Feeling good..

Some days are just a drag and seem to be never-ending. Instead of getting all lethargic and hating yourself and your life, I suggest you actively try to do things to make your day a bit better.

We’ve all heard of “The Secret,” and how the key to unlocking your true potential and happiness is to have a positive outlook in life. (Positive attracts positive.) This is a little bit too hippy-dippy-trippy to me, and in all honestly, I think that it gives people false expectations and can lead to failure. For instance, I don’t think that just because you are positive, things will magically fall onto your lap – you have to actively pursue the things you want. You won’t find yourself in a perfect relationship, or land the perfect job if you just remain optimistic. You have to put in the work, and that is what “The Secret” doesn’t tell people. That said, I find something of value in philosophies that try to improve one’s well-being. So, I decided to give you some of my own tips on how to feel better.

1. Do some EXERCISE.
Ever since I was in 12th grade, I’ve always been a frequent visitor at the gym. However, I will admit that if I was feeling lazy, I wouldn’t go. I wouldn’t push myself. Now, it’s been about 8 months that I’ve been working out everyday (or at least 5 times per week.) And I truly think that this has done wonders to improve my overall well-being and mood. Even if it’s just 20-30 minutes, I urge you all to incorporate some form of physical activity: Zumba, walking your dog, dancing to Lady Gaga, going to the gym, whatever. Trust me – exercise alone will make you feel better almost immediately.

2. Get some SUN.
Receiving sunlight gives us Vitamin D, which is not only necessary for our bodies to function properly, but it also gives us an energy boost. I prefer to stay indoors, simply because the only time I like to sweat is when I’m working out and because I find the sun to be a bit offensive on my eyes (yea, I’m a diva like that.) However, whenever I do force myself to venture out into the world, I find that my mood improves significantly. Can’t really find an explanation for it (other than the Vitamin D, I mean) but yea, it works.

3. Tickle your sense of SMELL.
Light a candle, put on your favorite perfume, bake some pastries – do something to activate your olfactory system. My favorite holiday is Christmas, and I absolutely adore everything about the holiday season in general. So recently, my go-to scent has been an Apple Cinnamon candle. Something about it just puts me in a good mood. I light it on as soon as I wake up and let it burn for about an hour or two as I study, and I just love the way the smell lingers in my room. Try it out.

4. Put on some MUSIC!
This one is pretty simple and self-explanatory. Create a playlist with your favorite songs and just play it when you’re not feeling so great. There have been numerous studies on how music affects our daily performance, so you’re more than welcome to check them out in case you’re wondering why music is so great for you. But yea: listen to music.

5. BREATHE
Our daily lives tend to be so busy and hectic that we seldom take time to just sit and relax. So, the next time you’re feeling blue I suggest you hit pause, find a quite place in your house where you can sit uninterrupted for 5 minutes, and simply breathe. The trick is to really focus on your breathing and try to block everything else out. What I do: inhale deeply for 3 counts, and then exhale for another 3 counts, and just focus on repeating that pattern. If this happens to work for you, I suggest you Google meditation breathing techniques and explore it all some more.

6. DAILY CHALLENGES
I follow Deepak Chopra on Twitter and one day he posted a well-being test, which I obviously had to take. My score was about average, so the website suggested that I subscribe to an email newsletter called The Daily Challenge. Essentially, you get a small challenge delivered to your inbox everyday, including something that you can do to improve your well-being. For example, today’s challenge was to “Smile at 3 people today.” I’m being open-minded and giving it a try, although I have found some of the challenges to be a bit too hippy-dippy-trippy (hehe.) But, I know that whoever wrote them did it with the best intentions at heart.

Namaste.