* Happy Monday! I have a couple more brilliant guest posts for you – this one is from my friend Marthe, the beauty behind The Freedom Experiment.
I woke up to the sound of rain pouring down. Instantly, I felt my heart sink.
Oh, how I long for a sunny day where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.
(I borrowed that line from Kurt Vonnegut. Thanks, Kurt!)
Funny, isn’t it, how much is determined by the way we feel when we wake up in the morning. I swear, I’ve got the power to know the outcome of any day, based on how my body feels in the first few seconds after I open my eyes.
Or so I’d like to think.
But I know that my mood in the morning isn’t everything.
I have the power to transform how I feel, to change how I think and to take action to make a better day. And I have learned that almost any day can be made better with a few smart tricks.
And that not even a rainy day can take my joy away. It’s all about creating room for magic moments.
Here are my top 10 tips to have a better day…
1 // Light candles. Candles are great for giving you that feeling of relaxation. The way candles light up my home makes it all so much more romantic and lovely. I try to light candles whenever I’m home, and I have a ritual of lighting a candle with my breakfast. It just makes me happy!
2 // Listen to inspiring music. Any day can be transformed with some happy music. I often feel tempted to put on music that will match my mood, but I think we all can agree that sad music doesn’t really help me do anything but wallow in my own sadness. Instead, try putting on some upbeat and catchy music with positive lyrics. I made a playlist for you here.
3 // Snuggle up. This might be hard to pull off in your office, but if you’re lucky to work at home, I think a blanket is essential to be comfortable and hence feel good! I have to feel warm when I work, unless I’ll just pay attention to the fact that I’m cold. Also, knowing that you have a soft blanket to come home to can make that rainy, moody day a little less heavy on your shoulders.
4 // Take pretty notes. Sometimes, it’s hard to work when you are feeling bad. That’s why I recommend keeping a lovely notebook close to you at all times. Write down your ideas, your plans and your thoughts to safeguard them. To make it nice and pretty, try using colors, hearts and drawings. Or what about making it a visual notebook of your thoughts through the day?
5 // Take a long lunch break. Do something motivating and interesting to help you focus on something else. I prefer eating something healthy and good, and then go for a browse in a bookstore nearby and look at the personal development section… Other lovely things to do to lift your mood can be going for a short walk, calling a friend or reading an inspiring magazine.
6 // Drink something hot. You might like coffee or tea, warm chocolate or something else entirely. Why drink heaps of bad coffee or cheap tea? It adds nothing to your day! Instead, make sure you are using top ingredients, recipes and providers. Being able to really enjoy what you drink will increase your feeling of wellness and loveliness! I’m a tea person and right now I am in love with lavender and chamomile.
7 // Exercise. There’s a reason why this is always included in lists like these. It works! Getting your pulse up and moving your body releases endorphins that will lift your mood. However, you don’t have to sweat at the gym to take advantage of this. A yoga session, a brisk walk or a swim in your local pool can be just as nice and effective.
8 // Use colours. I love surrounding myself with colour, and this is particularly important when I’m feeling low. There are so many fun ways of doing this: coloured paper, pens, pictures or clothes! Use your favorite colour while writing notes, hang up a few photographs (personal or artistic) that you see every time you lift your head, or wear your favorite color nail polish (effectively brightens your day if you’re spending the day writing on a computer!).
9 // Be positive. Having a positive attitude really helps, even though you might not feel it. Fake it ’til you make it is not just a saying, this too is an effective way of changing your present reality. Studies show that people who force themselves to smile will actually feel more happy! Even though you may not feel like doing anything, just pretending to love what you do can make your day better. Just tell yourself to pretend like you find a task interesting or exciting for five minutes, and those five may turn into ten. You may even finish your task before you realize it! Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all? Anything to brighten your day!
10 // Look forward. Tomorrow is another day. What can you do today to make tomorrow even more amazing than today?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What do you do to brighten your day?
Marthe Hagen is a life coach and motivational writer. Having trained with Martha Beck, Marthe works with powerful tools to transform and release emotional and mental blockages. Specialising in making dreams come true by healing our past and thinking differently, Marthe can help you change your life to make it align with your dreams and hopes for the future. Passionate about freedom – emotional, mental and physical – she writes at The Freedom Experiment, a blog that has more than 140,000 monthly readers. She is the author of Feeling Good when Life is Hard – an e-book about about embracing life and feeling happy when you are going through a time of great challenge. Marthe is a true believer in ‘Everything is possible’.
This is a wonderful post! Although today is a bright and sunny day, it’s summer here in Canada, I felt blocked and overwhelmed. When I read this post, I snuggled up to my man for a few minutes and my mood instantly improved. Ideas flowed and the words came. Wonderful!
Love this post!! I love these ideas :)
Great post! I really needed to read that today. It is cold and rainy and the kids and I stuck in the house all day. Definitely time for hot chocolate and snuggling up on the couch in front of a movie.
Rach, how is it that you’ve rounded up all my favourite people in the one place?!
I also love the ritual of lighting candles – and sometimes on a weekday before work I will stay in bed a little longer, just sitting with a cup of earl grey tea. A little pause like that can often make all the difference.
Thank you so much for having me, Rachel!
And thank you to Natalia, Kate, Susan and Sophie! :)
These are lovely ideas for turning a bad day right on its head. I like the idea of lighting candles- it really sets the scene for some relaxation and reflection time with yourself.
I hope you and everyone reading is having a wonderful day with these tips!
Drink something hot is a great one! I also like to look at the sky…or some outside view when i can’t see any built environment in my sight lines.
all the time i used to read smaller articles which as
well clear their motive, and that is also happening with this paragraph which I am reading at this place.