Tips For Staying Positive When The World Gets You Down

Life isn't always sunshine and rainbows.  We all know this, but sometimes life can really get us down.

I tend to be a pretty positive person.  But sometimes, even the eternal optimist can go through some hard days.

Here are a couple of strategies for when you are felling down in the dumps:

1.  Pick something positive in the future to focus on.  Do you have a trip coming up?  A girls night?  A birthday or special holiday you are looking forward to?  Pick one thing that you are excited about and focus all your energy on that.  It helps take up space in your head that is worrying or upset.

2.  Treat yourself.  I hope everyone has this one in their bad day arsenal.  When you are feeling down, get something that makes you happy.  A new outfit or book, some flowers or candy.  Get your nails done or go for a massage.  For me, this can sometimes be as simple as a diet Dr. Pepper and a chocolate bar.

3.  Count your blessings,  No matter how hard life can get, you probably still have a lot of great things going for you.  Family, friends, a warm bed and roof over head, a job, food in your fridge. When you focus on the haves instead of the have nots, things don't seem so bad.  It always works to warm my heart a little bit.

4.  Fake it 'til you make it.  Sometimes you have to just put a smile on your face and pretend everything is alright.  The great thing is that, often when you do that, you can convince yourself that it's true.  Putting on a positive front, even if you don't have the backup inside you, can really help you get through some tough things.

5.  Let it out.  There are times that #4 just might not work.  These are the times when you just may have to let it all go.  Let it out; have a good cry, or scream, or go for a run, hit a heavy bag.  Get it out of your system.  Talk to someone.  You'll really feel better; not like you're going to internally explode.  (I'm really glad I have my husband for this one).

6.  When all else fails, go to bed.  Take a nap or go to bed early.  You don't HAVE to make dinner, or do the laundry.  Cancel your plans, unplug, and go to your safe place.  Turn off your mind, and just let yourself drift away for a while.  When things get too hard, sleep it off.  I know I always have a better outlook on life when I face it with a fresh perspective.