Let’s start by taking a close look at the last 24 hours of your life. First, write down the activities you were involved in and the actions you took. Next to that list, I want you to write out the emotions felt in each experience. What we are looking for are patterns of behaviors and feelings. This is the first step. Here is an example:

Activity or Event

Activity or Event                     Emotions experienced
Woke up                                        Groggy, depressed, tired
Showered            Anger at the upcoming day, refreshed, more energy
Dressed                           Acceptance of the activities ahead, felt good
Made breakfast            Felt good that I was eating a healthy breakfast
Drove car to work          Tense, anxious, and angry at the traffic.
Arrived,                        logged-in to my computer – 50 new emails.

Using the above example, go ahead and create a similar chart in your journals. Treat this like a “Survey of Emotions”. As you go through this exercise, ask yourself: Does this same scenario play itself out on a daily basis? Are there emotional patterns here? You are looking to pinpoint patterns of both positive and negative emotions. Also, for any unique events or activities you participated in, how did you handle the newness, challenge or change involved? Were there things you could have done along the way which could help you feel more empowered, positive and confident? Go ahead and create your chart, and follow it up with a brief paragraph or two answering the above questions.

Next, I want you to create another, similar chart but which focuses on what you could have done differently. By doing part one of this exercise, we can see that there are patterns of behavior which we cannot change (for now). For example, if you have a “day job”, you might not be leaving that anytime soon. However, within your daily grind at work, you might be able to take more breaks, eat a healthier lunch, or go to the gym in order to help you physically feel more vital and stronger. Also, even if we have negative reactions to certain events, we can always adjust our attitude to accept the current conditions and at least handle these things with a positive, upbeat attitude.

stress management tips and tricks

The final step to this exercise will help you design some changes to your daily life going forward. Even if you are happy 99% of the time, you can still work to resolve that lingering 1%! So, given your discoveries from part 1 & 2, I want you to develop three new habits which can help you break the old patterns and create new, more positive ones. Using the example above, here are three ideas:

1) Take a 5-minute break each hour to break up the monotony of sitting at my desk all day. Also, it will help me get some perspective on the activities alleviating pressure.

2) I will do 10 minutes of yoga in the morning (or meditation – alternate each day). This will help reverse my early morning doldrums and help me start my day with a better, more positive attitude.

3) I will give an hour a day to developing my internet marketing skills. This will enable me to set up a website offering my consulting service, which I now want to do full-time.

Go ahead and do this now. If you feel that three is too ambitious, that is fine. But, don’t go for more than three. Doing too many will serve to sabotage your efforts going forward. Keep it reasonable. In 3 months, you can add more.

Lastly, there are few tips I want to give you that will help you sustain a positive outlook and attitude on life. It is common that we slip up and get sloppy with certain areas of our life. I want to point out some of these to help you from getting bitten by these down the road. Anytime we lost sight of our daily responsibilities, we are inviting trouble in the future. And when that trouble comes, it can have a definite impact on our energy and mood. Here we go:

5 Keys to Maintaining a Positive Attitude

Finances

Be sure you are managing your money, and stay within your budget. The struggle for wealth and financial freedom is a real one. By managing your money, and staying on top of your finances, you remove a tremendous amount of daily stress from your life. Nothing kills a good positive vibe like a call from a creditor, or the landlord.

Fitness

Get in, and stay in, shape! It is well documented that people who work out have a more positive outlook on life. When the body feels healthy and strong, the mind and feelings tend to follow. Also, being in better shape naturally makes you more physically attractive. You cannot lose by being in great shape.

Family

How are your family relationships? Are you in good standing with your mother and father? Many people are not, which adds a layer of stress and anxiety in their lives. I suggest strengthening these relationships, as they fortify your emotional foundation.

Home

Is your home clean? Do you leave the house with dirty dishes in the morning? This may seem unimportant and obscure, but if you act like a man the world will begin to treat you like one. If you have the money, invest in some better furniture, or have your apartment cleaned regularly. If you don’t, you’ll have to do it yourself. Remember the example I described above? Where the guy brought his date back to his place only to find it was messy and uncomfortable? Do you want this to be you? Also, have some fun things lying around that guests can participate in.