When life gets stressful and you feel like you’re losing your emotional balance, use one or more of these simple tricks to help you relax your mind and re-center yourself in an instant.
- Wash your hands and face, and brush your teeth. – The simple act of cleaning these parts of your body is both reinvigorating and relaxing, and gives you that ‘fresh start’ feeling.
- Change your socks for refreshment. – It’s an odd trick, but it works. Bring a change of socks to work, and change your socks midway through the day. You’ll be amazed at how much fresher you’ll feel. This trick is especially handy on days with lots of walking.
- Call a close friend. – Sometimes a quick conversation with someone you care about is just what you need to boost your mood.
- Stretch. – When you feel yourself getting stressed, get up, reach toward the sky, bend down and touch your toes, twist your torso from side to side – stretch it out.
- Go outdoors. – Getting some fresh air outdoors is always a good way to rouse your senses and clear your mind.
- Take a light exercise break. – Do a few sets of jumping jacks to get your blood moving, or take a walk. Even the slightest bit of exercise can reduce momentary stress and re-energize your mind. (Read The 4-Hour Body
.) - Dress to feel your best. – When we know we are looking our best, we naturally feel better.
- Listen to your favorite music. – If it’s not too much of a distraction, listening to your favorite upbeat music can be a great way to boost your spirits.
- Watch or read something that inspires you. – Sometimes all you need is a little pep talk. Watch a motivational video or read something that inspires you.
- Have a good laugh. – Watch a funny video clip or read your favorite comic strip. A good chuckle will stimulate your mind, giving you a renewed sense of optimism.
- Take a few really deep, controlled breaths. – Deep breathing helps reduce stress, a source of fatigue, and increases the level of oxygen in the blood. Techniques can be as simple as inhaling for five seconds, holding your breath for four seconds and exhaling for four seconds. You can also try more elaborate techniques which require different positions
- Clear your stuffed nose. – If allergies have your sinuses blocked, you may be feeling more tired and cranky. Rinse your nasal passages with saline solution.
- Cook a tasty meal. – Even if you are by yourself, preparing a tasty dinner, setting the table, and treating yourself to a wonderful culinary experience will lift your spirits. Sharing it with someone you love or respect will make it even more nurturing.
- Walk away from energy vampires. – Energy vampires are people who always have something to complain about, or a problem that needs to be fixed, and they’ll drain your energy by making you listen to them about their problems or by giving them attention.
- Complete an important piece of unfinished business. – Today is a perfect day to finish what you started. Few feelings are more satisfying than the one you get after an old burden has been lifted off of your shoulders. (Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.)
- Work on something that’s meaningful to you. – Engage yourself in a meaningful personal project. Or pull the trigger on doing something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, but haven’t yet had the resolve to do.
- Assist someone in need. – In life, you get what you put in. When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life. Do something that’s greater than you, something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less. I promise, it will be an extremely rewarding experience.
- Think about your latest (or greatest) success. – Think about it for at least sixty seconds. Taking in your success as often as possible will help you reach it again and again. Quite simply, it reminds you that if you’ve done it before, you can do it again.
- Act like today is already an awesome day. – Do so, and it will be. Research shows that although we think that we act because of the way we feel, in fact, we often feel because of the way we act. A great attitude always leads to great experiences.
- Notice what’s right. – Everything that happens in life is neither good nor bad. It just depends on your perspective. And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should. Either you succeed or you learn something. So stay positive, appreciate the pleasant outcomes, and learn from the rest. (Read How Full Is Your Bucket?)
- Take a moment to acknowledge how far you’ve come. – Look around you, remember that you started with nothing, and know that everything you see, you created. We can all lose our feelings of self-worth, especially when something goes wrong in our world. The truth is that if you have done it before, you can do it again, no matter what.
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)Finding simple ways to give yourself an emotional boost when you feel like you’re stuck in a rut is a vital skill to master. It’s a timeless practice that truly happy, productive people use on a regular basis.
What do you do to make yourself feel better when life gets you down?
Photo by: J.T. Noriega
Tonya says
How true these little happiness tricks are. I am going to share this and hope it will help my friends as much as it helped me just now. Thank you!
Allyssa says
Smile. Always smile. That’s what turns my mood around.
Jason says
Another postive set of practical tips from you two. Thanks so much, as always.
Glori S. says
Wonderful! So practical and useful. I think I’m going to print myself a copy of this!
Thank you!
Karisa Romain says
Your articles always come up at the perfect time for me. I couldn’t be more thankful!
Jay Rowden Photography says
I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for one of the most inspirational blog posts that I have read for ages.
Wonderful, wonderful reading.
Have a great day,
Jay x
Josh @ Live Well Simply says
These are incredibly insightful as always. How do you come up with these?
sheldon says
Love these simple tips! When are you guys releasing an iPhone app? You need to.
Cathleen A. Springer says
Hugging any of my animals – dogs and horses – ALWAYS makes me feel good. Taking them to the beach is a REAL upper.
Your suggestion about dressing for success reminds me of my friend’s comment that she made a point to wear “happy clothes” on days when she didn’t feel 100% and that helped her to feel the way she looked. We always grinned about that because I did it, too.
BB says
This is so very helpful to me this morning. 🙂
Debbie@happymaker says
Laughter really helps. I try to laugh every day. Whether it is with family or friends we do need to laugh everyday. It takes away the stress of life and makes us feel like a child again. Which is something that we all need to do. (Act like a child)
Nice tips for relieving the stress in life, I thank you and blessings to you both.
Debbie
p.s. don’t mind me, now I am going to go do some laughing, have a great day, I am going too!
TB at BlueCollarWorkman says
Great ideas! Some of these things don’t really apply to me since I work outside and not in an office! But I will say this, “look for what’s right” is a GREAT one. Because when you do, it’s amazing how much is right.
Anonoglinde says
#19 reminds me of something a dance teacher once told me about auditioning and show business – “Fake it ’til you make it”, meaning behave “as if” you already know what you’re doing and you’re already where you desire to be, and the behaving “as if” it’s already happened will get you to the real state of accomplishment faster.
Thank you for the reminders!
strongandcute says
These are all great ideas. I’m most intrigued by changing one’s socks! Who knew?
I also find that I feel better when I put on my makeup and wear a cute outfit. It really does make a difference!
Philippe Scheimann says
good list, it’s refreshing and practical.
Some more in no particular order:
a. take a shower morning, evening just before going to sleep
b. If you have a garden, spend even just a few minutes taking care of them
c. You’ve spent too much time in front of the screen, turn off the Internet and go to a or b without your cellphone
d. Go to your kitchen, and wash the dishes or put them in the dish washer while singing your favorite song. Then look at this clean spot.
e. Try a couple of chi kong exercises that you can do even while sitting.
f. Think about 5 good things that happened to you today so far. Yes, with some practice, it is always possible to find some small events that made you feel good.
g. Build up an anchor of some previous time when you were feeling great. Then run this anchor (very NLP)
Ardys says
I LOVE your blog!! Such uplifting and practical advice. Thank you!
Ivon Prefontaine says
Thank you. I will try to find ways to include these tips in my daily routine.
Theo says
🙂 Such great advice you guys always give to us. Regards from the Philippines.
Jo-Anne says
Yes yes yes great ideas and habits more people should follow. I know I do most of these things and I feel pretty darn good about myself… most of the time.
Carla Coulson says
Great post M & A and such an inspiring blog I had to share with my readers so I linked your site yesterday in my post. Always know where to come if needing a little (or a lot) of inspiration!
Carla
Jerry Hislip says
You two just make my life great and I’m happier than ever. How lucky we all are to have you in our lives, God Bless To Both Of You And Thank You For Coming Into My Life!!!!!
Linda Samuels says
What a great list of “feel better” boosters! It’s always amazing what a difference small, simple steps can make to change happen. Those shifts in perspective by doing something else, can bring us from inactivity to engagement. Thanks for sharing.
John Paton says
This is great. I feel better already!
Barb Slack says
Enjoyed these tips. Is there a way for me to print a list or is that not allowed? Thanks. -Barb
Annis says
A great and helpful list. Thank you. The ones that work best for me are 1) talking with a friend 2) noticing what is right, and 3) acting as if it’s already great a great day. I love the look of surprise on store clerks’ faces when they say, “Have a great day.” and I answer, “I’m already having it.”
Thanks again for your insights.
Nikky44 says
I liked it as it’s mostly different from the usual points everyone mentions. Those are simple and easy to put into practice!
Jonathan Look, Jr. says
Walking away from energy vampires is perhaps the hardest but most essential thing on this list. Thank you for providing it.
Sally full of sunshine today! says
I love every one of the tips!! I have a 4 month old and staying at home for the first time, I will definitely use them. I am so glad I found your blog. Namaste!!
Amy Hagerup says
I love all these awesome “attitude adjustment” ideas. It IS a great day. thanks for reminding us!
Faith says
Thanks a lot! You two just make every day so great. I’m so so sooooooo glad to have found your blog. Really, when I’m down, you are the people I turn around to. Thanks again for sharing your awesome self with us! God bless you!
Mike Park says
When I’m stuck in a rut, I quickly remind myself that it’s an illusion. Because our reality is love and happiness. Happiness is our natural state, and when you feel down and depressed, it’s because you’re not seeing things clearly.
Depression is an illusion. Lately I’ve realized that my depression was just a role that I’ve been playing, it was so convincing that I fooled myself.
Paul McMenamy says
Great reminders guys. Life is brief and very real so let’s stop pretending it’s a three-act play. It’s not, so let’s choose happiness. Have a fantastic week. xo
Amanda says
Hey! This is great, thanks- I am going to refer to this list again and again, it’s got some awesome ideas!
Some of my own to add:
– For no. 5: Go outdoors and really take in your environment. Don’t let your worries/problems cross your mind, just gaze at something you find peaceful, such as the sky. I find doing this really gives me peace, invokes a sense of awe and makes me appreciative of everything I have. Plus the sky could be a unique pattern you’ll never see again!
– Telling someone you appreciate them, you love them, or complimenting something you like about them (everyone feels good!)
– Writing. This could be anything! Just let your thoughts be settled and see what you feel like writing about. Your subconscious could be brimming with some great ideas that you’ve been too busy to notice or a solution to a problem you thought was so hard. You could come up with a poem, a letter to someone or just write about progress you’ve made, success, failures, feelings you don’t fully understand etc just letting it out feels great sometimes.
– Playing an instrument- you get a quick boost, relaxed feeling as you develop your skill and lose yourself in the music for a good couple of minutes
– Singing a positive, energizing song
– Yoga (goes with the stretching)
– Meditation
Amanda says
Oh and I couldn’t forget – reading a marcandangel blog of course!! 😉
Anon :) says
Calling a close friend and finishing some of my work did make me feel better! Thank you!
Lauran says
Great list!! These things might seem obvious, but part of the problem is when you’re feeling down, it’s so hard to think of these options.
My other go-to: my pets. Cuddling a dog always cheers me up – and in a pinch, the cat will do 🙂