Do you ever just wake up in the morning in a BAD mood?

Or maybe you stub your toe, spill your coffee, or burn your toast.  Doesn’t it seem that once one thing goes wrong, the whole day goes down hill?

The truth is that the reason the rest of the day goes wrong, is because of your bad mood.

In other words, when you become angry about something that happens, you spend time focusing on it.  And where attention goes, energy flows.

This energy attracts other bad experiences.  That’s why it’s so important to change your mood, ASAP!

5 Ways to Lift Your Mood

1. Listen to music.  Now, I don’t mean the sappy music that always makes you cry.  I mean something upbeat and happy.  Music that makes your toes tap.
2. Laugh.  Laughter really is the BEST medicine because the easiest way to turn that frown upside down is by laughing.  Watch a sitcom, rent a movie.  Just remember to laugh out loud.
3. Have a GO-TO memory.  Think back over the years.  What was a really good moment, something that always puts a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart?  Learn to “flip out” of your bad mood by learning to “flip into” this sweet memory.
4. Spend time with your pet.  Is there anyone in your life that gives you more unconditional love than your pet?  If you have a pet, you know the healing effect an animal can have on you. 
5. Call a friend.  Now, you need to be careful with this one.  You should have a good-time friend, someone that’s fun and makes you feel good.  This is the friend to call.  You aren’t calling to complain, you’re calling to hear all of the wonderful and fun stories she has to share.  Soon, you’ll be looking up.

When you change your mood, your vibrational energy changes to positive.  Soon you’ll be seeing the silver lining and things won’t seem so bad. 

Does your home and your life uplift you or does it drag you down?  Do you feel like you can recharge your batteries when you step into your home or does it zap all of your energy?

It is extremely important to create an environment that gives you a feeling of peace and happiness.  When you are in this emotional state, life is easier and goodness flows to you. 

Perhaps you have never experienced this.  Maybe you feel anxious and don’t have any way to fix it.  Here are a few examples of ways you can create this positive, uplifting environment.

1.  De-clutter.  A cluttered home represents a cluttered mind.  Let go of things that no longer serve you.  If you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.  You’ll be amazed at how better you feel without all of that “mess”.
2. Edit what you take in.  When I say this, what I mean is watch the negativity that you are allowing into your life.  Don’t engage in conversations that make you feel “icky”.  I know, “icky” is a very technical term:)  Limit the amount of negative TV you watch.  That even means the news.  Have you noticed that they rarely report on anything positive?
3. Decorate your home.  Surround yourself with things that make you feel good.  If you love fresh flowers, buy them for yourself.  You certainly don’t need to wait for someone else to buy them.  If you like to have nice things, make your home beautiful.
4. Avoid energy vampires.  An energy vampire is a negative person that just leaves you feeling drained.  You can choose the people that are in your life.  Surround yourself with positive people that make you feel good. 

Some of this might seem scary at first.  You might need to change the way you are living.  You also might need to let go of people that have been in your life for a long time.  If you aren’t ready to let them go, you can begin by limiting the amount of time you are together.  Remember, baby steps are still steps forward.

Have you ever noticed that you look back on your life and wonder why you made certain choices?  Why did you choose to spend your life with a certain person, or why did you take a certain job?

I have found that many men and women spend their time and energy going over the past, whether it be theirs or someone else’s. 

• Can you believe he had an affair? 
• Can you believe she left her marriage? 
• Can you believe he just walked out of his job when he has a family to support?
• I can’t believe I got fired.
• I can’t believe that I wasted all that time on her.

The thing that I have come to realize is that God doesn’t make mistakes.  Everything happens for a reason.  You need to take every event, person, and circumstance as an opportunity to grow.  There is a lesson in it for you.  You might not see it at the time, but it is there.

I think that it is easier to look back over my life now and see the golden thread that ties everything together.  I can see how each and every person and experience has led me to where I am now.  I am able to feel gratitude for the trials in my life because they pushed me forward.  (not always gently)  I am also able to see how God was guiding me all the time and I just didn’t know it. 

When you have the realization the you are being guided the whole time, it makes it easier to trust that everything will work out the way it is suppose to.   I have taken chances and they haven’t always worked out the way that I wanted.  BUT they have worked out the way they should have.  I have learned where I am and where I want to be.  I have learned in order to be happy I have to be ME. 

Thank you God for all of these wonderful lessons.

As I observe the people in my life, I have found one common thread running through everyone.  It doesn’t matter how it manifests in their lives, but it is still there.  I even see it in myself. 

What I am seeing is lack of self-love.  It is a term that I have heard many times, but struggled to reconcile within myself.  How do you know that you don’t love yourself and how do you begin to feel love?

Lack of Self-Love

When you don’t love yourself, it shows up in so many different forms.  It can manifest as:

• Judgement of others.
• Never trying something new in fear of humiliation.
• Putting yourself down.
• Feeling undeserving of anything good.
• Never putting yourself “out there”
• Staying in your safety zone

The truth of the matter is, that when you don’t love yourself, your entire life suffers.  You aren’t able to truly love and be loved by anyone if you don’t love yourself first.  This can affect everything from your relationships to your financial situation.

Steps to Loving You

There are a few things you can do to begin the journey of loving yourself.  It might take time.  So, be patient with yourself and realize it is a process. 

• Notice where you are starting.  You’ll never get anywhere on this journey of self-love if you don’t know where you are starting.  Do you recognize yourself in any of those manifestations above?  Do you understand that you are living your life without truly loving yourself?
• Choose to love yourself.  Everything good in your life begins with a decision.  You need to choose you.  You need to choose love.  You are the most important person in your life.  Take care of you.
• Heal old wounds.  A huge part of learning to love yourself is healing old wounds.  For some, it may be as easy as just letting it go.  For others, it may take the help of a professional.  It is important to let go of the past and release the beliefs that are keeping you down.
• Fill yourself up with love.  You can begin to love yourself by treating you the way you would want a lover to treat you.  Pamper yourself.  Get a massage.  Hire someone to do your gardening.  Do things to take care of yourself.  Take “me” time and do something you enjoy.  Buy yourself flowers.
• Believe that you are love.  You are created by God and God doesn’t make mistakes.  God is love and so are you.  Believe that you are worthy of all good.

When you truly begin to love yourself, you will no longer need to search for love.  You will no longer need to search for happiness.  You will no longer need approval from others.  You will already feel these things within yourself. 

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.

 ~Anaïs Nin

Everyone sees the world in their own unique way.  We each have a perception of people, places, and circumstances in our lives.  Your perception is based on the filters that you see through.  Your filters are in place because of previous experiences in your life.

The common saying is, “Is your glass half-full or half-empty?”  I’m sure that you know people who have a glass that is half-empty.  Everything they see is negative, everyone is out to get them.  I know that I have actually felt this way at certain points in my life. 

Another way to say it is “If the world gives you lemons, do you just take a big bite out of the lemon and complain about how sour it is, or do you make lemonade?” People who make lemonade are the people who are able to see the upside in everything. 

• Out of tragedy comes opportunity. 
• There is beauty in everyone.
• The universe is conspiring in my favor.
• There are lessons to learn in every situation.

Now, I don’t mean just be insincere and pretend to live this way.  I mean truly embrace every person and every situation.  Be a detective and find the good in everything. 

Now, would you like  a glass of lemonade?