It is so easy to get negative, isn’t it? Recently, while walking out of the office with a friend, he innocently asked how things were going. Random things tumbled out of my mouth before I caught myself to admit that there wasn’t anything wrong at all….just self-induced tension about a variety of things. Life can be like that.
Finding it hard to stay positive as things around the country continue to be challenging? Here are some ideas:
- Use inspirational quotes—in both of my offices (home and College) and in my truck, I have several quotes, mostly from the Bible, that I use to remind me. Make sure you change them out every so often; otherwise, they start to blend into the background and you no longer see them.
- Breathe–stop everything you are doing, and certainly stop talking, and take 4 or 5 deep breaths. Studies have shown that doing so can be like hitting the reset button for your electronic devices.
- Do some physical exercise—working out in general helps the body and the mind, but during the day you can help yourself by just doing something physical. You could take a quick walk around the office; if you are in an office building, just make yourself walk downstairs (no elevator) to use the bathroom. If you don’t have time to go for a walk, just stand up for the next 15-30 minutes. You can keep working, reading reports, even using the computer (trust me, it’s awkward but can be done).
- Get outside—this obviously connects to the above, but even if it’s just on your lunch break and you don’t plan on doing anything physical, get outside. Breathing the fresh air—and yes, city air is “fresh air” compared to being inside—and getting some sunshine will change your mood.
- Connect with a friend—probably goes without saying that this friend needs to be a positive person. 🙂 By all means don’t connect with someone who is negative, certainly not when you are fighting your own mood.
So, today I did these….especially the last one. I went for a walk, outside, with my friend. His laughter and positive mood brought my thoughts up. It was a good day.