Joy

Several months ago, I wrote about an incredible book I read that really changed my way of thinking, The Joy of Appreciative Living by Jacqueline Kelm. I read this book in the summer of 2010. Its basic premise is 3 step:

1. Each day, write down three things you're grateful for. Really think about these things and feel the gratitude.
2. Answer this question every day (and write down the answer): What can I do today to increase my joy? The answer can be anything, it doesn't have to be anything major.
3. Once a week, spend about 20 minutes visualizing. Spend the time writing down a detailed description of your ideal, joy-filled life.

I was basically wowed by how much my attitude changed and how much more joyful my life was after doing these exercises for a month. I strongly recommend you check out this book and follow the exercises. If you sincerely put in the effort, I truly believe you will have similar results.

However...I started that whole process during the summer, which is my happy time to begin with. Even so, I must say that even after I quit doing the exercises and summer turned into fall, the positive results stuck around for quite sometime. But it's been awhile. And now it's getting close to another long, cold, dark and depressing winter. I'm thinking I need to re-read this book and start over. It's been rainy and cold in Michigan, and basically miserable. I'm hearing rumors of snow in the very near future. By 5:00 it's getting dark. I can barely stand it. Being joyful is not quite so easy for me these days, and I need to refresh. This is on my to-do list. Some other things I need to think about are exercising more, because I always feel better when I work out regularly, seeing my friends more often (something else that's fallen to the wayside lately), and getting more sleep.

I recently received a really cool product call the Philips Wake-up Light to try out and review. I'll be writing about that more in depth in the coming weeks, but basically it's a light that you can program to wake you up in the morning, as if you're waking up to sunlight. If you're interested in checking it out for yourself, head on over to Amazon and have a look. If you want to purchase Light Therapy Models HF3471 or HF3321, you can use coupon code C9H9NPER to get $10 off. Maybe this product will help me wake up happier and less groggy in the  morning. I'll be setting up and putting it to the test soon, and I'll do a full review after I've had a chance to try it.

What do you do to keep the winter nastiness from affecting your mood?