Wonder how you can have a better day? 

These 5 simple suggestions can help. 

 

1. Make your bed.

The transformative power of bed making catapulted author Gretchen Rubin into the spotlight and established her inaugural book, THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, as the cornerstone of her ever-expanding self-improvement empire.

As for the art of making a bed, it doesn’t get any easier than this: Straighten out your sheets and blankets, cover them with a comforter and make pillows go from haphazard to ready for your head when you return. No need for hospital corners or fancy fold-overs. Just make your bed, and you’ll bookend your day with a sense of accomplishment and “Ahhhh. . . .”

2. Unlock your creativity.

 This exercise isn’t only for artists. We’re all creative beings, and letting creativity flow in the morning is a way to set our compasses for the day.

Morning Pages are a rewarding way to let our inner voices guide us, and a fantastic way to reconnect to who we are and the gifts we bring to the world.

3. Strike a pose.

Yes, fake it until you make it means you’re a poser . . . and in this case, that’s a good thing.

Whether or not we’re feeling confident and “together,” our posture and stance can be our biggest allies. Amy Cuddy believes power poses are catalysts for transforming the way we perceive ourselves and how we’re received by others.

4. Talk about your joys.

Americans like to complain. One study suggests that Americans like it so much that they complain at least four times every day. While unloading the negative might provide a temporary sense of relief, the residual effect of complaining is a toxic spiral of negativity.

Author Rita Schiano suggests making a conscious effort to talk about joys instead problems.  Choosing positivity summons serendipity and heightens our ability to be conscious of and grateful for what we already have, and that’s really something to talk about.

5. Don’t stop believing. 

 You don’t have to lip sync the chorus of this Journey anthem or sing about the sun coming out tomorrow, but you do have to make a decision.

How do you choose to feel about tomorrow — hopeful or defeated?

Believing that tomorrow will be a better day doesn’t mean you have to become a card-carrying optimist. It does mean you believe goodness exists. It also means you believe that you deserve to receive all the goodness on your horizon, along with the unconditional love, kindness and generosity already surrounding you each day.

(I know, I know — not nearly as simple as the act of making your bed, but try “faking it ’til you make it” on this one. You’re worth it.)