This list is excerpted from FEELING Good: 35 Proven Ways to Happiness, Even During Tough Times

  1. Get outside. Spending just 5 minutes outside can elevate mood and help you get through the day. Go outside for a few minutes during your lunch break.  If you can get outside and spend some time in nature, that will have even more of a powerful impact. (Ch. 2 Get Outside in Nature).
  2. Do something that brings you joy. Have something to look forward to at the end of the day. Get together with or plan a phone call with a good friend. Read a good book. Watch your favorite movie. Engage in your favorite physical activity. Eat a good meal. (Ch. 30 – Do What Makes Your Soul Happy).
  3. Remind yourself of all you have overcome. You have been through difficult times before. You are the same person, and whatever qualities helped you to get through a difficult time in your past is still part of who you are. (Ch. 32 Focus on How Far You’ve Come)
  4. Think about what you are grateful for. The easiest way to shift your thinking, energy, and mood is to use gratitude. Keep it small and think about what simple thing you are grateful for. There is always something to be grateful for, even on our worst days. And when we focus on it, we do feel better. Don’t save gratitude for your good days. Gratitude is truly most powerful on your difficult days. (Ch. 27 Develop a Gratitude Mindset).
  5. Remember that whatever difficulty you are going through will not last forever. Often when we are going through a difficult time, what can make it feel worse are thoughts that the situation will never improve. Remind yourself that whatever difficulties you have experienced in your past have either gone away, or you have learned how to cope with them. (Ch. 21 Know That the Toughest Days Will Pass).

Read more from Dr. DeLong on Open to Hope: https://www.opentohope.com/10-ways-to-gener…-a-difficult-day/

Check out Dr. DeLong’s book, FEELING Good: 35 Proven Ways to Happiness, Even During Tough Times

Dr. Peggy DeLong

Dr. Peggy DeLong is a psychologist, known as The Gratitude Psychologist. She teaches people how to harness the power of gratitude and joy to live their best lives, especially through difficult times. She does this through psychotherapy, her on-line monthly membership Feeling Good with Dr. Peggy, on-line courses, speaking engagements, books, and bracelets. Peggy is the author of I Can See Clearly Now: A Memoir about Love, Grief, and Gratitude, The Gratitude Journal: A 365 Day Gratitude Journey, and Feeling Good: 35 Proven Ways to Happiness, Even During Tough Times. She is also the owner of LOVE in a Bracelet, where she designs bracelets for coping with grief and loss, mental health, and inspiration. Peggy coordinates a weekly women’s walking group for 7 years, and she hosts women’s hiking events for spiritual growth and personal development. When she’s not focused on her businesses, you’ll find Peggy with her husband and three children in the mountains, downhill or telemark skiing, kayaking, hiking, or mountain biking.

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