So I got to feeling kind of blue today because I wasn’t feeling any sense of accomplishment. Then I got busy with a bunch of mundane stuff that had to get done: a bill to pay on line, a recommendation for a student, and an email I needed to send in response to a query from a company asking about my satisfaction. Normally I don’t respond to such queries, but this particular company did a really good job for me on an auto collision repair, so I filled out their survey.

So guess what, at the end of the day, I looked back  and realized I actually did get a good bit done, especially when I counted the tedious task of dealing with two insurance companies. Hmmmm…..there’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.

Later that evening, after noting I hadn’t seen another soul all day (see above), and was starting to bore myself silly,  I realized I needed some company. I enjoy my own company rather a lot, especially since I am a Nerd with a capital N, and read incessantly about many different topics in my field, but enough is enough. So I got myself out the door for a walk with my walking buddy. After a few rounds in the neighborhood I felt much better.

And there have been times in the past, particularly on Sunday evenings, when I just felt blue. When that kind of mood hits, Thelonious Monk is the cure for me. I can just put that music on and ride through it.

So summing it up, I found three ways to reduce my malaise:

1) Distraction with the little stuff that just has to get done.

2) A bit of company and some movement via walking.

3) Just riding the mood with music that matched.

One more idea I read about in elephantjournal.com is to write a “ta dah” list of the good stuff you accomplished on any given day, making sure you shift your energy in this direction vs. dwelling on what you did not do, feeling the shift internally as you do.  It really is all about where you choose to place your attention. These tricks might work for you, and just maybe you can get creative and figure out a few more that get the job done.

Suffering is optional.

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