If last week was a rough one, here’s how to make this one better

It’s Monday, whether you like it or not.  If the idea of getting back on your hamster wheel makes you feel blue, there are THREE important things you can do to make this week better. These things sound simple, but if you are not doing them, they apparently are not all that simple for you to incorporate into your life.

 

Why not make a fresh start right now?

Get enough sleep

Yeah, it sounds dumb.  But no matter what, commit to getting in bed, turning out the light and lying there with your eyes shut and your brain off for 7 or 8 hours tonight and every other night this week that it is humanly possible.  Stop making excuses for why you can’t get all your stuff done in 24 hours. (I’m guilty of that myself!)  You may well be heading for a health crisis unless you follow this one simple tip.  Lack of sleep is a major – MAJOR – contributor to depression, overwhelm and mental fog.  Next…

 

Go out in nature

Maybe you live where it is cold right now. Maybe you can’t physically get outside. Maybe you are too busy, or too urban, or too hip to go outside.  Do it anyway. There’s copious research that says focusing on nature calms us down, cheers us up, restores our hearts, minds, souls and bodies. If you can’t go to the beach, go to a park. If you can’t go to a park, hug a local tree. If you can’t see any trees, watch some birds or admire the stars.  If you can’t even go outside, get yourself a bouquet of flowers.   Even just 10 minutes spent in nature  will restore your senses faster, cheaper and easier than you can achieve in any other way.

 

 

Make a new plan, Stan

If there’s anything that can be done to improve your situation, write down the steps you’d need to take and then number them in the order they’d need to be done.  Not crazy fanciful stuff, like “First, win the lottery.”  But real stuff, like “First, do such great work that I deserve a raise. Second, ask for it.”  If there is a solution to your problem, listing the steps will inspire you to decide to take the first one…and every journey begins with the first step.

If you’re not sure there ARE ways to improve your situation, do some homework. Search for your situation on Google and see if there are any other people who have gotten through something similar and figure out what they did right.  Read some books by people who went through something similar.  Ask your friends, family, strangers for advice. (You can ask for advice for free on many websites, like Craigslist and TheExperienceProject.com)  Collect all the possible ways you could resolve this, choose the best strategy and plan out what has to happen first, second and third to make it better.

If there is for sure NO WAY to improve your situation – because you’ve got a terminal diagnosis; somebody is dead; or you’re in prison with a life sentence – why not read up on how people who went through such terrible things coped?  There’s gobs of inspiration all over the internet and your local bookstore. You just have to force yourself to look for it.

These three steps are pretty much all you need to turn this week around.  Once you know you’d rather take action than suffer (or complain!) you’ll find one or more of these success tips fits you to a T.

Have a happier week!

Dealing with depression?  Facing endless sad days?  You may need more help than these three steps.  Click the button for a possible solution for you.