
Have you ever woke up and just felt “blech”? If you have, you’ll
recognize the feeling I’m about to describe. When you try to rise out of
bed, you instead slide out of the bed like a fried egg off of a Teflon
pan. #Ugh. Well, over the years, I’ve learned some tricks that have
helped me wash my funk right down the drain along with my eyeboogers and
morning breath, helping me feel more refreshed and fabulous by the time
I head out the door!
1. Exercise! I read a study a while back that said
that people who exercise, even if they don’t see major differences in
their size and weight right away, have higher self esteem than those who
don’t exercise at all! The article went on to mention some stuff about
chemicals in the brain that are released when you work out that cause
you to feel better about yourself or something…lol! I dunno, but
something about taking care of myself makes me feel like a rock star! If
you need a little “I am sexy” reminder, grab your tennis shoes and a
cute little track suit and get to sweatin’! You never know who you may
spot at the gym or walking trail as “inspiration” anyway! Woot woot!
2. Dress Better Than You Feel! Never EVER dress like crap, if you already feel like crap. That
is one of my biggest no-nos when I am having a bad day. Nothing will
sink you deeper into depression than sweats, t-shirts, and dirty white
sneakers when you’re already in a funk! If you are feeling a little
“blah”, dress the way you wanna feel! Throw on a fun summer dress to go
to the grocery store, or rock a sexy, slimming, pencil skirt and some
heels to work. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll be feeling yourself
by the end of the day if you take the extra time to do yourself up a
little bit!
3. Primp and Pamper! If you want to take it a step
further from the above tip, call in the big guns and go all out!
Schedule an appointment at your local salon and get the full treatment!
The great thing about getting pampered is that there’s “evidence” of how
much you care about yourself long after you left the salon. When you
look down at you finger and toe nails and check out the arches on those
stunning eyebrows, you can stay on an “I am pretty attractive”
high much longer than you could just by wearing a nice outfit! Oh, and
then there’s the brazilian wax to REALLY spice things up…rawwr! lol!
4. A few good friends are all you need to keep you
from drowning in your own self doubt and despair sometimes. It’s not
about how many friends you have, but more about how the friends you have
enrich your life. Surround yourself not only with like minded people,
but sprinkle your crowd with people who you aspire to be like. For
instance, if you’re in school to be a lawyer or a doctor, find a friend
who has already achieved that goal so that they can encourage you when
you are overwhelmed or a little discouraged. Who better to tell you what
it really is, than someone who’s already been there?
5. Work towards something. Sometimes the best medicine for a crummy self esteem is a little purpose. If
you are finding yourself in a rut that you just can’t seem to get out
of, might I suggest that you stop and think really hard about what would
truly make you happy. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a
positive place of contentment. Even if you don’t have EVERYTHING you want, what do YOU need
to feel content? Once you have figured out what that is (if it’s love,
start with yourself), figure out a game plan to get it! Set small goals
and work towards them. Keeping your mind and body occupied will make it
easier to shake those ugly thoughts that can wreck havoc on your sanity
when you’re doing nothing.
6.Volunteer. As bad as your situation may be, there’s always someone in a tighter spot. Helping them, will help you heal.
7. Celebrate Yourself! In my very humble opinion,
there is nothing wrong with throwing yourself a party every now and
again. Don’t just limit functions to the obvious events like birthdays
and anniversaries. If you graduated from college and it took you an
extra semester to make that happen, throw yourself a “Super Senior
Soiree”. If you managed to land a promotion after 5 years or trying,
throw yourself a “Salary Boost Shindig”! After healing from a not so
amicable break-up in college, I threw myself an “Emancipation of
Taneica” party, complete with shirtless fraternity brothers serving hors
d’oeuvres and giving foot massages to my more than appreciateve lady
guests. lol!
Listening to Christian music and reading my Bible helps. It makes me grateful for the way God made me. Also when my husband can't keep his hands off of me with his hugs and kisses. When I look my worst he still tells me how beautiful I am. I like all of the tips in the article too.
Music helps me also.
I definitely do number 2 to boost my self esteem. Works everytime.
I like these tips. Another thing that helps me is going to church where I can be reminded who I am and how much my Creator (God) loves me:)
I like those tips!
Two of the things I'm horrible with: dressing better than I feel and exercising. (Hangs head in shame). I need to do better. These are awesome tips!!!
Thank you for posting this Taneica – I was doing the "Dress Better Than You Feel" thing and didn't even know why. When my TWA was having a BHD, I'd throw on a cute top and pretty flats and the hell with it! LOL
Thanks for these timely reminders
#2,#3 and #5 are the ones that help me the most. When i'm feeling like a grouch I try to stay busy. I look for projects or activities that I started and have yet to finish to keep my mind off of things for a while. If my brain is focused on something else then I forget how I was feeling and get excited about the project again.
Definitely agree with #2. I feel good when I get out turn my music up loud and hit the pavement. No matter whats going on at that point its just me, my music, sweat, and my thighs.
I'm loving these positive, self-love tips. They're so refreshing and encouraging. I had to share with all my facebook friends.
Yes, when I don't want to exercise, I always feel better once I finish. Great tips! Thanks!
I excerise and dance in my room or all over the house listening to that feel good,exciting,dance it off music on my iPod. Sometimes I just take out my journal and write what I am feeling and what I want to feel like later which is better. (P.s. I learning this one in my stress management class in college, it really has helped me like mucho times). Excellent article.
I listen to music
I really like these tips. I agree that music & dancing can boost your mood. Dressing up def helps with my mood as well. Sometimes just forcing yourself to smile can improve your mood.
Yesssss! I love these suggestions and the one comment about music. I am printing this out and sharing!
For me music helps alot! Sometimes I don't want to move around. I just want to be plain ole lazy. That's when the music comes on and I can dance a little and I feel my mood lifting. There is truth to what you said about exercising. I always feel better after I workout. It does wonders for my energy level. Also, I want to lose weight, so instead of focusing on weighing in daily and being sad when that number does go down as quickly as I would like, I have been just telling myself that I will lose the weight and it's help me to stay positive about it. I agree with the article above about being positive or having a more optimistic way of looking at things. Awesome to celebrate yourself!