14 DAY TRIAL // Negativity is the safest way to ruin something good in our life, experts keep telling us. It is negativity that makes us stop dead before our projects / endeavors have come to a successful end (quitting smoking, dieting, working out, and so on), and it’s also negativity the one that puts a damper of anything else we might start, while also bringing us down. The solution for a perfect day is to maintain a positive attitude towards everything and smile even when we might think there is nothing to smile for, Men’s Health magazine says.
To instantly boost your mood in just a couple of seconds, the magazine offers for all men the perfect tips, some of which are so easy and in plain sight, so to speak, that it’s almost no wonder you might have missed them until now. Like, say, taking five minutes off whatever it is that you’re doing to count backwards from 300: by the time you reach 1, you will have understood that you will never get back those five minutes during which you did absolutely nothing. “Killing time is a subtle form of suicide,” the mag says and this should be more than enough to motivate you for the rest of the day.
Speaking of day and motivation, make your breaks coffee-less and use them for something else than sipping on the bitter beverage, idling or chatting pointlessly with the guy from the other floor, whom you don’t know and don’t even intend to in the future. Pack a light lunch (yoghurt and fruits), eat it and then get to something more constructive, like push-ups (“you don’t even have to loosen your tie,” Men’s Health says) or listening to your favorite track a couple of times to unwind and take your mind off work completely for a short while.
“Tell the younglings an anytime, anyplace story. Start with ‘Once upon a time, a man rode a horse into a forest.’ Make the rest up as you go. Marvel at how quickly they shut up. Shred some old bank statements. Feels good, right? Very Enron-after-dark.” Men’s Health further suggests. Start a savings account and then just forget you created it: you will be pleasantly surprised later on, while the feeling that you’ve done something good will linger for at least another day, until it completely slips your mind.
Write a thank-you note: there must be one person out there whom you owe a thank you, the mag says. “Return that one call you don’t want to return. Cut it off after 5; you now officially have better things to do. Great game when you’re stuck in traffic: ‘What’s That Guy Got That I Haven’t?’ Whatever it is, note your attitude toward that item or trait. You now have a good idea what’s motivating you these days.” Men’s Health recommends.
Last, but definitely not least, comes the ability to step aside and “zone out” to get the most clear perspective on things. Prioritize and be assertive. “While you’re in line at the store, zone out on what’s bothering you most about your life. Give yourself from now until the checkout cutie scans your first item to decide how you will solve this problem. See, you already know what the hell needs to be done. You’re just not doing it yet.” the mag concludes by saying. For the full list of mood boosters, please see here.