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In leadership, if you are unable to lead yourself to a better feeling place, even on the most persistent of bad days, then you really have no business claiming to be able to motivate those you lead. Further, if you aren’t able to find a way to feel good about you, what you do, and who you are, then you aren’t leading you very well, and well, that leads us back to a status of ineffectively leading others.
Here are 3 Indisputable Ways to Feel Better
And if you’re having a bad day or a bad Monday in particular, this is your immediate homework!
Help Someone Else
There’s just really no arguing with this one. Find someone to help that you know or don’t know. Maybe even help a complete stranger and do it in such a way that he or she has no idea you were the do-gooder. There’s something extra special about helping someone anonymously, but either way, a random act of kindness or two will certainly brighten your day and shift the focus of what you’re thinking about.
Make a List
In the United States this week we are celebrating Thanksgiving and it is a time when we focus quite naturally on all the things we are grateful for. What if we were to apply this mentality more frequently. For example, you’re reading this Monday Moment, then you can see. Or maybe you’re listening to this Monday Moment, so you can hear. Hmmm… let’s get even more simple… YOU WOKE UP. Yep, that’s a plus. Maybe you have a home, or a job, or friends, or family, or enough in the bank to pay at least one bill, or any number of things. Make a list of what you are grateful for and do it on paper. Your subconscious doesn’t take seriously the things you merely begin saying to yourself until they have become a habit, so reinforce this list quickly by actually writing it down on paper, thus activating more than one learning and retention method.
Use Your Imagination
There is a large body of evidence to suggest that if you can dream it, it is possible for you to do it. Period. So, what if you used your imagination to dream up what you would rather be doing, feeling, seeing, or achieving, other than whatever has you in a grumpy mood right now. Begin by asking yourself “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” and let your mind take a vacation. Your mood follows your mind, so change your mind about what you’re focused on and your mood will follow.
Feel better and of course, Stay Contagious!
