Today I am giving you four daily practices to add to your routine to boost your mood and feel happier. These four practices are:
- Morning meditation and prayer
- Say three loving things to yourself
- Give at least one person a genuine compliment
- List five things you are thankful for
Changing your mindset can be really challenging. But, truth be told, your state of mind is a choice. Hearing that can either tick you off or empower you and inspire hope. I know there was a time when hearing that definitely would have triggered me. I had gotten myself so wrapped up in focusing on what was going wrong or what was making me feel unhappy that it never occurred to me that I could simply choose happiness. When I started applying the practices I am going to walk you through today in my daily life, I was blown away at how it changed everything.
Like all of us, I’ve had my share of pain and heartache. We all have our different iterations of those. Everyone has their own little collection of things. It’s how we react to them, and more importantly whether we allow them to determine our outlook that can be the difference between unhappiness and happiness.
Sometimes looking back I can’t believe how long I allowed what happened to me and the related emotions of these to dictate my state of being. Then again, I didn’t know any different, and some of the things we experience aren’t easy to bounce back from. Some things can leave really deep wounds and when you’re in the midst of those feelings and situations you can’t feel anything else. But you also don’t want to stay there; you don’t want to carry that same story forward and make it be your truth or state of mind.
Some of the things I’ve struggled with all my life as a direct result of staying in a negative mindset and focusing on what was “bad” are: depression, anxiety, anger, apathy, and hopelessness. This can look like exhaustion, not feeling like doing anything, worrying, crying. It’s actually a lot of energy and it’s doing nothing but bringing you more of the same. I know this because I saw how this changed when I started doing these four practices daily.
- Morning meditation and prayer.
Now, as a Christian, for a long time for me, this meant adding more prayer throughout my day initially. Later I started adding Bible study time or going to prayer groups. These were all great, but what really had a meaningful impact in my life, was when I took some of that formality away and just focused on starting my day with God. So, what does that look like? It can be as little as 5 minutes a day or as much as 30 minutes a day. I started with 5 and now it’s usually more than 30 minutes.
Get up a little earlier than you usually would to make time for this. If that means just 5 minutes at first, then get up about 10 minutes earlier, get your coffee, water, whatever you do to get moving when you get out of bed, and find a quiet place you won’t be interrupted for 5 minutes. You can either sit in a chair with your feet on the ground or on the floor; but you want to be upright. Start by closing your eyes and just take a few deep breaths. Breathe in slowly, hold for a few seconds, breathe out slowly. I like to say the following next, but it’s up to you: Holy Spirit you are welcome here, let your presence fill the atmosphere. I’ll say that a few times until I can feel that presence around me. Then I give thanks to God for a new day and I ask Him to tell me what I can do to be of service to others and to make progress toward my goals. Then you just sit and breathe deeply and allow whatever comes to come. You can also change the prayer and just ask Him to allow you to feel His love or help you connect to Him.
As you do this more you might want to add a workbook or daily devotional to the mix. I love the workbooks and devotionals. It helps me improve my understanding of the Bible and I am always amazed by how God will confirm what I receive in meditation through His word or devotionals. Regardless how this daily practice evolves for you, it’s such a game changer to start your day this way. Do this for at least a month and you will soon find you don’t know how you went without it before. - Say loving things to yourself throughout the day. Aim for at least three. Whenever you are in front of the mirror, look at yourself and say three loving things to yourself. Another idea is quote promises from the Bible of God’s love for you to yourself if you struggle with saying loving things to yourself at first. For example, I am a child of the most high (Psalms 82:6); I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14).
When you catch yourself being self-critical. Stop. Flip whatever negative or critical thing you’re thinking about or saying to yourself and turn it into a loving statement toward yourself. If your daughter or BFF or sister was having a bad day or feeling down you wouldn’t sit there and put her down, right? No! You’d look for ways to make her feel better, to lift her up. Do the same thing for yourself. I cannot stress enough the importance of making a conscious effort and practice of speaking to yourself like you love yourself, even if you don’t necessarily believe it at the moment. With practice and time, you will and it will change everything. - Give at least one person a genuine compliment every day. Make a conscious effort to give at least one person a compliment or say something positive and uplifting to them or cheer them on about something they are doing. This does not include members of your immediate household. This is about pushing outside that. One of the best places to do this is social media. Tell someone they look beautiful. Cheer someone on about a recent accomplishment. Tell your coworker how great her outfit looks.
The more you do this the better you will feel. Part of that is because you have shifted your focus and you are now looking for the beauty, positivity, happiness, inspiration, etc. from others. You’re putting your focus on that and then letting them know you see it and giving them love with compliments. Again, you will receive more of this yourself the more you give it to yourself and to others. - Don’t go to bed without listing at least 5 things your grateful for. I don’t care how bad your day was and how much you feel like there aren’t 5 good things that day. I assure you there are more than that. This is even more important to do on those bad days. It puts things back into perspective. The more things you can list that you’re grateful for, the sooner you see that you have more to be thankful for than complain about. This includes things so many of us, myself included, often take for granted.
Did you sleep in a warm bed last night? Did you have food to eat today? Do you have running water? Are your children healthy? Can you move? Do you have a great friend you can confide in? Do you have a place to live? The list goes on and on. Nothing is too big or too small to be grateful for. Sometimes stuff I was complaining about at one point makes my list because of what it taught me, or what it set me free from, helped me grow. This is all about shifting your perspective and practicing a more positive outlook. As you practice this, challenge yourself to look for the silver lining in any given situation. There’s always something positive, even if it isn’t obvious at the outset.
Alright, friends those are the four daily practices you can add to your routine to start feeling happier. New habits take time to establish and change is challenging, so be kind and gracious with yourself. Just keep doing these 4 things consistently each day and will be amazed at how you will find yourself feeling happier.
I would love for you to give this a try and practice these each day. Share in the comments how you are going to add these to your day. If you found this helpful and want to continue the pursuit of faith, fitness, and joy with me, please like and subscribe. You can also follow Faith Fitness Joy on Facebook and Instagram or check out the Faith Fitness Joy podcast.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you in the comments or on the socials!