847 - Hang up some of your favorite inspirational sayings around your home. Change them around once in a while to keep the quotations lively and noticeable.
848 - Join a club or group that reflects your interests -- chess, stamps, fishing, cooking, travel, etc. There are clubs for just about anything you can think about. If you cannot find a group, start one!! Most libraries have free rooms to reserve. All you need to do is get the word out and you're on your way! I love writing so I recently joined a writing club that has renewed my enthusiasm enormously!
849 - If you are feeling a little low, designate a time period to really give into the your gloomy feelings. For example, you might think to yourself - "I am going to feel bad until tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.
Between now and then, I am going to watch a lot of TV, take lots of naps, create a dark painting, play solitaire, and read as much as I like". Go wherever your bad mood takes you! Then at 1 p.m. the next day, burst forth into your life again! Take a walk, call a friend, do some errands, water your plants, make some lists - whatever moves you! (This may not be effective if you are dealing with long term depression, but I have found it very useful to lift my spirits during a case of the blues.)
850 - Visit a tea room! Most tea rooms have lace everywhere, gorgeous furniture, beautiful china, delightful menus (tea sandwiches are one of my favorite delicacies), an interesting selection of teas, and cordial and gracious servers. A tea room experience can calm you and reinvigorate you at the same time! We have a delightful Miss Molly's Tea Room in Medina, Ohio. My friends and I love to find tea rooms in surrounding areas and happily visit them.
851 - Research something you have always been curious about. It can be a person, place, event or whatever strikes your fancy. These days, researching is much easier with computers. Even if you don't have a computer, a friendly librarian will help you get started. You can also find books, magazines, and even audible books. Depending on your topic, you can do some original research on your own. I recently researched Ernest Hemingway. I started out with a book about his early years as a writer during his years in Paris. I read lots of books about Hemingway as a writer, husband, and father. He was married four times -- to Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gellhorn, and Mary Welsh. I got off the topic of Hemingway when I fell in love with his third wife, Martha Gellhorn. She and Hemingway fell in love when they were both war correspondents. Independent and scrappy, she was very appealing to Hemingway from the start. Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out because when they settled into their home in Cuba, Martha was independent and scrappy! After they divorced, she went on to have a very adventurous life. See how fun it is to delve into a topic of your own choosing? Hooray!
852 - I became a collector of "Wellness Tools" when I got involved with WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) www.wellnessrecoveryactionplan.com One of their segments encourages you to develop many Wellness Tools to use when you need to coordinate your life for the better. The majority of my Wellness Tools are fun. Once you make a list, you are empowered to use it as a powerful resource for daily living. My challenge of "1000 Fun Things to Do" was conceived after I became a collector of Wellness Tools and began to appreciate the power of fun! A fun thing to do - have a fun things to do day! Make a list of lots of things you like to do and see how many you can coordinate in one day. It is very empowering, fun, and energizing!
