When was the last time you felt down and defeated?
… like nothing at all was going your way?
… like no matter what you did, everything around you kept falling to pieces?
Maybe you lost your job.
Maybe you were left with a broken heart.
Maybe some spectacular A-hole smashed into your Camry and fled the scene, leaving you burdened with the cost of repairing something you’re in absolutely no position to repair.
I feel your pain.
Life can straight up be a real sonuvabitch sometimes.
And from personal experience…
When it rains, it pours.
But guess what?
That doesn’t mean everything has to be so gloomy. You don’t have to be an Eeyore about it.
Because whether you’re aware of it or not…
There are ways you can flood your soul with happiness and love… and in the process, turn the tide and wash all that pain and worry away.
Today, I’d like to show you 7 foolproof ways to do so.
Let’s boogie.
1) Get to know the strangers in your home
Serious question:
Do you actually know the people in your home?
Or does it sometimes feel like you’re living with a bunch of strangers?
The reason I ask is because, when it comes to spending quality time with family, it often gets treated as an afterthought.
Crazy, right?
You’d think people would be chomping at the bit to spend quality time with the people they love.
Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case…
See, many folks find spending time with their family to be more of a chore than it is a blessing or a privilege; they just aren’t used to it.
As a result, they lean on escapism to avoid any interactions.
It’s sad, really.
And it’s sad because those very same people are missing out on one of the most beautiful gifts this life has to offer — which is the boundless love, joy, and enthusiasm a well-connected family can create in their home.
If you’ve never felt that before, then let me tell you this…
It’s one of the most rewarding, empowering, invigorating, and transformational atmospheres you can ever be a part of — and it can only be cultivated by connecting deeply with the people around you. Remember that.
Don’t get me wrong…
Solitude is amazing — and it can be the birthplace of significant inspiration.
But it’s no match for family.
It’s no match for spending quality time with each other.
And it’s no match for creating stronger relationships with the people you love.
So do me a favor…
Stop scrolling.
Put your phone down.
Turn off the television.
Disconnect from the Internet.
And connect with the people around you.
There’s no better way to fill yourself with happiness and love than by cultivating beautiful experiences with the people you care about most.
So tend to your family with compassion. Because if you do, they’ll be able to fill your heart with love whenever you’re down, broken, and need it.
2) Find your 5 and feel alive
One of the most important lessons you can learn is this:
You will become the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.
Now, most people will NEVER take this into account. They’ll spend the majority of their time with people who don’t care to make themselves (or their circumstances) any better, and then wonder why life isn’t shaping up to be as exciting or fulfilling as they hoped it would be.
Does that sound at all like you?
Because if so, you might be interested to learn that those very same people can account for up to 95% of your successes, failures, and overall state of mind.
So here’s what you gotta do…
Look at the people you’re spending most of your time with and ask yourself:
“Do I admire who these people are and who they’re becoming?”
If the answer is no, then you need to find a new group of people — through books, courses, online communities, clubs, whatever. It doesn’t matter.
What’s important is that you start associating yourself with people who are ‘characteristic’ of the person you want to become.
Do this and I promise you’ll have a network of people you can rely on whenever your spirits are down and need to be lifted.
3) Carpe Diem the heck outta your morning
Some people can’t stand it but…
… I believe one of the most important things you can do in the morning is follow a strict morning routine. This isn’t something that should turn you off — it’s something that should turn you on and empower you.
Every morning, before you get sucked into the chaotic whirlwind that is your day, you have an opportunity to set the tone for success… or, in other words, set the foundation for the type of day you want to have.
Is it going to be a happy, joyful, and rewarding day?
Or is it going to be a day filled with doom and gloom?
Aware of it or not, that choice is yours — and you actually create that reality within the first hour or two of waking up.
When we talk about a morning routine, we’re talking about something that helps you get refreshed and recharged… empowered and motivated… centered and peaceful… so that everything you do comes from a place of balance and an optimal state of mind.
It’s a way for you to win the day before the day even gets started.
Imagine…
Before you leave your house in the morning, you’ve already done something that stimulates your mind. You’ve already done something that makes you feel empowered. You’ve already found a way to relax and release the tension from the previous day so it doesn’t boil over into your work or interactions.
You’ve learned. You’ve created. You’ve given thanks and expressed gratitude.
Your heart is beating with excited anticipation. Your soul is singing. Your energy is high. And every single one of your cups are full.
And you haven’t even left the house yet.
Imagine that.
While everyone else rushes to get to work… not even paying attention to what’s happening around them… you’re fully there, in the moment, ready to take on the world and seize the day.
No matter what happens, you’ve already done what’s necessary to take care of your mind, body, and spirit. Everything else is just gravy.
That’s what a morning routine can give you — and in my humble (but accurate) opinion, it’s the one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
Here are the 5 mystical Ms of a Manifestors’ Morning:
- MOVE: Whatever you do, get the body moving. Loosen up. Jolt every fibre of your being awake. Feel alive in every part of your body.
- MEDITATE: Sit down, shut up, and focus on your breathing for 10–20 minutes. If your mind wanders away, bring it back to your breath. Feel alive in your mind and spirit.
- MARINATE: Soak in gratitude for 5–10 minutes. Think about everything you love. Say “Thank you” for everything that comes to mind. Warm your heart in the golden light of love.
- MANTRAS: Spend at least 10 minutes repeating one solid intention for the day. “I will effortlessly cultivate patience and compassion in all of my interactions today” is a powerful mantra you can use.
- MISSION: Before you do anything else, give yourself 1 hour to work on your most important personal project. This is when you build your dreams.
If you take the time to follow this morning routine every day, I suspect you’ll be so full of happiness and love you might feel like you’re drowning in it.
Only this time, you won’t need someone to save you.
4) Be a superhero the world deserves
Once you’re kicking ass after a stellar morning routine, it’s time to move on and make sure the rest of your day is just as delightfully good.
You want it to be filled with enthusiasm.
You want it to inspire you with love and joy.
You want it to be… pardon my French… effing amazing, don’t you?
And one of the easiest ways to do that is to squeeze into your (metaphorical) tights and be the superhero the world deserves.
Your special power? The ability to see the good in everyone.
Now, this isn’t always easy.
People can be real SOBs sometimes.
But your day (and life) will be infinitely better if you can push those initial reactions aside and start looking for the good in everyone you encounter.
Maybe they have nice eyes.
Maybe you like their hair.
Maybe you see them overflowing with patience when their kid is literally melting into the floor.
Who knows.
It takes a bit of practice to see the good in everyone.
But I promise, once you start doing it, you’ll be surprised how much you actually start liking other people… including even yourself.
Feel free to tell people what you like about them, too.
Not only does it feel great to give a compliment, but it could also be the best part of someone else’s day, month, or even year.
Real heroes see the good in everyone AND let them know about it.
Be that hero today. And soon, you might even start feeling like one.
5) Open the doors for something wonderful
I like to live life without any expectations.
If something happens, it happens. I don’t get worked up about it either way.
But I do make one exception. And that exception is this: I always expect something wonderful to happen. Why?
Because expecting something wonderful to happen makes life exciting. You never know what’s waiting for you around the corner.
New opportunities, new friends, new experiences.
Your something wonderful could even take you completely by surprise.
The possibilities are endless.
And if you start priming your mind to expect wonderful things to happen, you start creating conditions in your psyche and your spirit which attract those wonderful things to your life.
This — though not the entire picture — is the very basis of the Law of Attraction. And if you want to make it work for you, you must start here.
But that’s an entirely different story for an entirely different day.
For now, start expecting something wonderful to happen.
It might not happen today, but it will happen.
Stay optimistic, and let that optimism add light to each and every day.
6) Play a game of “Science Says”
Are there any proven ways to be happy?
Science says there is — and many of them are really, really easy to do.
So without further ado, here are 5 of the easiest, scientifically-proven ways to make yourself happier.
If you do ANY of these over the next two weeks, I guarantee you’ll experience a significant boost in overall your sense of well-being.
That’s not a promise — it’s science!
Ready? Let’s get right to it.
- Take three, brisk 30-minute walks every single week. If it can help people recover from clinical depression, it can help you, too.
- Write for 20 minutes about a positive experience. Do this for 3 consecutive days, take a day off and repeat. Do this for two weeks and see how you feel.
- Random acts of kindness — even one of them can do the trick. But if you can manage to perform 5 of them in a single day, your overall sense of well-being will SOAR.
- Meditation. At the VERY LEAST, two minutes per day is all you need to make a serious impact.
- Keep a gratitude journal — and at the end of each week, write down five things you’re grateful for. Try to reflect on feelings of love and joy while you’re doing it and you will almost immediately notice a shift in your energy.
Practice any of these over the next two weeks and I promise you’ll see an improvement in your mood and overall sense of well-being.
Now go on and flood yourself with some happiness!
7) Escape the toxic clutches of social media
Admit it.
You’re addicted.
You try to pretend like you’re not — like you could just take it or leave it — but deep down, you know the truth. The dopamine drip of updates and notifications got ya hooked.
But it’s not your fault.
You never stood a chance, really.
In fact, social media networks are designed to keep you glued to them. Some of the smartest people in the world are working tirelessly each day to make sure you never leave — and the longer you stay on their platform, the better.
It’s the Social Media Casino — and everybody’s been invited to play.
That’s the bad news.
The good news?
You don’t have to let social media bring you down.
In fact, if you make a few simple changes, it can actually be a great source of growth and inspiration for you. It can be a tool that fills you up with happiness and love. But you’ll have to make some sacrifices first.
The most important thing you need to do is start unfollowing everything that brings you down. And I mean EVERYTHING. Friends, family, groups you follow, pages, whatever. If it puts a sour taste in your mouth — or in any way makes you irritated or annoyed — stop giving it a place in your feed.
Too many people never take advantage of this. But guess what? Curating your feed is one of the simplest ways to bring more joy and positivity to your life.
Think about it…
Imagine scrolling through your feed and every post you see is one that makes your life better. Posts from friends that make you smile. Posts from family that make you feel more connected. Posts from the groups and pages you follow that motivate and inspire you.
That’s what a curated feed can do.
But first you gotta let go of the drama.
You gotta let go of the need to see what everyone is up to.
And you gotta be willing check out of the gossip and leave it all behind
If you do — and you start only allowing the good to come through — I promise it’s going to make a dramatic impact on your life. And it’ll happen more quickly than you think, too.
Give yourself that gift.
Make social media a source of power for you, not a curse.
Let the waves come crashing in
It’s not easy feeling hurt.
It’s not easy feeling broken.
And it’s certainly not easy feeling like the conditions of your life have left you face down in the dirt, broken, battered, and bruised.
Sometimes you want to scream and shout.
Sometimes you want to numb all the pain away.
Sometimes you wish someone… anyone… would just come and save the day.
But the reality is…
… it’s rare that anyone ever does.
So it’s up to you to save yourself. It’s up to you to turn the tides. And it’s up to you to flood your own soul with the happiness and love you know it deserves.
Because guess what?
You have the power within you to do it.
And now, you know exactly how.
So let the waves come crashing in, my friend.
This flood is only the beginning.