3 Mood Hacks That Lift You (AND HAVE LONG TERM EFFECTS)

AFTER SUCH A LONG TIME IN LOCKDOWN WITHOUT ANY OF US BEING CLEAR WHEN WE WILL BE OUT OF IT, IT IS EASY TO FEEL ALMOST CONSTANTLY FLAT AND STRUGGLING TO FIND ANY SHRED OF OPTIMISM. Personal and Business Coach, and bellamumma contributor, Brendan Higgins shares his top three mood hacks that can set you up for long-term emotional resilience and happiness.

We are all feeling anxious, and irritable and without any energy and when we get to bed it seems impossible to sleep. We are all complaining of eating and drinking too much and of being busy without achieving anything. We seemed to have so much more energy when we were optimistic about the future but that is such a long time ago!

So here are three simple ways to turn around that feeling of flatness we are all suffering from and to lift the anxiety. As with anything I recommend, these are evidence-based and backed by extensive scientific research and they are all simple and easy to achieve…

1. Spend time doing something special

If I had said “exercise” about 60% of everyone reading would have lost interest, including me! I hate exercise, always have. I find it unutterably boring. But I discovered I can combine it with something I truly love – listening to stories. So, I walk or run while listening to something fabulously engrossing and I only listen to this story, or podcast when I’m exercising. So, I don’t exercise, I spend an hour listening to my story (but I have to exercise to do it!!). So, if, like me, you hate exercise, what incredibly special treat can you do with exercise to make it a daily event you don’t want to miss? Change the routine – walk to the shop for the milk rather than drive.

Any form of exercise and any amount of exercise is good but the more the better. The research on how exercise can positively change our mood is extensive. It is so powerful that we know regular exercise can even dramatically improve depression.

2. Start a Happiness Journal

I know, it sounds so trite. But this simple exercise has the backing of none other than the Positivity Psychology Centre at Pennsylvania University and the “founders” of Positive Psychology. Their research shows that doing this exercise for just two weeks can have a positive benefit that lasts six months!

Find a notebook to keep next to the bed. Something a little special is always a good idea. Each night before you go to sleep (or at some time close to the end of each day), write three things that made you feel good during that day. Could be as simple as the way the sun shone on a leaf or a flower or bird you saw. Just a single word is fine as long as you will remember exactly what it was when you read it again later. No need to spend any more than 30 seconds doing this – you don’t want it to be a burden.

At the end of the week, look back over them. It is always a surprise that you remember them so clearly and a surprise that they make you still feel good!

3. Create a Positive Action Journal

On the other side of that notebook, you are using to list those things that make you happy, you are going to list the things you did each day that made you feel positive and moving forward. Never less than three – it can be more but it must be at least three. This way you are forcing yourself to find three things that you were personally responsible for doing, for completing, or moving forward, no matter how small. They may be things that others were also engaged in but you are looking for the part that you were responsible for, that you did well or learned well from.

Like the Happiness Journal, this is just 30 seconds before you go to bed or at some time close to the end of each day. At the end of the week look back over what you wrote. It is always a shock to discover just how much you really did achieve!

So, you don’t have to keep feeling flat and pessimistic. You can change all that simply and effectively and discover just how much you are achieving in this lockdown. You can start by spending time on something you enjoy and find a single minute at the end of each day to celebrate your observations and your achievements.

About Brendan Higgins

B.Com (Industrial Relations) UNSW; BDA (NIDA); MSc (Coaching Psychology) USYD.

Brendan Higgins is a coach and consultant with a track record of bringing out the best in individuals and teams. Drawing on his diverse experiences that stretch from operational leadership in IT and HR, to change management coaching to professional acting, he brings a unique and strategic approach to building success at every level of an organisation. He has delivered outstanding results across all areas of management, including directors at Board level. As a catalyst for innovation and creativity, Brendan leverages his diverse background, through his coaching, to work with organisations in expanding their capacity for developing new and innovative ideas.

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