How to maintain uncommon and unreasonable upbeatness even when stuff gets tough

I get it bro. You’re human. You have slumps and off days and little incidents that grind you the wrong way.

And it can feel hurty hurty.

But there’s a psychological toolbox available to all of us for staying unreasonably upbeat, no matter the ups and the downs.

Here are some ideas that have helped me the most over the past decades:

1. See temporary pain as a sign you’re alive.

Sure, it stings. That lump in your chest feels like a toad recently took up residence here.

And it may seem like stuff won’t change, and that these feelings are a clear sign that things are bad right now.

But are they?

First up, you’re feeling the feelings of your thoughts, not reality. And those feelings show you that you’re a human and that you’re alive.

Feel that. Embrace that. Know that you’re not a robot and that your life is truly miraculous.

Now, it’s time to put those sensitivities to good use:

• Build

• Love

• Express

• Sense

• Live

(Flat out).

2. Use your ‘problems’ as creative opportunities.

It’s amazing how quickly my dark mood can fizzle out when I find opportunities in my struggle, no matter how crappy it feels.

Now you’re being resourceful. You’re finding your balls. You’re using your creative capacity, and that is rarely not empowering.

Stop asking: ‘Why does this have to happen to me?’

And start asking: ‘Gee Whizz Guv! How can I USE this?’

3. Focus on what’s funny.

Everything has a lighter - even a funnier side.

You just feel like warmed-up cat turds because you never gave yourself the chance to see the humour in things.

Humour is everywhere, and you might find yourself in stitches before the evening’s up.

Trust me, bro - smiling has magical powers. Even if you can’t logically see the humour in your ills, smiling will lift you and others around you.

Adopt a shit-eating grin right now, and feel your energy upgrade itself.

4. Don’t become a sentimental little bitch.

I can be particularly bad at this. I like to see the sadness and the romance in things. There can be a gentle beauty in this.

But at the same time, getting overly sentimental about anything, focusing on sad things, makes me feel like warmed-up cat turds.

What you dwell on will define your emotional experience.

So stop dwelling on shit that makes you feel worse.

For your sanity, you must move on. Get into motion. The solutions you’re grasping for will come out of action.

5. Stop settling for scraps.

Many of us are hobbling around like we were just slapped upside the skull by Aunty Jane on one of her bad days.

You’re miserable because you continually settle for less.

You gave up pushing years ago. And now you wonder why you feel like spontaneously bitching out.

No matter how uninspired you are right now, you need to dedicate some time asap to plan your coming months around a mission that excites you.

It could be a basic 30-day challenge to adopt one solid new habit.

Aim to stretch yourself.

Focus on building something remarkable, marvellous, juicy.

I’ll tell you a fact:

Not one of us feels as good as they can if they’ve settled out of fear.

You can do better. No more BS, now.

Committing to better and more will instantly fill you with energy.

Go there.

See you on the other side.

Thanks for reading.

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