How To Boost Your Mood Instantly

If life is throwing you lemons, it’s only natural to feel a little sour! By practicing daily steps to boost your mood, you can fight off any negative feelings before they even happen.

When things are tough, I know that I need to take action to feel better.

These daily practices have helped to reduce stress and anxiety, improve my mindset, and boost my mood too!

Boost Your Mood Instantly

The key is to start these steps TODAY.

Pick one or two to complete by end of day and jump in!

Don’t wait around until you feel like it, it’s important to let the motivation FOLLOW the action. Not the other way around!

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made is waiting around until things get better, instead of making things better for myself sooner.

10 Uplifting Action Steps That You Can Start Today

And no, wine is NOT on this list!

Exercise

Exercise is one of my favorite mood boosters! It literally shakes things up, which is so helpful if you are feeling stressed out or just feeling down.

My go-to exercises for this are walking and yoga, because they are gentle and feel much more accessible than high impact cardio.

However, if you are in good shape and enjoy more vigorous exercise cardio like jogging, dance, or biking can really get those endorphins flowing!

Journaling

When my mind is a little overactive or overwhelmed, journaling helps me to get clarity.

Journaling is great first thing in the morning or at the end of the day.

You can put all your thoughts on the page or you can journal through some clarifying questions.

Need some help getting started?

Check out these journal prompts to get deep, fast!

Reading

Reading is a great relaxing hobby to have that always boosts my mood!

Whether you like to read more personal development books for self improvement or funny fiction books (I like Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes), reading can be uplifting way to let go of your struggles.

Connection

It’s time to phone a friend!

Connection is KEY to being happy. I believe humans are made for connection – I mean, physical connection is quite literally the way to create new life, so that must mean something!

Now for this purpose, I don’t mean that type of connection 😉 – but I think connecting with your friends and family regularly can make a big difference.

Whenever I get out of touch with my favorite people I start to feel detached and disconnected.

Other ways to increase connection may include group coaching programs, Meetup groups, joining a book club, or taking an arts or crafts class.

Self-Expression

Self-expression is an excellent way to process emotions. This can be singing, drawing, painting, or writing.

Creativity is a really healthy way to work through your feelings.

When I am painting, I feel like I can turn off my brain and simply flow through my intuition. It feels incredible!

Maybe your self-expression is through your clothing or the music you listen to or maybe its something else completely.

Purpose

If you feel called to serve or help other people in a specific way, this can greatly boost your mood.

Have a purpose or cause that you feel strongly about can pivot your life in incredible ways.

Maybe that means volunteering at the food bank, sharing your story online, visiting elderly people, or fostering pets for your local shelter.

I had a neighbor once that would do something nice for other neighbors whenever she was feeling down. It usually involved yard work or something simple, but that always stuck with me.

At one point in my life, I was regularly volunteering for a local church and it definitely lifted my spirits to help other people.

Affirmations

I love to write affirmations in my journal. Sometimes I’ll just write and write as much as I can think of.

Sometimes they are things that I am currently experiencing and sometimes they are things that I want to experience.

But writing these affirmations and sometimes even saying them out loud is so helpful to pivot my thoughts away from negativity.

Affirmations are present tense sentences that offer up a new thought or belief that feels good.

Here’s an example:

Say you want to feel happy. You could write “I am happy.”

And if that doesn’t feel true for you, switch it up!

You can try something like “I am feeling happier every day” or “I am beginning to feel happier” or “I am taking steps to have a happier life”.

Take baby steps to where you want to be by creating affirmations that ring true for you.

Over time you can switch them up.

Spirituality

Having a spiritual practice does NOT have to be a religious thing. It can mean prayer or reading spiritual texts or even philosophical texts.

Faith can be a reassurance from the universe or God that things are always working out for your highest good.

While I don’t believe in toxic positivity (pretending everything is wonderful when it is clearly not), I do try to practice faith in times that test me. This is especially helpful when I feel challenged by anxiety or stress or just a low mood.

Some of the health conditions I have dealt with over the years have taught me to be very empathetic to others’ struggles.

It’s taught me to be less judgemental and I’ve learned how to hold space for others without trying to solve their problems for them.

Having a spiritual foundation has been incredibly important to let go of anxiety for me. It allows me to just let go and trust that the universe, angels, God (whoever is out there!) is looking out for me.

Here are a few spiritual/philosophical texts that have helped me greatly:

Mirror Work

Mirror work is a concept that I learned from Louise Hay. When you say loving things to yourself, while looking into your eyes, you can plant positive thoughts into your brain much faster to boost your mood.

Here are some simple affirmations that are common for mirror work:

I am enough.
I love myself as I am.
I am beautiful.
I am worthy of love.

How do you feel after reading those? Uncomfortable? Happy? Sad?

It can bring up a lot of feelings. I’ll be honest, some good feelings and some weird ones too!

By practicing this daily or twice daily or even every time you go to the restroom, you can begin to think positive thoughts about yourself.

That, my friend, is life-changing!

Want to learn more? Check out this book.

Meditation

This is a mood-boosting game changer – especially if you struggle with anxiety or stress!

Meditation is like a mini-nap for your brain.

I think it is even better than a nap because it allows you to strengthen your brain and calm your nervous system.

I like to do both guided meditations and silent meditations, just depending on how I am feeling.

You don’t have to chant or do it perfectly! Just the practice of trying meditation is enough.

Need help learning how to meditate? Try my favorite guided meditations here.

What Steps Do You Take To Boost Your Mood?

Let me know in the comments what works best for you!

More Resources To Boost Your Mood

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Disclosure: Square Peg Wellness is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites.

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