15 Attitude Adjustment Tips To Brighten Your Days
Use these 15 attitude adjustment tips to make life easier. All are simple ideas that will brighten your days!
We all have bad days. Days when nothing goes right…and we feel like giving up. Days when we’re tired, and don’t have the energy to think positive. Days when we are drowning in the sea of comparison, and we just need something to make us feel better…or something to brighten our dark day.
When we’re in the middle of one of those crappy days, what we need is an attitude adjustment. We need concrete and specific ideas to help us break out of that bad mood. Easy ways to turn a challenging day into a good one.
Today I’m sharing 15 ways to adjust your attitude, and they are all simple and budget-friendly. I know they all won’t work for all of us, but my hope is that by the end of this post, you will have found one or two new coping strategies to try.
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Bullet Journal
Bullet journaling has become very popular, and there are hundreds of elaborate bullet journals you can buy if that’s the route you want to take. I do it the easy way, and simply use my monthly calendar. Every day, I jot down three bullets, and record three things that I am grateful for. If three sounds like too much, just start with one. Being grateful is a guaranteed way to adjust your attitude. It’s humbling, it necessary for happiness, and nothing could be easier.
Walk Outside
I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that this works. A walk outside is like hitting a reset button, and it can turn your day completely around. I realize that weather and other circumstances may sometimes prevent you from utilizing this tip, but if you can, do it. Two summers ago, when our little dog, Kelly, was sick, walking outside literally saved me. And after she passed away, walking got me out of the house, and helped with the “feeling sorry for myself” issue.
Now, Millie (our little puppy) and I walk every day, and we both feel so much better when we get home. You don’t have to go far, and you don’t have to walk for a long time. It’s simply the change in your surroundings and fresh air that do the trick.
Light a Candle
When you light a scented candle, two things happen. First, a peaceful feeling descends as the flame is lit. Second, the aromatherapy generated as the candle burns helps calm your restless heart. Peace and calm are two things that can turn a bad day into one that’s very good.
Pray
Prayer is a very personal thing, and I would never try to tell you how to do it, when to do it, or how often to do it. I will say this…saying a prayer for patience, or forbearance, or simply for a blessing, can change your attitude instantly.
Take a Nap
Like a walk, short naps act as that much needed reset button on days when you are weighed down. Sometimes the simple act of closing our eyes, and taking a break from the world, can turn our attitude around. It also gives our minds a chance to slow down, and reconsider what made our attitudes crappy in the first place! (See our neutral bedroom HERE.)
Check Your Phone
This attitude adjustment tip will work for some of us, but not for others. Personally, I like checking my Instagram, and I like roaming around YouTube. Both things are an escape for me, and both are relaxing. There are a million game apps, and all sorts of apps that entertain us. Checking your phone is a quick and easy way to take a break.
Say Thank You
This tip goes along with the gratitude bullet points. To verbally thank someone, even for the simplest thing, is definitely a way to adjust your attitude.
Say No
One of my favorite quotes is from Anne Lamott, and it really puts the art of saying no in perspective. “No is a complete sentence.” If you are asked to do something, and you know you don’t want to do it, just say no. If you know it’s something that will cause you worry and anxiety, just say no. There is no need to offer any further explanation…and the relief you will feel after uttering that tiny 2-letter word is one of the best mood-changers ever.
Buy Flowers (one of my favorite attitude adjustment tips)
I have been preaching about this for as long as I’ve been blogging! Treating yourself to a bouquet of flowers will instantly make you smile. Does it get any better than that?
Play Music
Listening to an uplifting song (or two) can change your mood in just a few minutes, and is one of the best attitude adjustment tips you can incorporate into your life. Here is a list of my favorite, make-your-day-better songs.
- It Is Well (Kristene DeMarco/Bethel Music)
- Let it Go (Idina Menzel from Frozen)
- Brave (Sara Bareilles)
- Good Morning (Mandisa)
- Happy (Pharrell Williams)
- In Times Like These (Mavis Staples)
- A Life That’s Good (Nashville Cast: featuring Lennon & Maisy)
- Mom (Meghan Trainor)
- Shake It Off (Taylor Swift)
- Here Comes The Sun (The Beatles)
- Walking on Sunshine (Katrina + The Waves)
- Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)
Make a playlist of all of these songs, or just a few, and listen when you need to break out of a sad or discouraged mood. This really works!
Pamper Yourself
Doing something nice for yourself isn’t selfish…it’s self-care. If you’re having a bad day, take the time to sit and file your nails, or apply that face mask you’ve had in the drawer for months, or take a long and scented bath. Anything that makes you feel pampered will also make you feel renewed, which in turn will adjust your attitude in no time at all!
Bake Something
You need to have some time for this tip, but it will definitely be time well spent. Heading to the kitchen when I’m stressed always makes me feel better.
Always.
It occupies my mind and my hands, which helps to ease the stress. It makes me feel productive and accomplished. Many times I give away whatever I’ve baked, which also makes me feel good…and helpful. All of these things are positive, and all are wonderful attitude adjustments.
Organize One Space
Have you ever opened a drawer or closet door in your home only to become instantly grumpy? We all have spaces that get out of control, and that need constant attention. As the The Home Edit girls say, we must “contain the chaos.” Organizing one space, big or small, will take the grumpies away! I recently addressed complete chaos in our kitchen junk drawer by using this 10-piece plastic modular system, that’s exclusively available at Walmart. Now, every time I open that drawer, which I do several times a day, I feel at peace, and not like I want to scream!
Read a Book/Watch a Movie
One of my favorite attitude adjustment tips is to step away from the world, relax, and go someplace you’ve never been. There is no better way to do this than to read a book, or watch a movie. Like the baking tip, you need some time, but sinking down into a comfortable chair, with a cozy throw blanket, is worth the juggling it takes to work it into your schedule.
Plant One or Two Herbs
This may seem like a stretch, and it does take a bit of planning, but I promise it will brighten your day. The way fresh herbs smell, and being able to use them in your cooking, are two very uplifting things.
Don’t overthink this. Root herbs can almost always be found in the produce section of grocery stores…so just pick one or two up when you are shopping. Use whatever container is handy…and order the potting soil online. In no time flat you will have an herb garden right in your kitchen, and a smile on your face.
Tip: before I added the potting soil to my blue colander, I lined it with coffee filters!
More Indoor Herb Garden Ideas
Attitude Adjustment Bonus Tip
Grant yourself grace. Here is a simple definition of grace, and the one that makes the most sense to me.
“Grace is accepting that we aren’t perfect, it’s forgiving ourselves,
and it’s moving on.”
A very important attitude adjustment that works for everyone.
Thank you so much for stopping by…and for your friendship.
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