15 Ways to Improve Your Mood Daily

15 Ways to Improve Your Mood Daily 

15 Ways to Improve Your Mood Daily. We can all use a boost to our mood every day, and these simple ways to do it are easy to incorporate into our daily lives. 

I have a firm belief that we are meant to be joyful, happy, and content. That is actually our natural state of being. Not being stressed, anxious, busy, and filled with worry. Yet we tolerate all of those negative feelings like they are perfectly normal, even embracing them, instead of focusing on the simple ways to boost our mood naturally and be happier. 

Using these methods and incorporating even a couple of them into your daily life will make a big difference in how you feel and how you go about each day. Time spent on your health and well-being is never wasted time. I think this should be considered a form of self-care. 

Here are my favorite 15 ways to improve your mood daily. 

Let there be light 

In the morning when you wake up, open the curtains and windows to allow both natural light and fresh air into your home. 

Allowing your home to breathe with you will make a big difference and allows you to start the day on a brighter note. 

Enjoy the sunshine 

Right along with natural light and fresh air, sunshine means everything. It is a source of vitamin d, and really does wonders for your mood. 

I find this especially true in the fall and spring. When it is cold in the shade, going out in the sun makes me feel warmer, and really does boost my mood. 

Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee

Take the time each morning to enjoy a quiet cup of tea or coffee and relax. I love to read a short story during this time, and leave my phone in another room. 

Take the time to be mindful about this. Use two hands to hold the cup, think about how it feels in your hand and how much you enjoy it. Think about the opportunity to read a book or short story instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media and all the negativity that comes with that. 

Enjoying these quiet moments and being grateful for them are excellent ways to boost your mood. 

Be gentle 

This one might sound funky, but hear me out, because it has made a huge difference for me. 

Be gentle in the way you move your body, with the things you hold, and the way you walk. Focus more on being graceful and gentle than just rushing through and getting things done. 

Gentleness happens in action, but it also slowly turns into a way of being. I’m still practicing, but I certainly notice when I’m not being gentle. I’ve also found when I take the time to be gentle, I’m inherently being more kind, to myself and to others. 

Take a break from social media and tv 

Social media is great for some things, like seeing posts from friends and family that are far away, or keeping up with pictures of kids. I love seeing pictures of my five month old nephew as he grows. 

But social media can also be a black hole of negativity. People forget they are still talking to fellow humans, despite being behind a screen and saying some horrible things to each other. It is detrimental to start your day with that. 

I’m not saying to go off the grid in terms of social media, although I’ve known more than one person who has made this choice. But to be more mindful about how much you use it, and if it is having negative effects on you. I also recommend not starting your day with it. Only use it after you’ve taken care of your priorities. 

TV can be much like social media, and it just consumes you. The average person watches six hours of tv a day. Six hours. Just take a moment and think about that. There are so many other things we all could be doing instead of plopping down on the couch to watch tv and mindlessly consume potato chips for six hours every day. Think about how you can be using your time more productively and only turn on the tv after you’ve taken care of yourself. 

Go for a walk 

Don’t just go for a walk though. Take a mindful walk. Mindfulness means you’re focusing on the present moment. When you take a walk, slow down the pace and walk as if there is rhythm in your body. Pay attention to how it feels to be outside, not having a destination or time frame. Just walk to be walking. 

Take the time to notice what is around you, trees, weather, people, whatever you see. Notice it. 

Enjoy music and dancing 

Life would be dull without music! Sometimes the simplest answer to boosting your mood is just loud music and a little dance. It really is that simple. 

Play your favorite songs, be grateful for your hearing and that you can enjoy that, as well as for the artist who created that song you love so much. 

Give gratitude to your body 

Your body is what keeps you going. Your heart, lungs, hands, feet, and everything else. Your body works for you literally all the time. It isn’t easy! Expressing gratitude for the fact your body is working for you is both a way to take care of yourself and a way to boost your mood. 

I try to be mindful when doing this. Like if I’m driving, I’m grateful for my eyes. If I’m walking, I’m grateful for my feet and legs. Doing laundry, I’m grateful for my hands. The list goes on, but that is an area I have found makes me more conscious of what I’m doing and just how my body is working to help me achieve all of my goals and tasks each day. 

Love an animal 

Animals thrive in loving and being loved. So do we. 

Hug your cat or dog and spend some quality time with them to boost your mood. Even enjoying something funny that they do is a huge mood booster. 

If you don’t have a dog or cat, don’t worry. You can pet a dog you see when you’re out for a walk, if the owner doesn’t mind. I find it easy to spot friendly animals when I’m in the park and most owners apologize for them being so friendly, and I don’t mind in the least. I love my puppy fix, as I call it. 

If you have friends who have animals, feel free to call them and ask if you can come over and spend a little time with their dog or cat. Good friends understand the therapy and mood boosters their pets give, and are usually more than happy to help. 

I’ve always found myself living in the present moment and fully happy, enjoying whatever is happening when I am loving an animal. It is one of the easiest ways to instantly boost my mood. 

Stretch, exercise, and meditate 

I often wonder how many people skip this simple mood booster because they feel like it is time consuming and too much effort? 

Taking a mere ten minutes to stretch can make all the difference in the world. Don’t wait for motivation to exercise. Exercise to get motivated! 

You don’t need an expensive gym membership to do this either. Just a little space. I use my office everyday and make sure there is room for my yoga mat, and I’m set. That’s it. 

If you’re new to or struggling with the concept of meditating, just sit. Sit for ten minutes in silence. Silence is nourishing and healing. When we are constantly filled with noise, our heart can’t guide us. Sitting in silence and practicing doing so is an excellent way to start meditating and listening to ourselves. 

Tidy up your home or bedroom 

A clean space is a happy and productive space. When we are in the comfort of our home, this is where we feel safe and are our real selves. 

Our surroundings impact our mood. If a home or room is messy and cluttered, it will affect your mood. I’ve found this to be especially true in my office, as I work at home. Keeping that specific area clean is essential. 

Journal 

Do you have a journal or diary? Oftentimes we feel a ton of emotions, and they can get really heavy to carry around inside our heads all the time. 

By writing them all down, you are giving yourself a chance to be free of those thoughts, while acknowledging them at the same time. Nobody else has to read it, it is all yours, and use it however you choose. Freestyle by just writing what you feel, or follow prompts to help you. 

This is a great way to boost your mood because you’re thinking about and talking about your feelings and thoughts, while allowing space for them to come out and free up your brain for more positive thoughts. 

Gratitude journaling is another great way to boost your mood through journaling if you aren’t into writing about thoughts and feelings. 

Smile in front of the mirror 

We all know how much a smile can impact a stranger on the street or an employee in a store, right? Now imagine if you can do that to yourself. You can! 

Go look in the mirror, look into your eyes, and smile. It is that easy. 

Start making it a habit when you’re getting ready for work in the morning to smile at yourself in the mirror. Or when you’re going through your nightly and morning makeup or skincare routine. 

A wise person once said that happiness isn’t the reason for our smile, but a smile can be a reason for our happiness and I believe that. 

Listen to positive affirmations 

I write them in my planner daily, so when I’m looking at it, I can’t help but see and read one every day. 

In our lives, it isn’t just important to learn. It is essential that we unlearn a lot of things. 

We have held so many false beliefs about ourselves, money, health, happiness, work, body image, the list goes on. I think I could write an entire post about the false beliefs that we’ve all heard and been taught over the years. This is especially true if you’ve been raised in an abusive home and still hold many of those beliefs that you were taught. 

Those can be hard to break, unless you are deliberately seeking ways to find the truth and change those beliefs, and ultimately change your life. I’ve found that positive affirmations, either read or listened to each day, are an amazing way to start that. This will not only boost your mood, but help you to limit those limiting and destructive beliefs you’ve had for far too long. This can help you to become the best version of yourself. 

Rest 

Getting plenty of sleep allows our body to heal naturally and will set us up for a successful day. But that isn’t it. Recognizing and listening to your body when it needs rest is a wonderful way to understand yourself, give yourself exactly what you need, and will naturally boost your mood. 

I don’t know why, but it just feels good when I do what my body tells me to do. There is a deeper connection there. I’m not just going on auto-pilot and pushing my way through the day. There is a level of intention that comes with listening to my body. 

15 Ways to Improve Your Mood Daily Notes 

One of my favorite things about these ways to improve and boost your mood is that they are small. They don’t require any significant time commitment to do, and can be incorporated into your daily routine. 

These are also free and very low-cost ways to boost your mood, which is even better, in my opinion. I’m a thrifty woman, and I always feel like I’m winning when I do something amazing that costs me little or nothing. 

I really hope we shift from normalizing stress and anxiety to normalizing being happy and taking care of ourselves. Because boosting our moods and listening to our bodies and paying attention to things around us are all intentional choices we have to make. 

Incorporating a few of these into your daily lifestyle by being deliberate and intentional is also a really great way to be more in control of your mood, emotions, and feelings. This keeps things that are outside of your control from interfering with your mood. 

This also impacts your interactions with others and spreads to so many other areas than just yourself and how you’re feeling. Smiles and kindness are contagious! But it all starts with being kind to yourself, and these are excellent ways to do so. 

15 Ways to Improve Your Mood Daily Discussion 

Do you incorporate these habits into your daily routine? Or do you have other tried and true ways to boost your mood? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!