5 Tips For a Happy Ending

This post is about ending your day happy. Recall the old saying, “All’s well that ends well.” It doesn’t take a fancy research study to know that ending your day well and on a happy note allows you to rest, leading to tranquility, better sleep, greater confidence and a positive attitude.

Here are some little things you can do to set yourself up for success at the end of the day:

1. Reflect on 2-3 things that went well that day, and write them down. They can be as simple or as major as you want. “I got to work safely” and “I survived a crazy day”  are perfectly acceptable if you can’t think of anything else.

2. Release some gremlins. Did you get angry today? Are you upset about how someone treated you?  The research out there on apology and forgiveness indicates that you’re just hurting yourself by holding a grudge. This includes beating yourself up (a self-grudge). Release those gremlins into the ether and fight the good fight on moral high ground. Do it for yourself.

3. Think about future goals, and visualize yourself achieving them. Take a minute to just picture yourself on that pedestal, holding the gold medal. Express gratitude for the fact that you’ve made it. This belief in yourself is the arch enemy of fear.

4. Resolve to love more. Daydream about how you’re going to express more love tomorrow than you did today. Identify someone you are going to give special treatment to the next day.

5. Take a moment of silence. Literally one minute if you can’t spare more. Use the 60 seconds to breathe in and out. Think of the time as a micro-meditation…a chance for your brain to just go silent.

These strategies are not original or earth-shattering, but people rarely practice them. Instead, we come home beaten and bruised from the daily grind, and might find ourselves down or dejected.

You have a choice to not end your day that way, and I encourage you to take some bold steps on this today. If you’ve read this far, it’s because you really care. So what are you going to do next?