I would have to say that I’m a generally happy and motivated person. But there are those days where I feel overwhelmed and a little down on myself. One of my long time clients Karen refers to this as “our pity party.”
Now there is nothing wrong with having a bad day and feeling, well let’s just say, not as happy. But too many times I see people are having WAY too many consistent days of unhappiness and lack motivation.
So I wanted to give you some things that you can start implementing in your life right away to change your mindset and become that happy person I know you really want to be. It’s time to get remotivated and be reborn again because life is too short to be feeling unhappy and unmotivated. Time to throw a wrench in the system, say f%$^ this and take action on these ideas I give you that are proven ways to becoming happier and motivated.
Let’s take into consideration all our senses. You have hearing, vision, taste and feel. Now, we are going to use all these senses when taking action on what will improve our mood and makes us happy.
1) Hearing
Remove yourself from negative people immediately! This may be someone very close to you or colleagues or a friend. These people are not living your life; YOU are living YOUR life. So in order to be happy and motivated, you need to start surrounding yourself around like people. I know this is hard, but it’s necessary. If you’re always busy hanging around positive people, then you have an excuse for not being around your miserable friend.
Buy and listen to audio books. This is by far one of the best things I have done for myself to enhance my mood and keep me focused. If you are like me, you spend a lot of time in the car driving. It’s a perfect time to listen and absorb some positive and educational shit. Forget buying a bunch of motivational books, because most likely you won’t find time to sit down and read it. So find some good audio books at Barnes N Noble that fit your needs whether its motivation, spiritual, organization or goal planning.
2) Vision
The problem with internet and TV is we are constantly bombarded with material that is depressing, not really true or brainwashed to buy a product that we probably don’t need. Now I know what you’re thinking and yes TV and internet is a major form of entertainment. That is fine. However, everything in moderation right? How much time is spent watching the depressing news or some talk show about couples cheating or a reality show that really is NOT reality.
You need to be conscious of all this and start to limit the amount of time spent watching this stuff. You don’t even know it, but it’s doing a number on your subconscious mind. Pick your top 3 or 4 shows for the week and find something more positive to do.
I can’t remember the last time I picked up the newspaper or watched the news. For that, I’m rarely depressed and guess what….I’m not really going to miss out on anything catastrophic.
3) Taste
Ok this is a tough one. Working with countless weight loss clients, I have come to discover what is called “comfort food”. When someone is feeling down, they will resort to gauging themselves with highly processed, high sugar and salted foods that taste oh so yummy.
The problem with this is it is the beginning of a vicious cycle. You see, when you say screw it and continue to eat foods that have no nutritional value, you are self sabotaging yourself and stripping your body of any mood enhancing nutrients. This will lead to no energy and even more long term misery.
The solution: Keep only natural “clean” food in your home. Eat most of your food with a fork or spoon and not your hands, unless of course it’s fruit. Supplement with recommended vitamins and nutrients to make up for the lack of nutrients in your diet. Because at the end of the day, that imbalance of nutrients is what cause your mood and body to not be firing on all cylinders.
4) Feel
Now this last one is a little tricky. Tricky because we can talk about physical feel but also emotional feel.
So as far as emotional feel goes, refer back to the hearing part with who you surround yourself with. Also your emotional feel can refer to your goals and career. The world and universe is always changing whether we like it or not.
If you are stuck in a rut, make a plan on what you can do to change things and move in a different direction. Playing the blame game is not going to align the universe for you. You must take action and follow your heart.
On the other hand if change has happened that is out of your control, then embrace this as another direction you should be moving in. The “security” we once knew is no more. Look at the big picture and keep everything in perspective. Our lives are more that just our jobs. Use and find tune your skills wisely and live your life. Don’t let someone else dictate it for you!
To complete this article of finding true happiness and elevating your mood, you must move into the physical feel of the body. Putting physical demands on the body has been proven through research to increase mood enhancing chemicals and hormones in the body. Just embarking in a rigorous workout no matter what fitness level you’re at will totally change your mindset for the day. For some of us this comes easy and may even become addicted to the euphoric feeling of those endorphins. Where others find this to be most challenging. That is why if you are one of the many to find this most challenging, reach out to me because I can help.
By Greg Crawford (Health and fitness pro)
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