The world can be a gloomy place at times. Dark nights, cold days, depressing news, less than perfect relationships. There are times when it all seems to be conspiring against us. But you can be happy if you want to! Check out these easy to implement ideas the next time you're feeling a bit sad.
Force yourself to smile
Corny? Yes, of course it is.
But it works. It's difficult if not impossible to feel completely sad if you're smiling.
If you can't find it in you to smile genuinely, force a cheesy grin instead. It's not quite as good but it will change your outlook slightly, which could be all that's needed to tip the balance away from feeling so sad.
Look up
There's a reason all those fast food restaurants have their menus above head height. Sure, one of the reasons is that they're easier to read even if you're standing behind a giant. But the main reason is that you can't be unhappy and moping if your head is looking upwards.
It just doesn't happen.
Try it. Turn your head upwards and then do your best to mope around and be sad.
The two just don't mix.
So force your head to look upwards the next time you're feeling low.
Indulge in a guilty pleasure
I'm not going to judge you on this one, honest!
It could be a re-run of one of your favorite shows. It could be a family sized tub of ice cream or a bar of chocolate.
It doesn't really matter what the guilty "it" is. You'll be concentrating on being deliberately naughty (without causing any harm to anyone of course) and that will bring out the child in you which will help turn your mood around.
Phone a friend
So long as you're not making a habit of it, most friends will react to help you if you call them up to ask them to help you out of feeling sad. They might agree to meet up for a coffee (often a change of scenery will help nudge your mood to something better) or even a good old fashioned sob for a few minutes.
You'll probably know which friend to call and how well they'll react.
If you're really desperate, there are services like the Samaritans but let's do our best to stop you getting anywhere near being that unhappy.
Wear something outrageous
Like all those green top hats on St Patricks Day. Anything out of the ordinary.
Then go out wearing whatever it is that you've chosen.
Instead of feeling self conscious, watch other people's reactions. Having spent a day at a theme park with two teenagers, each of whom was carrying a 4 foot tall teddy bear on their shoulders for the whole day, I can tell you that the looks on other people's faces are priceless.
You don't need to go to that extreme but you can certainly make a small but noticeable difference in both yours and other people's moods if you do something crazy like this.
