So many times when a negative emotion comes up we can feel "stuck" there. There is great power in looking at our emotions, especially the negative ones, and understanding why they are showing up - but we don't want to feel trapped by them. Letting negative emotions overwhelm us can put us in a state of dis-empowerment and from that state we will be attracting more negativity into our lives. Sometimes it is necessary to switch up the energy around us and it does not have to take long at all! Here are four ways to shift your mood to a state of happiness in five minutes or less.
1. Gratitude for Someone/Something in Your Life
We all have things and people in our lives to be grateful for. It is challenging sometimes when we have several issues in our life to feel we can move beyond it. Gratitude is the easiest tool I know to shift the energy around us. When we pay gratitude for something we do indeed invite more in to be grateful for.
Gratitude Exercise: Take three to five minutes and close your eyes and you think about someone (person or animal living or passed) that when you think of it you experience joy. This can also be done thinking about something in your life such as a comfy bed, a backyard or park you love to be in, etc. While you are thinking about this person or thing I want you to bring every sense in - what does it look like? feel like? any smell that comes to mind? If you are thinking about a favorite food and the emotions that come up, can you recall the taste? Sit in that space for 3-5 minutes feeling how grateful you are for that person, place or thing in your life. I guarantee you will feel refreshed and happy after!
2. Gratitude for Self
So often when we feel stuck we can be hard on ourselves. It makes sense that when you're coming from a stressed or overwhelmed state that this is not the place a solution will typically come from. It is much healthier to give ourselves love and acknowledgement for our strengths which is healing and will allow and encourage new ideas to come to mind as to how we can handle any challenge.
Self-Love Exercise: Take three to five minutes and close your eyes and think about one or a few of the following: 1) A quality in yourself that you like ie: you are a good friend, you can cook, you like to dance, you are compassionate & great with animals, etc. 2) Something you can give yourself credit for -- perhaps five years ago you were in a really horrible space with a job, relationship, health or living situation and you have taken action to change it. Give yourself credit for having made it through!! Taking this time to affirm and pay gratitude for yourself will be healing from the inside out and will put you in a prime space to begin to receive the wisdom you need to feel better.
3. Anchoring Moment
We have no problem going on in our head for hours, days weeks and sometimes even years about something we feel we did or said wrong or something we wish had went a different way. An anchoring moment is a moment where you recall the joy you felt. You felt happiness deep inside you and when you think of that moment you smile which has a physiological effect on your mood. Just as when you focus on an unhappy moment and you feel like you are there - the same is true when you focus on a happy moment. It is simply that we are not taught to do this.
Anchoring Exercise: Think of a happy moment in your life. One where you felt complete joy and contentment. There is no judgment - it could be a grand event such as a performance or party or it could be a precious conversation with someone or simply a walk in the woods where you felt total contentment. When you have that moment, close your eyes and take 3-5 minutes and bring every sense in as you relive this moment. Allow yourself to smile as you try to remember what it sounded like, who was with you, what your emotions felt like and if any smells or tastes come to mind. An anchor is a way to harness joy quickly to bring it to the present moment.
4. Moving Energy
We are made of energy and we feel unseen energies so many different ways throughout the day. We can walk into a room and know whether the people in it are happy or sad or talk to a friend and have that same awareness in the moment where they say hello. We can bring in our energy to feel it deeply and move it through our body to bring us to a state of peace in a few seconds.
Energy Exercise: Rub your hands together palm against palm for 30-60 seconds. Close your eyes and hold your hands from two six inches apart. Allow yourself to feel that energy in your hands. If you need to rub them together again, that is fine -- no one is judging you. When you feel that energy strongly see if you can pull it up your hands to your arms, your shoulders, your face and back down through your body. Stop at your heart and give thanks for this connection you your energy body. If there is any part of your body that feels tension, move the energy there and smile knowing your body is working with you to ease your tension and make you feel better. If you do this for even three to five minutes you will feel much more relaxed. Remember to smile as you do this exercise - it feels pretty cool, doesn't it?
We always have the ability to decide if we want to stay in the mood we are in or shift it. Sometimes we need to be in the emotion and process it and work with it. Other times we have been IN it more than enough and just feel stuck needing a way out. These are four easy ways for you to shift into a happier space. If you use these tools regularly, you will see a significant shift in your mood and state of mind. We have so many tools available to us when we get present for even a few minutes that can make our life feel much more in flow. When in flow we feel happy, joyful and that energy attracts more and more wonderful people and situations to our lives.
I offer many more easy and quick tools and exercises in my book, "A Short Path to Change: 30 Ways to Transform Your Life." Wishing you all the best for using these tools and would welcome hearing how they are working for you!