How To Be Happy When You're Not

Are you happy today? If you’re reading this, the answer is probably not so much.
 
What if you had a list of things to do that could instantly help you to feel good, regardless of where you were or what you were up to, would you use it?

Here is my Bag of Tricks

Pin this to your desk top, your home office or keep in your journal beside your bed for easy access.

Go out into the sun
Take 5 minutes and walk. Breathe. Fresh air, sun and exercise have an incredible effect on our mental state. The sun light triggers the brain to release the hormone serotonin which boosts mood and focus.
 
Eat yellow or orange fruits or veggies
Homegrown or organic produce –the real stuff, has all kinds of ingredients that can help protect the body from oxidative stress and so on.
The colors yellow and orange are especially awesome because they relate to the solar plexus and sacral chakras which relate to emotional stability and our ability to digest our life. The energy of these chakras allows you to meet challenges and move forward in your life.
Eating these colours together is extra powerful.
 
Meditate even if time is an obstacle
Meditation is a way to turn off the mind for a moment. When we have trouble with our laptop or phone, the first question we are asked is always “have you rebooted it?” A reboot can do amazing things. And it’s surprisingly simple and can be done in just a few minutes. Literally.
For those of you who can’t find time in your day, let me suggest your personal office, aka the bathroom! You can plug in to a trusted source and be completely guided and all you have to do is listen, or do it yourself. Easy. Either way your ‘throne’ experience will be enhanced!
Here’s a link to a short trusted clip you can take with you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HfvPEVrmp5w
 
Recall why you are grateful
Even though it may be tough to see at times, any of us reading this blog likely have MUCH to be grateful for. Thinking of those things that are in our life, that enhance our life, really does help us feel good about ourselves and how lucky we are to be who we are.
When we are grateful we are in line with the universe. If we want to create our lives by design, we begin by being grateful for what it is we would like to have as if we already have it. To this the universe responds.
The best way to do this is to write them down. It keeps you on track and you can reread them and feel good all over again. ie. I am so grateful for the man in my life, he looks after me, is a great communicator and always wants to pay for dinner.
This is truly one of my favorite ways of feeling good.
 
Listen to something funny
Keep those old Adam Sandler CDs in your car in case they can come in handy or YouTube some funny cat videos, or whatever makes you laugh.
A good laugh truly is good medicine. How can you be angry or mad once you’ve had a good belly laugh? A good belly laugh looks like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RP4abiHdQpc
 
Eat or drink some greens
This is for the angry in your day. Red is associated with anger, and liver is the seat of anger in the body. Greens provide many compounds that support the liver.
Green is known to cancel out the color red, and so it is used in makeup etc. So as a food, green will aid to cool down or cancel out red.
Green is also the color of the heart chakra which is associated with joy.
 
Rub your hand through your hair
Like you would pet a dog or a cat, start from your forehead and firmly pet yourself toward the back of your head. This brings energy to the governor vessel meridian which is responsible for governing the qi or energy of all the yang meridians in the body and is closely tied to the brain. This helps to release emotion.
 
Eat chocolate
Beautiful dark chocolate stimulates the brain to release endorphins, hormones that produce the feeling of pleasure and wellbeing.
 
Tap
Learn to tap. Otherwise known as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). It stimulates the body’s meridians and energy flow. It takes just a few seconds and it is very effective!
Here is an easy instructional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pAclBdj20ZU
 
It is always good to feel emotions you are having. Feel them, hear them and then once it is time, move on. Being stuck in an emotional pattern isn’t fun or good for the body.
These are tips that can help you move through those moments, the little things in life that would be better if you weren’t upset. Enjoy this day!
 
References
Lambert, G. W., & Reid, C., Kaye, D. M. Jennings, G. L., & Esler, M. D. (December 2002). Effect of sunlight and season on serotonin turnover in the brain. The Lancet, 360(9348), 1840-1842.
Deepak Chopra balancing chakra meditation
The Eight Extra Meridians. Taken from: http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/treatment/acupuncture_extra.html
The Tapping Solution. Taken from: http://www.thetappingsolution.com/#how-to-do-eft-tapping

© Yurok Aleksandrovich | Dreamstime Stock Photos