How often do you feel GREAT during the day? As in, fully energized, in a good mood, and not a sign of tiredness in sight.
Think about the days when you don’t feel sluggish or unproductive. Instead, you’re focused and you’re getting things done. You feel good. And there is a rewarding feeling when you finish the day doing exactly what you wanted to do.
I have that feeling on the days I write. Just the process of writing gets me energized.
Now, these “great” days don’t happen everyday. And there are various factors that are out of our control (like a stressful work task, or a traffic jam) that can ruin our day.
But feeling great isn’t just a fleeting emotion. It’s something you can generate. It’s in your control.
Regardless of your job stress, relationship conflicts, or impending deadlines, the choice of feeling great is still yours.
And here are a few things that will help you to consistently feel great every day.
Have work you love
We spend most of our waking time at work or thinking about work. Hence, if you have work that you don’t like, it will have a negative impact on your life.
This is why it’s so important to have work you love.
I’ve had different types of work.
- In 2010, I started a company with my dad. It was good. I had freedom and purpose. But I wasn’t passionate about the product (professional laundry machines). So I felt it lacked something. I wasn’t fully engaged.
- In 2014, I got a job at a major IT research firm in London. The salary was good and the bonuses also. Many of my co-workers were nice (not all). I liked wearing a suit. But once again, I wasn’t passionate about the work. I felt like I was wasting my time. I just didn’t care.
- In 2015, I wrote my first book. I was HOOKED. Just the process of writing gave me so much energy I didnt care about publishing and selling it. I was committed to figuring it out later.
Look, you can lie to yourself as much as you want. But you just can’t fake passion.
You can tell yourself that the salary of a particular job is good, but if you don’t care, you will only feel shitty about your career.
Do yourself a favor and find out what you’re passionate about and good at, and make that your career.
Surround yourself with people you like
Nothing can destroy your energy and mood like negative and sour people.
A good chat with a friend or a heart-to-heart with a loved one. These aren’t just feel-good moments; they’re essential to our well-being.
People who connect with friends and close companions tend to be more content with their lives and are less prone to depression.1Source: APA.org They also have a lower likelihood of dying from most causes, including heart issues and various chronic diseases.
Meanwhile, folks who lack these social connections—due to isolation, loneliness, or poor-quality relationships—face a heightened risk of dying earlier.
With our busy schedules, it’s easy to forget to make time for these vital connections. So take a step back from the daily grind, and reconnect with those who bring joy into your life. Whether it’s a coffee date with a friend, a phone call to a family member, or a simple text to someone you’ve lost touch with, these small gestures can have a big impact on your happiness.
Also, research has shown that making others happy increases our own happiness.2Source: Psychology Today This is likely due to our basic psychological need for “relatedness,” or feeling close to others. When we make an effort to make someone else happy, it inspires feelings of closeness, which in turn makes us feel happier.
Adopt a healthy (and active) lifestyle
Sedentary behavior is any waking behavior characterized by an energy expenditure ≤ 1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs).3Source: SedentaryBehavior.Org Basically, that means activities done while sitting or reclining. Here are some common examples of sedentary behaviors:
- TV viewing: Spending long hours in front of the television
- Video games: Playing video games for extended periods
- Smartphone use: This includes both work and leisure activities
- Driving automobiles: Long commutes or frequent use of cars for short distances
- Reading: While it’s a valuable activity, it becomes sedentary if it’s done for prolonged periods without breaks
- Using public transportation a lot and rarely walking or cycling
Sedentary living pretty much sums up modern life. But it doesn’t mean we have to be complacent. Get up and move around! It sucks to be a stiff being.
What do you do when you’re feeling stressed from work and life?
Many people tend to rely on their gadgets or bank accounts to make the stress go away: They doom scroll on their phones, binge-watch series on their TVs, or go traveling somewhere.
But sometimes, the solution is super simple: Eating well, exercising, and having a consistent sleeping time.
Remember when we were kids, and the three pillars of our day were eating right, playing outside, and sleeping early? It seems simple, but these are still the foundations of a healthy lifestyle.
In his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Harvard psychiatrist and physician John Ratey talked about how many of our mental and physical problems are caused by a lack of good exercise.
“At every level, from the microcellular to the psychological, exercise not only wards off the ill effects of chronic stress; it can also reverse them. Studies show that if researchers exercise rats that have been chronically stressed, that activity makes the hippocampus grow back to its pre shriveled state. The mechanisms by which exercise changes how we think and feel are so much more effective than donuts, medicines, and wine. When you say you feel less stressed out after you go for a swim, or even a fast walk, you are.”
Look, you don’t have to start training for a marathon to improve your mental well-being. You also don’t need a complicated diet from Whole Foods to start eating better.
Simply take a daily walk, do a few strength training exercises, and eat greens and fruits every day. Start with that and you’re good!
When it comes to sleep, simply sleep at the same time every day.
Take your mood and energy seriously
A lot of people think that work should not be great. “That’s why it’s called work” is what they say.
There are even people who think that life itself is a long road of suffering. Now, that doesn’t mean life is always great and happy.
Life is certainly hard. And there are a lot of dark things in this world. It’s far from perfect.
But that doens’t mean you can’t feel good.
While the world might not change, you can. You can make your existence a little bit better. And that’s worth it.
