We all have down days.
You get all the way to the final interview and they say, "no." You get mustard on your shirt. Your baby bearded dragon dies.🦎
Sometimes @#$%@#$ happens that's hard to understand in the moment, makes it feel like the universe is working against you, makes you just want to cave in on yourself. I've been there. It's NOT FUN.
Here's the thing though: whenever we feel out-of-sorts because we're outside our comfort zone, we can be sure that a lot of learning is happening.
Where things are stable, comfortable, and predictable we often don't learn so much. On the other hand, where the soil is disrupted, where we stretch, where we're outside our comfort zone - THAT'S where things grow🪴; that's where learning happens.
And yet, whenever we're outside our comfort zone, especially in the moment, it can feel REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE, right? What's the best way to deal with that?!
ROUND TABLE WHISTLING
There's a scene in the musical Camelot⚔️ where Queen Guenevere and King Arthur wonder "what do the simple folk do to help them escape when they're blue?"
Their seven-dwarf friendly solution: whistle.
HERE'S 100 MORE
Is whistling too naively 20th Century for you? Ok, I get it. Here's 100 more ideas you can use to lift your spirits the next time you hit a rough patch.
Just please remember, even though it's not always fun to be in a rough spot - that's very often the best place to get traction. Hope these serve and hang in there - whatever you're facing - you can do it!
1. Listen to music you love
2. Watch a great movie
3. Clean your house
4. Pet a dog
5. Donate to charity
6. Buy a meal for someone that needs one
7. Go for a run
8. Swim
9. Eat chocolate
10. Lift weights
11. Ride a bike
12. Watch stand-up comedy that makes you laugh
13. Take a walk
14. Get your hair cut/styled
15. Call a friend
16. Volunteer for a worthy cause
17. Read or write a poem
18. Pick the salad
19. Get a manicure/pedicure/facial/makeover
20. Play a video game
21. Go outside
22. Take a nap
23. Learn how to do something new
24. Meditate
25. Read to a toddler
26. Look at art
27. Sit by a fountain
28. Get in some really cold water
29. Listen to birds sing
30. Dance
31. Go to a zoo
32. Listen to live music
33. Talk to spirits
34. Get somebody to rub your feet, your back, someplace that feels good
35. Travel
36. Declutter and donate
37. Visit with a senior citizen
38. Get under a really great blanket
39. Smell something amazing
40. Look at beautiful flowers
41. Help somebody learn
42. Give an anonymous gift
43. Be in nature
44. Pray
45. Read inspiring quotes
46. Read/watch a story about people overcoming something really hard
47. Plant a tree
48. Wear new shoes
49. Make your bed
50. Take a shower
51. Have a nerf gun fight
52. Get some balloons (bonus points for water balloons)
53. Ride a horse
54. Watch a sunrise/sunset
55. Look at the ocean or a mountain
56. Introduce yourself to 10 strangers
57. Tell someone "I love you"
58. Catch a firefly and let it go
59. Brush your teeth
60. Send notes to 5 people
61. Build a snowman
62. Cry
63. Smell a baby
64. Pull weeds
65. Have faith; believe
66. Look at old photos
67. Scream into a pillow
68. Look at the stars
69. Close your eyes and balance on one leg
70. Doodle
71. Ask for/offer a hug
72. Drink water
73. Draw a picture
74. Take 10 deep breaths
75. Sit by a fire
76. Lie on the floor (or even better, the ground)
77. HAVE SEX
78. Light a candle
79. Stretch
80. Eat a steak
81. Watch a documentary about WWII or the Roman Empire
82. Watch trashy TV
83. Sit halfway up the stairs
84. Sneeze
85. More pie
86. Visit a museum
87. Blow bubbles
88. Watch fish swim
89. Play a musical instrument
90. Floss
91. Tour a historical site
92. Order extra pickles
93. Walk barefoot outside
94. Let yourself have pizza and ice-cream...also tacos, obviously
95. Forgive others, and yourself
96. Write down 10 things you're thankful for
97. Sleep outside
98. Hold your breath underwater
99. Read something sacred
100. Serve others unreasonably and outrageously
