehow it resets your whole mood.
These are my 15 ways to cheer yourself up. How do you cheer yourself up when you feel bad?
Photo by Caroline Veronez on Unsplash