How to be motivated and happy

We can change our mood

The way we feel inside everyday is a program that can be changed and we will go through multiple methods on this list that we can use to motivate and become more positive. we don't always need a reason to feel down or demotivated because its already part of our daily thought pattern to feel that way from habits we create growing up. That is down to certain habits of thought that we didn't even realize were taking place but they have shaped the way we think and feel since we were children.

The very first thing that needs to change is how we feel in the first hour of waking up when our stress chemicals in our brain are at their highest levels, this is the start of your daily mental cycle and it needs to be the foundations and the mental fuel supply for the rest of the day. There is no way you can be a positive thinking person full of motivation and happiness if you don't even want to get out of bed in the morning, now this is easier said than done but entirely possible even if your the moodiest morning person and hate the thought of getting up for whatever reason.

The waking brain has the highest levels of anxiety and stress chemicals by far so that first hour is vital to gain control over the old thought cycle of inviting negative emotions in for the rest of the day, what we need to do is combat it at the source and don't let it gain momentum through the day and our best combatant technique for fight negative emotions is falsely creating positive emotions commonly referred to as "gratitude training" or "practicing gratitude" (we know it sounds silly) studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of the technique and we can confirm it works very well.

Practicing gratitude to be positive

Gratitude is being grateful for the good things in our lives even there aren't many we need to use them to combat negativity so the most common things we are grateful for are our loved ones. We need to use specific memories that spark an emotion so for example think back to the last time you laughed uncontrollably with a family member or friend, or the last time you felt truly relaxed, calm and safe weather you were on holiday or just petting your dog watching your favorite tv programs. The point is we are hoping to find a positive emotion to focus on whenever we need it and your going to need more than 1 thing to think about as having multiple to switch between will be beneficial the more the better so your first task is finding these things and memories your grateful for.

Once you have these positive thoughts ready to use the next thing we need to do is use them at the right times and as we mentioned earlier the moment you wake is the hardest time to be positive as your brain is full of anxiety chemicals and full of potent stress hormones. If we can break the cycle of starting our day feeling unmotivated and moody we can learn to carry it through the whole day but 1 step at a time. In an ideal world you will want to go to bed early enough to give yourself at least 30 minutes in the morning to yourself although that wont be possible for a lot of people here is what you need to do.

Sit comfortably in a room that is not too noisy don't watch tv, its ok to have yourself a cup of tea or coffee while you practice this simple thought cycle, now think of any of the positive memories we mentioned earlier and focus on how you felt in that moment and you will notice with a bit of practice you can feel a very similar emotion to how you felt in the actual time of the memory.

The emotion is never quite as potent as the actual event your remembering but with practice it can get very close to the real feeling you felt back then, your mind will keep trying to pull your attention away to think about different things that will cause stress and anxiety and your task is to drag your attention back over and over again your bringing your thoughts under control and returning to the positive memories and all the things your grateful for. The brain will repeatedly try to go back into its normal thought patterns while your doing this it will force you to think about things your worried about as this is our normal thought pattern, you need to notice every time your mind diverts your attention to negative thoughts as this is half the battle the other half of the battle is replacing them with your gratitude thoughts and memories.

Use breathing to fight negative emotions

This breathing guide is for immediate effect when you feel stressed or anxious its essentially tricking your brain into thinking its in a completely safe environment and there is no threat or reason for anxiety, there are proven studies supporting how effective breathing techniques are to almost instantly change our negative emotions or thoughts in a matter of seconds.

The most important part of the breathing technique that a lot of people mess up is that the top and the bottom of the breaths have to be held for just as long as the breath in and the breath out. So your going to breath in for 5 seconds, then hold in the breath for 5 seconds then slowly release the breath for roughly 5 seconds and just as importantly hold for 5 seconds with no air in your lungs. A lot of people feel a light headed feeling this is caused by a large intake of oxygen if this makes you feel unsteady then it will be best to practice this when seated at least at first until you get used to it. This is an excellent way of getting rid of stress quickly and can be used whenever you feel anxiety creeping in.

How to feel happy

When we talk about being happy we need to acknowledge happiness all of the time is not possible there is not an animal on this planet that can achieve endless happiness we need to have ups and downs its part of us. The problem starts when we get over run by the unhappy feelings leading them to linger and stay around for larger parts of our day than the happy emotions and this might lead to us feeling depressed and demotivated. As smart as the human brain is it can actually be tricked very easily and one of the best methods we can use to produce a regular flow of happy chemicals in our brain is to complete meaningless tasks, sounds strange doesn't it?

This meaningless task method is very well studied it shows that no matter how little the task might mean to the person, for example a person who hates puzzles completing a crossword or sudoku puzzle, the brain will still release the same reward chemicals that make us happy and if you do this enough times throughout the day you will force your brain into a happy cycle habit that over time will become your normal brain function.

The task might be something like washing up a few dishes or a puzzle game on your phone but no matter how meaningless it might seem your subconscious brain cant help but be excited about completing a task this is hardwired into human instincts as hunter gatherers.

Green spaces for depression

Spending at least 30 minutes per day in a green space surrounded by trees, grass, flowers, bushes and wildlife has been shown to reduce the chances of developing depression and it can also lower blood pressure according to some studies done on humans. So if you can make time at least a couple of times per week to visit a nature path or wildlife walk area near your home you will benefit greatly with your mental health and general mood.