10 instant mood boosters!

Perhaps you’re living your best life somewhere on a beach with a glass of fresh pineapple juice in your hand and view of the ocean complete with a pod of jumping dolphins. If you are, I am so incredibly happy for you.

I, however, am not living my best life right now. In addition to having a busy couple of weeks, in which this extreme introvert got very little time to herself, this Maine weather has really got me down. The hope of Spring teased us then quickly retreated under a cover of gray clouds, near constant rain, and sub-50 degree temperatures.

Meanwhile in Maine…just kidding. There’s no more snow but you get the idea!

I thought the saying went “April showers bring May flowers.” Apparently, Mother Nature doesn’t know that little ditty or she just a has a real sick sense of humor. Either way, my lack of Vitamin-D infusing sunshine is taking its toll on me.

It’s really easy to get dragged down by our circumstances. It’s even easier to remain in that low-energy, low-vibing state. It’s Newton’s First Law of Motion - an object in motion stays in motion until acted upon by an external force. Once you are set in motion on a path of doom and gloom, you’re pretty likely to stay on that path until acted upon by an external force.

So, you should probably have a contingency plan, don’t you think?

This is not a case of “there are no wrong answers.” There is one answer and the answer is, unequivocally, resoundingly YES. What are the tricks you should have up your sleeve to jolt you off the path of watching Steel Magnolias and eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s every night?

Just like we need a self-care plan of action (link). Just like we need a spiritual homework routine (link). We need to know exactly what helps us get out of a foul mood. And we need to know before we are in said foul mood because in that state, our inner early 2000’s emo kid will kick and scream and tell us that there is nothing in this world to lift us out of this funk so just leave me alone already and turn The Used back on. You can still listen to The Used but you don’t have to be in a funk.

You can’t control the external things that act upon you but you can control how you react to them.

I challenge you to write out a list of 10 things that are guaranteed to put you in a better mood. And then when you feel yourself falling down the rabbit hole of self-pity and despair, you can turn to this list and FORCE (there’s that word again) yourself to do at least one.

Here are my Top 10 Instant Mood Boosters (in no particular order)

Call my mom - she is the Lorelai to my Rory. Whatever it is, she’ll know how to fix it.
Look up pictures of dogs on Instagram. Are you a #dogstalker?
Bake something. Baking, unlike cooking, requires precise measurements and your complete and undivided attention to the recipe at hand. The harder the recipe, the better. No time to ruminate on the thing that’s bothering you. You’re counting how many times you folded those egg whites in your batter! Plus you get a snack at the end!
Watch a funny movie or TV show. Something you know you can’t help but laugh at.
Facetime with my nieces who have no interest in Facetiming me but will spend 5 minutes asking me to put my dog on camera. I’m second place to the four-legged alien but I totally get it.
Solo Taylor Swift Dance Party. She really gets my dark and twisty soul.
Spin class. My instructors always know how to hit me in the feels. Sometimes, I need a good cry while pedaling as fast as I can in a room full of strangers. Luckily it’s dark and loud so no one can tell I’m sobbing.
Inversions. I’m no great yogi and I certainly can’t do an unassisted handstand but there are many yoga inversions that don’t require your feet to leave the ground. I’m a big fan of dolphin pose to instantly calm me.
Get all dolled up for no other reason than getting dolled up. Take your time. Enjoy the process.
Take a shower. Sometimes you have physically strip down and get clean to wash away the negativity. Imagine the water carrying all the bad juju down the drain. Step out of the shower renewed.

What are your mood boosters? Tell me all about them in the comments below!