1. Immediately Take Mental Note Of Blessings And Plan More: Spend the first fifteen minutes before your feet hit the floor taking inventory of what you have to be grateful for. Journaling is a great way to do this. Once you've gotten into the habit of recalling your blessings it will become second nature. You'll look forward to it daily and it will instantly boost your morning mood. After you've inventoried your blessings, make plans for at least one nice thing to do for yourself that day. Whether it's buying a single rose during your lunch hour or giving yourself permission to fall asleep to sitcom TV, determine what would bring a little happiness to your day and give yourself permission to just do it.
2. Get Moving: After you've counted your blessings and made fun plans, get up and busy yourself. Don't dwell on your bad feelings. The faster you move, the less time you will have to think about your mood. If you can squeeze in a quick jog or power walk on your way to work or school, you'll relieve tension, raise your energy levels, boost your mood and later feel a great sense of accomplishment for taking care of yourself and leaving the wrong side of the bed behind.
3. Take Inventory: Sometimes there is absolutely no rhyme or reason whatsoever for being greeted by the wrong side of the bed. But often if you are honest, introspective, and willing to dig deeper, you can pinpoint the reason for your morning mood. Did you wake up to see the house a mess? Are you dreading an activity you must accomplish today? Be honest because identifying the problem is the first, vital step toward solving it. Once you've identified the reason, take small steps to remedy it. Doing so will give you a sense of control and immediately lighten your mood.
4. Laugh At Something - Especially Yourself: Laughter is one of the best yet easiest ways to lighten any situation. Turn on a funny morning show, plug in just one scene from a funny movie or best of all step back and see the humor in the wrong side of the bed scenario. Think about it. Some of the best comedians in the world make their livings off of poking fun at life's mundane gone wrong - the bad haircuts, the missteps, and the struggles in relationships. The lack of control over these things makes it necessary that you be able to laugh at them. Doing so will immediately diminish their power.
We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. But there is no reason to allow it to ruin our entire day and taint every activity we try to accomplish. Immediately take action as soon as you sense something is off. Count your blessings, make fun plans, get moving, take a quick inventory of your life and make small, meaningful changes. Then have a good belly laugh and reclaim your day on the other side of the bed.
