- Listen your favourite song
- Listen positive classical music like Strauss’ Blue Danube or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
- Listen to the sounds of nature, music for meditation or birds singing (bonus points if you listen to real birds by going outside)
- Drink water – you may feel bad because you are dehydrated and water brings more energy
- Drink something that you enjoy and that will instantly boost your mood
- Smell your favourite perfume, a beautiful scented candle or an essential oil
- Taste chocolate – a chocolate with 75% or more cocoa is also good for your brain and teeth
- Eat peanuts, almonds or other nuts to improve concentration
- Eat salads or fruits
- Stretch, rise your arms up or jump
- Smile
- Massage your ears
- Wash behind ears and neck with cold water for instant wake up
- Look at a picture where you are captured happy or smiling (or both!)
- Look at the picture of your pet or cute animals
- Look at the picture of your family/friends/loved one
- Look at pictures of places you want to see (hello Instagram!)
- Write 10 things you are grateful for
- Write a plan of fun things you will do this month
- Write a letter to a person that annoys you and let it go
- Read jokes or browse funny pictures
- Write a list of things you have to do or “leftovers” – that dental appointment you need to schedule, the light bulb you need to replace, a friend you need to write to (or see), a book you want to read, etc. – and place the list on your fridge or other place that you can see. Whenever you have time, go back to your list and do things and then cross them out. That will feel good and help you have a sense of control.
- Write a message to a friend or a family member
- Take a picture of something interesting, beautiful or funny that you see
- Update your calendar with the dates you are looking forward to like your birthday, vacation, new movie that is coming out or other things that you are looking forward to
- Update your desktop wallpaper, your phone wallpaper and other wallpapers to something fresh and cheerful
- Pay a compliment to someone (bonus points if it is someone you don’t know, like a girl with pretty earrings that sells coffee)
- Clean up your desk or your dining table or another place that attracts a lot of things (for example, I have a place in my hall where we always drop mail, keys, hats and other small things)
- Read about an inspirational figure, your favourite actress or a role model in your field
- Take a deep breath and imagine the best possible outcome of anything that worries you, imagine how you look like and what you feel (try it while listening to music for meditation)
Rise and Lead: Personal and Professional Development 