Sunday, March 8, 2009

10 Ways to Rediscover the Bright Side of Life

In the midst of all the doom and gloom being broadcast 24/7 from every corner of the world, I decided it was time to be proactive and crank up the happiness meter. Here are a few tips for keeping you out of the Dismal Dungeon of Dark Thoughts:

1. If you lost your job, take this opportunity to exercise more. Preferably outdoors, where you get free doses of vitamin D for your efforts. Stay away from the woe-is-me pint of Ben and Jerry's every night. Come up with a job-search routine and stick to it. It's also a good opportunity to think about working in new sectors. What skills do you have that could be useful in other industries?

2. Stay away from financial news if you can help it. Instead, read books, spend time with friends and family, listen to music and cook healthy meals.

3. Rent a funny movie and invite friends over to watch it.

4. Focus your energy on helping others - volunteer at a local food bank or other community organization.

5. At the end of the day, write down one good thing that happened during your day.

6. Try to get at least seven hours of sleep every night.

7. Play relaxing music during the day. I recommend Mario Olivares, Ziggy Marley, Michael Gulezian, and Andreas Vollenweider.

8. Chew on life's big questions at Soul Pancake.

9. Make a list of ten things that you're thankful for. Keep that list on your refrigerator.

10. Start your own blog!

What do you do to keep your spirits up? Share it with us!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Yay! I love this. Staying away from the news has been ESPECIALLY helpful.

Lorie said...

What a great list! I find reading about other peoples experiences (usually on blogs) helps uplift me and make me feel grateful for all that I do have!!

Andrea said...

These are awesome tips that we should all follow everyday! I go for the 7 hours of sleep everyday!

Miranda said...
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