Some mornings I wake up feeling good. I am excited about everything I get to work on, and I can’t wait to attack the day. These are the easy days. Everyone is productive on those days.
And then there are the other days.
On “the other days” I get up feeling sluggish. I didn’t sleep well the night before. Or maybe I just feel overwhelmed or unexcited. These “other days” I sit at my computer feeling uninspired. I am not feeling it. So what do I do then?
I have talked before about the first 60 seconds of the day. When I am not feeling it, getting back to basics and doing a gratitude exercise is a good place to start. And speaking of exercise, working up a sweat always helps boost my mood. These are incredibly helpful. But when all else fails I ask myself a simple question.
What have you done to push out good?
Pushing out good into the world almost always helps to improve my attitude. Pushing out good might mean writing a blog, sending a positive email or text, or buying flowers for my wife. When I focus on the idea of pushing out good, it does a couple of things for me.
First, it takes the focus off of me. When I am in a funk, it often means I am too focused on me and my own issues. When I look to serve others and “push out good” it fixes that. It redirects my attention in a positive way.
Second, it feels good to do good. There is science behind this. When you do something good or “push out good,” your body releases a chemical called Oxytocin. This chemical helps to reduce stress and makes you feel warm and fuzzy. They call it the love chemical.
So if you woke up in a funk today and you want to feel better, it might be time to “push out good.” By lifting up others, you might just lift up yourself too.
Kirby Hasseman is the CEO of Hasseman Marketing. Make sure you never miss an update. Get on this HMC VIP email list. Sign up to be an HMC VIP here.
