What gives you joy? How do you take your attention away from feeling unhappy?

What do you enjoy doing? Which activities give you a rush, or maybe even just get you to smile inside? When you have an urgent need to get out of a bad mood, how do you stop your self sabotage? Anything which works to got you out of a bad mood can be used to lighten your mood, it could even change your life .

Unless you know how to generate feelings of appreciation then you're likely to remain in a bad mood. Bad moods know nothing of joy. Appreciation is the secret of success, it can move you from a foul mood towards peace, love, calm and joy.

Strategies for a Good Mood
There are many, many ways. You can find joy in any activity. If you can do it joyfully, then it can make you happy. What do you do when you are living life to the fullest? What's your secret of success to having fun, sharing love, spreading joy?

Making love. Good conversation. Smelling a flower. Meditation. Prayer. Creating/ playing music. Admiring a beautiful man/woman. A good book. Baking a cake. Enjoying craft-work. A good work-out. A long hike. Fixing the gate. Delicious red wine. Kissing a baby. A great movie. Drawing a picture.

Appreciating someone, anyone, anything can make you happy. Even just appreciating a flower. Yet the secret of success is to do it properly, from within. So how do you do this properly? By generating the feeling of appreciation. Without the feeling, it's just pretence. You may need to start out by pretending, but you need to genuinely appreciate whatever you're putting your attention on.

Unless you generate the feeling of appreciation then you'll remain in a bad mood. A bad mood knows nothing of joy. Appreciation will change your life from your bad mood and towards peace, love, calm and joy.

Strategies that Work for Me
What works for me is doing something - anything - that makes me happy. Personally, I enjoy music, so one way of stopping my self sabotage is to sing a song that moves me. Read or recite something inspirational, or even just admire nature's beauty.

Music. Classical music can inspire me. Haydn's cello works played by Jacqueline du Pre, or the Trout Quintet by Schubert, for example, are works which just speak to my spirit.

Singing. I used to sing in a classical music choir. Even if I don't feel like singing initially, by the end of the song I always feel a bit better. And you can always sing it again! This is a simple strategy which only takes a couple of minutes and requires nothing but a reasonable memory.

Poetry. Shakespeare's immortal words from sonnet #29 really capture the mood. It offers remarkable beauty and solace while explaining how to improve your state. I know it by heart. Google it, you'll be glad you did...

Modern Poetry. The five chapters of my life - Autobiography in Five Short Chapters - by Portia Nelson is absolutely brilliant. This short uplifting poem is actually the subject of the "Portia Nelson series" of articles.

Other works I find remarkably inspirational are Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann. and Courage, I do not choose to be a common man, by that wonderfully prolific author A. N. Onymous.

Exercise. Even if I don't feel like working out, I feel a lot better when it's over. The hot shower after a good workout is often the best part.

Meeting a friend. I enjoy talking with friends, expressing myself, as you may have noticed!

Helping somebody. Getting my mind off myself and onto someone else can be absolutely rewarding.

The next article examines two unappreciated yet effective strategies to get you out of a bad mood.

© Copyright worldwide Cris Baker, www.LifeStrategies.net All rights reserved. Republishing welcomed under Creative Commons noncommercial no derivatives license preserving all links intact, so please +1 and share this widely!

Food for Thought

"When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate."

- William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest English language writer and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Sonnet #29, first quatrain.

Author's Bio: 

Cris Baker has much practice in overcoming adversity, he's been screwing things up for years! Why suffer the consequences of your own mistakes? Now you can benefit from real knowledge, crucial know-how gained from his vast experience with extensive pain and suffering!

You'll find enormous joy in overcoming your self sabotage; check out the secrets of success at Life Strategies, learn to release a bad mood and discover how to change your life!