How to stay cheerful when everything tells you that you shouldn’t be.

If you have access to the news at the moment then it may feel hard to stay cheerful.

There’s a lot that is not, how you would want it right now. And most of what isn’t right you have very little control over – war, famine, poverty … these aren’t things that you or I can fix or control.

But we can control how we react to the news of these things and work at trying to stay cheerful despite what’s going on … not forced happiness but spotting and celebrating the good things that are out there too.

So, below are three things you can do to be more cheerful without spending a lot of money. They work for me and I’d be interested to hear how they work for you.

 

1. Be grateful.

   List a gratitude daily and/or starting filling your happiness jar … If you don’t know what I’m talking about I wrote about this a while ago.

   https://www.stepoutfromtheshadows.co.uk/thank-you-i-am-grateful/

   Or post a gratitude publicly every day.

   I did this back in 2013 on Facebook and it permanently changed the way I look at the world. If you know that you are going to publicly state a gratitude you start looking out for them. So instead of thinking … I’ve broken down … what a nightmare! I would think oh good I can be grateful for the AA today!

   And on those days when nothing in particular happened I had to search for a gratitude. Which means you are focusing on the positive at all times!

2. Make a call.

   Call someone … anyone. An old friend an ex-colleague, client or supplier; or just someone you haven’t spoken to for a couple of weeks.

   Pick up the phone and say I thought I’d just give you a call to check you’re OK! You might be pleasantly surprised by the response!

   And if phone calls really aren’t your thing … how about a voice message? An email or a text? Or really old school – send a card or a letter? We are social beings and building that human connection will help.

3. Be kind.

   The truth about a good deed is that it feels great to do; even better than to be on the receiving end. So do something nice for someone else.

   And if someone does something nice to you … pay it forward … that 20p you give someone at the carpark machine could mean they get to their interview on time. That smile and cheery “good morning” you gave to that person you walked past … could be the only human interaction they get today. And it will leave you with a warm glow too.

I honestly believe that being grateful, kind and positively interacting with other human beings are the gamechangers we need to stay cheerful … communication at its best!