Some things which happen in our life tend to affect our happiness. And yeah, they are out of our control, unfortunately. But there is always something that we can do about a situation. We can’t refrain ourselves from being affected by the things that are happening around us, but we can definitely hold ourselves back from paying unnecessary attention to them. Lost your job? Or got dumped by your boyfriend? Not having friends?
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Remember, no one holds the responsibility for your happiness, but you. The only person who can bring the smile back on your face is the one whom you can see in your mirror. So get back to your job. Isn’t keeping yourself happy your job? If not yours, whose it is then? If yours, then what are you doing to keep yourself happy?
Here is a complete guide to lift your mood in just 5 minutes, which will help you do your ‘job’ that is, to bring that beautiful smile back on your face.
1. Be grateful for the things you have
When you’re feeling blue, nothing seems to be good. It seems impossible to feel grateful for the things you already have. But recalling the good things you have, will give you a positive perspective towards life. I clearly remember one of my friends who, after losing her job casually said to me, “I have my family, hale and hearty. Nothing wrong can happen to me.” This might sound like a clichéd piece of advice, but feeling ‘grateful’ actually helps.
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2. Love your body
Have you gained extra pounds while sitting and lamenting about your life, lately? Piling on cupcakes while watching gloomy Netflix? There can’t be a better therapy for you, than paying some extra attention to your body. Your body is the permanent abode to your soul, make sure to keep your soul in a good one. Hit the gym. If not the gym, just step out in the sun and sweat all your negativities out!
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3. Indulge yourself in some fun
What’s the point of brooding about your life all the time? Can we laugh over and over again on the same joke? NO, isn’t it? Then why sobbing over the same thing repeatedly. For the moment, distract yourself from the stress and refill your energy. Watch a movie or two, have an hour of jumping session on the trampoline (I’m serious!) or enjoy your favorite cup of beverage. A little bit of distraction will bring you out even more fearless to deal with the situation. But be careful, don’t get yourself into something that will make you feel worse than before!
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4. Take the plunge.
If you’re sad about anything, get up and do something about it. You’re not a tree! You can move out of a situation which sucks the happiness out of you, isn’t it? If you felt bad about something your friend just said, just speak it up. Confront her for the same and ease off a bit. If this doesn’t work, just ignore the things that are making you feel bad. Evaluate your problem and the solution will come up itself.
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5. Try to find the good in everything.
Rethink about the situation you’re in and try to figure it out, why it holds so much importance in your life. The possibilities are always there is some hidden ‘good’ in all the unpleasant things revolving around you. Losing a job might open up the gates for a better one. Moving out of the city might land you up in the city you always wanted to live in. Got dumped by your boyfriend/girlfriend or recently got divorced? Who knows that you might end up having a dream date with the man you always fantasized about!
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6. Create something better.
Legend says, if one gate in your life is shut down on you, the other one is always open to welcome you. But what I believe is, if one gate is shut down, work out the lock on the other. If one thing hasn’t got well in your life, work on other things to make them better. It’s more like a balancing act. If one bad thing happens, make the other good things happen! If you have just got dumped by your boyfriend/girlfriend, why not spend time with your bestie, developing a better relationship with him/her. Lost a job? Why not utilize the time to clean up your closet or learn new recipes!
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7. Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.
There are times when we want our friends and family to be supportive towards us. The best way to earn their support is to render them your own. If you want your friend to help you move out of your hard times, then help her with the same. If you can’t figure out the way you can help your friend, just do something generous to a completely random person. For example, commit to donate a portion of your savings to a homeless person. I’m not saying that he might help you with the same. Definitely, he won’t be able to even if he’s willing to! But the contentment you’ll feel after this little act of kindness will give you more than material wealth can ever define.
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8. Stay offline for a while
When did likes become of so much importance to analyze your worth? Likes on social media are mere numbers! Even a study makes it clear that 82% of youngsters who used Facebook for a period of two weeks consistently, the levels of their satisfaction with their life declined dramatically. Social media platforms have created an illusion of what life really is. Your friend is not as happy as she pretends to be on her Instagram page. Talking to your people face to face is much better than interacting on social networking website. So, go OFFLINE for a while!
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9. Pay attention to people, not things
While you’re grieving over not having ‘that luxurious house or a car’, there are homeless people who are just contented to have their loved ones by their side. Sometimes the best things in life aren’t ‘things’. Look around yourself, you have a wonderful family and loving friends. Why pay attention to things you don’t have currently? Try something new, pay attention to people you have and the love you have bestowed upon.
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10. Get some fresh air
Time spent outside the confinement of the four walls of your house often results in improved mood. Science suggests that this mood change often occurs due to absorption of vitamin D from direct sunlight. While I think that we go through the mood boost when we step outside is due to the fact that when we are exposed to the outer world, we can observe more and more people. People who are happier in less than what we have and also the people who are sad, even when they have everything we’ve always desired of. In this world so big, our problems suddenly grow smaller.
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11. Think positive
How aptly said, ‘Fake it, till you make it’. Think happy and you’ll be happy. However, this advice seems to be very hackneyed to most of us. But it actually works! Listen to happy music, talk to happy people and pretend to be happy. Like, ‘Oh, I’m so happy because my friend loves me so much’. Pretend, until and unless your state of mind gets used to the assumption and starts living it off as it is real. Turn this illusion into reality.
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12. Play Cupid
Keep your mind off the things that are making you sad. Instead, engage yourself in other things that will keep you off from thinking about negativities. You think two of your friends really get well together? Then why not play the cupid for them. Work things out for them, plan and organize a romantic date for them. The happiness which will linger all over their face will ultimately tease a smile on your face.
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13. Get good sleep.
The American Psychological Association has stated that most of the people go through the downheartedness due to lack of adequate sleep. People have accumulated so much of sleep debt within them that involuntarily subjects themselves to mood swings and baseless blues. Being happy and a good night’s sleep is a two-way process. One often leads to the other. Good night’s sleep means happiness and happiness lull you to a sound sleep. Get one extra hour sleep or go for some afternoon catnaps to ease off your mood swings. You’ll definitely feel better and radiant after waking up.
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14. Do some anonymous charity.
We’ve always received one thing or the other from the society. No matter how hard you try to defy this fact. The world has given us too much that we forget to acknowledge how blessed we are. Making an anonymous contribution to a cause strengthens your social connection, even when the person benefitted doesn’t even know your name. Some studies suggest that the donor feels happier than the one who’s receiving. Volunteering has always been a sure shot method to attain self-satisfaction and to decrease levels of depression.
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15. Keep the fast food off your plate
Staying healthy is another way of saying “I Love You” to self. Science has also linked the consumption of fast food to the inability to enjoy delightful moments. Chomping on too much of fast food also builds up toxins in your body which upset your digestion. These toxins usually vent out in the form of irritability and grumpiness. Keeping yourself hale and hearty is the prerequisite to happiness. After all, happiness begins with YOU!
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16. Sing to yourself
I’m not unaware of the fact that how horrible our voice sounds in the audios. But who cares? Just sing for yourself. For a while, forget the world and imagine yourself no less than Rihanna. Sing some of your favorite tunes to yourself. Sing yourself to sleep. While you’re singing, you’ll attend to nothing apart from the lyrics and the sound of your own voice. It’s the best kind of meditation. Effortless, as it seems!
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17. Write everything down
Make it a habit of writing, at least, three positive things in your life. Writing down positive stuff will help you become more positive and grateful in your life. Maintain a journal, and jot down your whole life in it. It’s even better to write your blessings and happy moments on a flag and put them in a place where you can see them all the time. Having the good memories always staring into your face, will instill positivity every time you’ll look at them.
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18. Leave an unsigned note for someone
Your day going ‘blah’? How about making someone else’s day? Remember that colleague who never gets complimented by people just because she wears braces. How about making an anonymous note to her saying, “you look like an angel when you smile”. It won’t hurt you or bring down your self-esteem. It will just make her day! Who knows that someone else might end up making your day this way!
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19. Learn new skills
Instead of wasting time on checking someone’s timeline on Facebook and wondering how happy Mr. Someone is in his life, use your internet connection for serving better purposes. Search for things in the field of your interest. How about learning to play guitar through online guitar lessons on YouTube? It won’t cost you anything, but will definitely give you the feeling of accomplishment and self-satisfaction. The guitar is just an example. You can pursue just anything which catches your interest.
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20. Listen to someone
Seek out the company of your that ‘one’ friend who has aced the art of advising the best thing to everyone. If not friend you can seek the help of your elder or just a random person will also do the thing. Just listen to them. Get into a meaningful conversation with someone you just stumbled upon in a café. Discuss Life Goals, relationships, happiness and of course, listen to what their idea of happiness is. Sincere conversations have proven to improve your sense of happiness.
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21. Pay attention to your posture
This tip will seem to be very trivial and unworthy to give it a go-through. But the main purpose of the write up is to focus your attention to what is good and what can be made better by you. Learn to invest your time in things that can be worked upon and bettered. Straighten up and walk down the alley like a boss, do this for a couple of days and you will definitely feel the confidence boost in yourself. This trick will do wonders for you and you won’t be looking for reasons why you should be paying more attention to your posture.
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22. Be happy in your own skin
With so much of body shaming going around all over social media, it is common to feel unsatisfied with yourselves. You spend too much time in front of the mirror scrutinizing yourself and looking for your flaws which ‘supposedly’ makes you unqualified to be called as ‘beautiful’ But when you’ll learn the fact that beauty is not a ‘bodily condition’, rather it is a ‘state of mind’, you’ll realize that your looks are not your problem, they never were. The problem is your perception about yourself! Being happy and comfortable in your own skin can make you even more ‘beautiful’ than you were before. And, don’t forget to wear that charming smile!
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23. Go for the power color
Indulge in some partiality with your favorite color. Change your bedsheet to your favorite color. Don’t have any? What’s more refreshing than looking for your favorite colored goodies in the supermarket? Change your coffee mug with your favorite colored one. Already have the one? Go for some style change. A change is always good, and when it turns into your favorite color, it gets better!
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24. How about some cuteness overloaded?
While surfing the internet, stay away from those images and posts which impart negativity and pessimism. Shut down the pages filled with negative images and turn to something cuter. Google images of pooches and kittens that are flushed with cuteness and positivity. Or just visit the Cute Emergency Feed (https://twitter.com/cuteemergency), on twitter. The contents in the feed guarantee to rescue you from a bad as quickly as you have a glimpse of it.
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25. Let it go
However, keeping it in the last, But this is the most important and difficult-to-achieve formula to happiness. If a person has learned to let go of things that makes him sad, he can never be subjected to what we call ‘sadness’. Though it seems difficult, or very difficult indeed, it’s worth a try. It might work wonders for you.
