We all face challenges and hard days, even when our manifestation potential is high and we’re on the way to cultivating our dreams. It’s healthy to feel and process your reaction to disappointment. However, it’s also healthy to found productive ways of moving forward into a more positive place.
Try one or more of the following eight ways to improve your mood when you’re feeling low.
When we’re down we sometimes get the urge to splurge cash on material objects.
However, the happiness associated with this is temporary. Studies show that spending your money on experiences, however, has a lasting positive impact. And you don’t need to plan a trip to the other side of the world. Signing up for a class, going away for the day or seeing a movie all count as experiences that could help you when you’re feeling low.
Much of life seems so serious, and being silly can provide a powerful release that makes us giddy and shifts our perspective.
Whether you read or watch something that makes you laugh, dance around the room, sing in the shower or pull funny faces, you’re connecting to the simpler, more childlike part of yourself.
While you might not feel like doing these things at first, once you’ve done one of them you’ll likely feel unburdened and more capable of finding levity in your life situation.
Looking through a favorite photo album or scrapbook is proven to make you happier.
In fact, scientists have found it’s more effective at boosting mood than chocolate, alcohol, listening to music or watching a good TV show.
As a bonus, you can hold onto this benefit by making sure you can always see a treasured photo. Hang it at eye level by your work desk, or put it on your bedside cabinet so that it’s the first thing you see in the morning.
There are lots of publications exploring the positive impacts of kissing (largely due to its potential for promoting dopamine release). However, the good news is that touch, in general, can help you. Plus, you don’t even need to have a partner to benefit from the power of physical closeness!
A hug from a friend, holding hands with a loved one or cuddling with a beloved pet all stimulate the production of hormones that make you feel peaceful and content.
Research on volunteer workers has established that doing good deeds actually makes us happier. It enhances capacity for empathy and helps us to cultivate gratitude. And since gratitude is a cornerstone of Law of Attraction work, it’s well worth doing things that boost your ability to feel grateful!
Consider working for a helpline, volunteering to work in a charity store, donating to a good cause, or arranging to be sponsored for an athletic achievement. Find a list of things you can do for a loved one here.
6. ExerciseExercise is a proven mood-booster (partly due to the infamous endorphins that it releases). It turns out that how you exercise does matter. In particular, try to find something you genuinely enjoy and consider whether you can do it outdoors.
People who exercise in nature tend to report higher increases in mood.
As well as helping you to feel happier, exercise can help to clear the mind and halt unproductive thought patterns in their tracks.
Plus, the more you exercise the healthier your body becomes, and there’s a strong link between the well-being of the body and that of the mind.
While the effects of light therapy aren’t instant, implanting it could lead to a consistently better mood in just a few weeks.
More than half of all people who increase their exposure to daylight or who use artificial sunlight indoors report feeling happier, especially during the cold and dark winter months. Even if it isn’t particularly sunny outside, you still benefit from time outdoors.
And daily walks also encourage productive reflection and provide a time for peaceful solitude.
Finally, psychologists have identified the value of something called the “flow” state. The specific type of mindfulness and joy that you experience when you’re utterly immersed in the pleasure of the present.
Listening to your favorite music is a great way to get into this mindset, but it’s also possible to access it through an absorbing book, the process of creating something, or sitting looking at a beautiful scene in nature.
In fact, there are unlimited ways to find this type of experience. Simply tap into the activities that make you feel most authentically “you”, and allow yourself to get lost in them.
