Waking up on the wrong side of the bed can often put a damper on your day. Although the reasons why this happens can vary from person to person, there are several things you can do to turn your day around. Below, you’ll find several tips and tricks to help you boost your mood.  Give them a try!

1. Self-Compassion:

After having a negative thought, be compassionate toward yourself. If you are in an unhappy state, be mindful of the negative thoughts and don’t judge yourself for the way you feel. Self-compassion allows you to be more kind to yourself and your thoughts. This process is also a way to be more connected with others. Often, when you are negative, your thoughts are using a negative playlist that is on repeat. Here is a two minute video on how you can begin to practice this act. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qes9HoxfkE0

 

2. Smile:

As silly as this sounds, smiling when you are unhappy can actually trick your brain into being happy. When you smile, try to feel the smile as best as you can. The smile that puts creases in your eyes are the more genuine smiles. Try this when you feel negative and see what effects it has on your thought process. When you smile, you are tapping into past events that made you smile. This behavior induces good feelings and helps reduce your body’s stress response.

 

3. Self-Care:

When you are in an unhappy state, you tend to ignore your own needs. An example of self-care is to take a shower despite your low energy. Sit in the shower and let the warm water rain on your body and try to put as much focus as you can on your breath instead of your thoughts. Treat yourself as a loving mother would treat you on a sick day.

 

4. Positive Affirmations:

Just like smiling, you can rewire your brain by replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. It may have taken decades to wire your brain to think negatively so it’ll take time to reverse that habit. When you are triggered, your stress hormones go haywire and negative thoughts builds upon themselves. To replace negative thoughts with more positive thoughts, research videos that affirm you in the way you want to be affirmed. Here is an example video to bring peace to your mind. Repeat to yourself these affirmations daily and you may find yourself in a more positive state of being. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALNxn-i_NL8

 

Change doesn’t happen overnight. The more you struggle with something, the more practice you’ll need to devote to getting better. Becoming a happier individual is no different. Sometimes, though, it’s important to sit with the unhappiness and accept what you feel without judgement. If you force the mood away too much, you can end up making it worse. Feeling down and negative is a part of the human experience but happiness is, too.