How to Get Happy When You Are Feeling Sad

It is said that happiness is a choice - that when we wake in the morning we make a decision to be happy or not before we even get out of bed. Is it possible that the thoughts we think in those first few minutes of the morning really do determine the kind of day we will have. Can it really be that simple?

For most of us, I don’t believe that it is. Oh, I believe that happiness is a choice, but I also believe that choosing to be happy involves more than just a decision. Fact is that life can be overwhelming for the majority of people from time to time and being told to shake it off and move to a better mental and emotional place, rather than helping, can add frustration to the stress you are already experiencing.

Fact is that it’s not always easy to move to a happy place, especially when you are surrounded by negative people and negative events and you can’t see a way out. Wanting to be happy is a good start, but not always a quick fix.

Nevertheless wanting to be happy is absolutely a good first step. Giving in to feelings of despondency and sadness is sometimes a necessary evil. When nothing seems to be going in your favor, and feeling good is little more than a pie-in-the-sky dream, you may need more than a pep talk from a well-meaning friend, so let me give you some simple tips that can put you on the path to feeling good.

1. Know that everything in life is temporary. This situation that you are now facing won’t last forever even if it seems like it will. Everything passes. That’s the nature of life.
2. If you really must, take a little time to “lick your wounds” but put a time limit on it. Decide how long you are willing to feel this way and then give yourself permission to do just that. The most important point here, though, is to put a time limit on it. For example, depending on how dire the situation seems, allow yourself two days, two weeks or two months to feel bad.
3. At the end of the agreed upon time, begin a new regime to bring yourself back to feeling good.
4. When that time arrives create a sign that you put where you can see it every morning first thing. This sign should say something like, “What do you want?”
5. Let your answer be, “I want to be happy.”
6. Next smile at the person in the mirror and say something like, “How can anyone as wonderful as you be anything but happy.” This may sound silly, but positive self-talk is incredibly effective in raising the energy level. The more you do this, the easier it will be to feel good; so speak in kind and encouraging words to yourself often throughout the day.

My decades of research have shown that we tend to look for complicated solutions to our problems when simple answers are often the best and most effective. This simple strategy has been used and proven effective over and over again. If you faithfully follow these simple suggestions, you can expect to feel better, and take yourself into a brighter, happier state of mind that can result in a life of happy ever after.

Next time you get overwhelmed by the circumstances of your life, why not give it a try. What have you got to lose?