The Simple Secret to Good Moods

www.moodraiser.com- excerpt from: The Simple Secret to Good Moods

Comparisons. Your mind makes them all the time. And whether you feel contentment or dissatisfaction largely depends on what you are comparing your life to.One of the barriers to contentment is that advertisers are constantly giving us perfect images to compare ourselves with: people with perfect homes and cars and spouses and children, and they give us the illusion that this perfection is somehow possible.The advertisers are taking advantage of the way our minds work naturally. You automatically and naturally compare yourself and your life to others and with your own ideals and aspirations. And when you compare your life to something worse, you feel more satisfaction. When you compare it to something better, you feel dissatisfaction and desire — feelings that may help an advertiser sell products, but feelings that ruin your good mood.
Although the process of comparison happens without your active effort, you can assume control of it. Like your own own breathing, it happens on its own, but you can make it do what you want at any time. All you have to do is pay attention to it.Why would you want to bother? Because, as Robin Lloyd put it after looking at the research:People who positively evaluate their well-being on average have stronger immune systems, are better citizens at work, earn more income, have better marriages, are more sociable, and cope better with difficulties.It makes a difference to feel some contentment. It's good for you mood. And luckily, it can be accomplished pretty easily. It won't last for a long time, but neither does sleeping or exercising. The fact that the effect doesn't last is no reason to dismiss it.
If you're willing to put out a little effort, you can feel satisfied with your life a lot more often. Here's what to do: When you feel discontented, ask yourself, What could be worse? And really try to think of something specific. You can always think of something, and it is usually pretty easy.If you feel unhappy because you haven't advanced in your job as fast as you'd hoped, for example, imagine how you'd feel if you lived in a country or a time when advancement wasn't possible. Imagine being an "untouchable" in India, sentenced to generation after generation of poverty with no chance of escape. Imagine real situations other human beings have experienced that are much worse than anything you've ever had to endure.Try this technique and you'll recognize that in many ways it is a fact that you're lucky to be where you are and who you are. That lucky feeling can put you instantly in a good mood. It's relaxing and peaceful. It won't last very long, but you can always do it again. The technique works every time and it never wears out.In a way, it is a good thing the feeling doesn't last because as wonderful as contentment is, motivation is also wonderful. Striving for a goal — physical fitness, self-improvement, financial success, whatever — is practical and worthwhile also.But when you want to feel some contentment, take a little time and think about how your situation could be worse, or how it used to be worse, or think about what others have gone through.