5 QUICK AND EASY WAYS TO FEEL BETTER RIGHT NOW

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

I believe this timeless saying represents one of the fastest way to happiness. If done right, one could go from depressed to overflowing with love within minutes. Its sophistication lies in its simplicity. It is the opposite of complaining, and complaining with no attempt to find solutions, is self-destruction. As complaining creates a false victim mentality. For in reality only you can help yourself. Counting your blessings brings you immediately out of the pity party right back into the reality of a blessed life.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Stop what you’re doing.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Begin naming off, while picturing them in your head, one by one the things you are thankful for. (ex: bed, food, spouse, children, family, friends, car, pets, fav TV show…)
4. Keep going and going until you’re feeling better.

FIND SOLUTIONS

We usually feel bad about things that are just not working for us in life. This can be anything from money problems to broken relationships. No matter the problem, it has a solution. I promise. It’s called Cause and Effect. Every cause has an effect, and every effect has a cause. Your problems are the effects to the underlining reason, the cause. Discover the WHY, the reason, and therein lies the cause to the undesired effects.

Find the cause/reason of the undesired effect and you’ll quickly see the solutions. It goes like this, there’s only three steps.

1. Find the effect (not enough money)
2. Find the cause (don’t make enough money/spend too much money)
3. Change the cause (look for a better paying job/look for ways to cut spending)

P.S. In regards to regrets from the past… there are no solutions to these, as they cannot be undone or changed in any way. This is the harsh truth. There is only one thing you can do in these situations, and that is to ACCEPT it. For it is the only thing we can do now to ease that kind of pain. Accept it happened and is a part of you. Accept it happened the way it did and have honor in what you learned from it. These past regrets are often where wisdom comes from.

BREATHE

Your breath is always there for you. Breathing is a master tool, because if used right, it always works. Not to mention breathing is something that is always available to us in every waking moment. When one is anxious or afraid, the breath is fast. When one is calm and relaxed, the breath is slow. This is ancient knowledge, because when one understands this fast/slow thing, they obtain the power to use it properly and on demand.

When you find yourself anxious and breathing fast...

1. You must acknowledge and accept that you are currently breathing fast because you are anxious or afraid BECAUSE of your thoughts… not a real physical threat. Whew.
2. Focus intently on your breathing, watch, listen, and notice its speed.
3. Attempt to try to slow your breathing down using your stomach rather than your chest.

It’s not just the usual deep breaths as one would think, rather I highly recommend the 4,7,8 Technique to do this effectively. Let me explain... When you are anxious, your breathing is shallow, which means you’re not taking full IN breaths OR full OUT breaths. This results in a problem with carbon monoxide levels in the body which can cause panic attacks. The 4,7,8 Technique is designed to help you use your full lung capacity, which will fix that carbon monoxide problem. Which in turn causes an activation to the parasympathetic nervous system (Opposite of Fight or Flight) and this a very good thing!

4,7,8 Technique:

1. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right behind your front teeth.
2. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4.
3. Hold your breath for a count of 7.
4. Release your breath from your mouth with a whooshing sound for a count of 8.
5. Without a break, breathe in again for a count of 4, repeating the entire technique 3-4 times in a row, then resume normal breathing and activity.

If you use a second hand on a watch to count your breaths, the whole exercise will take just 57 seconds! But it doesn’t really matter if each count lasts an actual second; it only matters that you count evenly so the ratio of 4-7-8 is maintained. https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/4-7-8-breathing-stress-relief-techniques

LOOK FOR THE HORIZON

This quick trick is one of my personal favorites, as the expansive feeling I get from doing this is unlike any other. And it’s so simple! Whether you’re inside, in your car, or outside, all you have to do is look to the sky, notice nature, find the horizon.
I have found when I do this, I go from feeling small and insignificant to feeling capable and expansive within seconds. How? Why does this happen? I don’t know, I just know it works.

1. Find where the horizon meets the sky.
2. Notice where the trees meet the clouds.
3. Notice each cloud and its size and distance from you.
4. Keep looking along the horizon and to the sky until you begin to notice that same expansive feeling within you.
5. Embrace the feeling.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR

Self worth is one of the greatest of all happiness tools. This one is pretty self explanatory. Yet it’s not about just looking in the mirror; this is specifically about making eye contact with self. Prolonged eye contact is known to have its effects, we’ve all felt it. Prolonged eye contact with yourself produces the exact same feelings, yet it takes it up a notch. I know this may sound silly but I promise you it works wonderfully. You may notice its uncomfortable at first because of its level of intimacy. This is normal, simply push through that awkwardness to get through to that loving connection with self.

1. When alone, make eye contact with yourself in a mirror.
2. Keep the eye contact for at least 10 seconds.
3. Notice it is self love you are in need of.
4. Honor and respect the reflection looking back at you.
5. End with “I love you” (optional, but powerful).

After you feel comfortable with this technique I recommend you take it up a notch by adding “I love you” when making eye contact with yourself. Trust me, this is hard to do because most of us have severe low self worth and we literally find it hard to believe we can love ourselves. This resistance is completely normal yet is also a clear sign one needs to work on their relationship with self.

Thank you for reading and being open to the power of self-help. You are powerful beyond measure.