So, the day has been horrible. You slept through your alarm making you late for an appointment, your kids forgot their lunches, you received bad news, or someone was rude to you at the market. No matter what the circumstance, you are now in a bad mood. You are desperately trying to release the negative energy, but you continue to go down the rat hole. How can you get from here negative energy/bad mood to there positive energy/good mood? There are many tactics that can be used to lift your spirits but with all of them there is an expectation that you will go directly from bad to good or negative to positive in one fell swoop. Generally, that is not how it happens and until you realize that, you just like I did, can become very frustrated trying to get there.
Here is a short list of ways that can help lift your mood:
· Take a walk or change your scenery
· Watch baby animal videos
· Literally smell the roses or a favorite scent
· Meditate
· Exercise or yoga
· Smile
· Read or watch something that makes you laugh
· Give or receive a hug
· Spend time with your pet
· Enjoy the sun
Boosting your mood is important but it may only be temporary. The brain has a funny way of storing the negative emotion and letting it resurface when you least expect it. I have learned that energetically, you can’t get from here to there directly. To truly move to a positive state of mind, it takes steps with the turning point being peace. Going through these steps will improve the chance of you truly becoming positive and being able to leave those negative feelings behind. I would like to stress, just because there are only three steps does not mean that they are simple. I know this firsthand. Allowing yourself to feel and release can be a challenge but one that is worth taking.
Step 1: Allow yourself to feel or sit in the negative space. Do not judge yourself, just let the negativity wash over you. Realize that the event that put you into this state has already passed, so there is no need to dwell on it.
Step 2: Release the negative energy by taking a deep inhale through your nose and then exhaling the negativity out through your mouth or verbally state that you are releasing the negative energy into the Universe.
Step 3: Fill the space that once held the negative energy with peace. Visualize peace coming into your body with each inhale and the negativity leaving with each exhale or verbally state that I replace the negative energy with peaceful energy. When you reach peace, you are neither negative nor positive, you are being. You find yourself in the present moment not worried or bothered by what has happened or what may happen.
Transitioning from peaceful to a positive state is a much easier shift than from negative directly to positive. Using the above list of ways to improve your mood will move you in the direction of being more and more positive, until you reach the level of positivity you desire.