Beating The Blues
BY WILLIAM COTTRINGER Ph.D.

We all get hit with the emotional blues from time to time - from being generally unhappy to feeling frustrated, sad and even hopeless.

The key to dealing with this inevitable blues part of life is to not jeopardize your self-confidence or positive attitude, by doing nothing to feel better. Below are 20 action verbs that anyone can use to lessen the blues burden:

Slow Down - Everything happens for a purpose and you can't begin to see what that purpose might be by going 1000 mph.
Listen - Although the blues are an inevitable part of life, they are not necessarily a natural state.  When you listen carefully to all the clues, you might find out what you are doing wrong, that is keeping you from feeling the way you want to feel-happy and content.
Talk - There is no better way to change feelings than to talk about what you are feeling to a close friend, professional helper or family member. Sometimes just talking about how you feel is enough to clear some space in your mind and heart to start feeling better.
Think - It is often the thoughts you are having that contribute to undesirable feelings and changing your thoughts is one way to feel differently.
Read - Sometimes all you need is new information to change your thinking and feeling. Read inspiring quotes, articles or biographies to reprogram your mind and heart.
Follow-up - Having a good thought about anything is worthless unless you follow-up and act on it. You will never get results at anything without finishing something you started.
Repair - During a period of blues, it might be productive to repair some things that may need fixing - like resolving conflicts at work, taking the time to say you are sorry to someone you may have hurt, trying to communicate past a relationship problem, or even settling small financial debts.
Eat- The key is to eat right during periods of the blues. Realize, to a large extent, you are what you eat, so eat right to feel right.
Exercise - You can't possibly continue feeling depressed, unconfident or unfulfilled, if you are busy exercising. Physical exercise is a sure confidence and attitude builder.
Act - Your tangled thoughts and feelings will not change, until you act-and sometimes any action will get you moving in the right direction.
Let Go- Once you understand why you are feeling blue and start doing what you can do to undo such feelings, let go of the past and give into what might lay ahead for you. Letting go is a liberating feeling.
Enjoy - There is always something simple right under your nose that you can take the time to enjoy - and feel better by doing so.
Laugh- Just as food is nourishment for the body and love is for the soul, laughter is for the heart. Just like physical exercise, you can't possibly feel bad when you are laughing.
Pray - The trick of effective prayer is to not ask for divine intervention to relieve you from the things that cause your suffering, but rather for the intelligence and courage to see what you might need to do to change things for the better, or the patience to accept the seemingly unacceptable.
Focus - Real priorities in your life seem to rise to the surface where you can see them more clearly. Force yourself to keep these few important priorities in focus so you can act on them appropriately.
Ask- If you are not sure why you are feeling blue or what you might do about it, swallow your pride and start asking questions. Other people may have already gone through a similar situation as you are experiencing and have some good answers.
Decide - Indecision is a decision that becomes addicting - it paralyzes and immobilizes you from doing anything to get unstuck. And the ambiguity and anxiety from indecision is debilitating.
Change - The rule is "change or be changed" and it is always more comfortable to be the changer than the change. Pick something you can change right away-whether it is your attitude, appearance or behavior.
Contribute- Another rule of life is that you get back what you give. Serving and helping others is a sure way to feel better.
Believe - No matter how unhappy, sad or hopeless you feel, you can't give up your belief that things will eventually get better,' because it is certain that they will.

Apply anyone of these 20 action verbs and watch your blue mood evaporate into thin air. Apply ten or more and be more joyful than you ever imagined possible.

@2004 William Cottringer, Ph.D. All rights reserved. William Cottringer, Ph.D. is a success coach, sport psychologist and college teacher. He is author of You Can Have Your Cheese & Eat It Too. He can be reached at ckurtdoc@charter.net.