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Hey, there this is Kirby Hasseman with a new Monday Minute.
Here is something that has been true for as long as I have been alive. Sometimes you just don't feel it. It's weird. But even when things should be good in your life, there are days when you wake up and don't have a great energy. You feel down...and sometimes there is just no good reason.
And then there are the times--and we certainly have seen these in the past year or so--when there are plenty of reasons to feel down. We have had a bad experience, we miss our family and friends, job loss, poor health...just to name a few. Sometimes...we are just down. It's natural...and it's okay.
But what do we do with it? How can dig ourselves out of a rut?
While there are plenty of ways to try that range from drinking more water, to doing meditation to gratitude exercises--and these are all good ideas---I find there is one thing that moves me toward feeling better the fastest.
If you want to lift yourself up...start by lifting someone else.
When you decide to help someone else, several good things happen right away. First, you quite intentionally take the focus off your own problems. Mentally this is a huge first step. From a biological standpoint, when we take part in an act of kindness we give ourselves a boost of oxytocin. This is a chemical that makes us feel good, think more clearly, and decreases stress.
This is some "feel good" science. So if you have a little case of the Mondays...look for a reason to help someone else. It will help your mood today...and probably the rest of the week too!
Thanks so much for watching the Monday Minute!