How to Beat the Blues-8 Quick Tips to Get Yourself Going

Beat the Blues Sad Bag HeadHave you ever slumped into the can’t-get-anything-done, dragging-your-feet, feeling-super-down-all-the-time-blues? Once you get stuck in that rut it’s hard to break out. But if there’s one thing I know, when momentum is headed in the wrong direction, I keep wasting time and stay in a funk. It’s time to break the cycle and beat the blues.

Leave the cave

Sunlight and fresh air stimulates you. Darkness and lack of clean oxygen stifles you.

Go outside for a walk or drive to a coffee shop and get out there.

Get Moving

Sometimes it takes getting off the couch and moving around. Get those red blood cells flowing to beat the blues. Working out is a great way to get going, but if you’re a person who exhausts themselves in the gym that might not help you move onto your next assignment.

I find listening to some inspiring music and simply doing some brief exercises gets me juiced and can break me out of a mini-slump.

Freshen Up

Stuck in the blues because you don’t have to get anything done? I assume you don’t feel any urgency so it’s hard to break out of your sluggish state. The best thing to do to jumpstart yourself is to hop in the shower and get ready. As long as you feel grimey and shower-less, you’ll feel sluggish as well.

Sleep

We rightly associate laziness with a person who sleeps too much or has bad sleeping habits. The person who sleeps at inconsistent times each night and for excessive amounts.

But what of sleep deprivation? We know that our body is a system. Just like it needs oxygen, protein, carbs, lipids and more, the body also needs sleep. Take food out of the equation and you slow down. Take oxygen out, and you won’t last long. Lack of sleep? You’ll barely be able to function. And you’ll feel down and depressed while doing it.

“The less you sleep the sooner you die.” –Dr. Jaime Boero

No self-loathing

Stop feeling bad about wasted time. Get over it, and get to it. I know that when you wake up with big goals, yet you look at the clock and it’s already 11AM, it can be hard to keep that motivation up. You feel down and beat yourself up that you let so much time slip away. Get over it. It’s done and got, but you’ve still got time to redeem. Don’t loath yourself anymore, don’t let the blues beat you.

Single-Minded Focus

It can be hard to start the day right and be purposefully proactive. Know exactly what you absolutely must get done that day. If you do accomplish anything, accomplish that.

Get your sustenance

Garbage-In-Garbage-Out. Your mood largely depends on what you put into your body. Lots of simple cards and sugars? You’ll feel tired. Vitamin deficiencies? You’ll feel terrible. Too much fast food? You’ll want to spend extra time in the bathroom-not the #1 place to beat the blues.

But eating foods that are low on the glycemic index and offer actual nourishment will help energize you. Vegetables and fruits with the extra moisture they carry will make you feel great. Healthy proteins help your body recover.

Eating this stuff will make you feel better about yourself. Eat well, and crush the blues.

Beat the Blues

“This mortal form has grown weak. I require sustenance!”

Actually, right before I began to write this article I ate about 1,200 calories (4 servings) of fried orange chicken I’d bought from Trader Joe’s. Now I feel terrible–and awesome. I want to eat more, and take a nap. Fortunately it’s a Sunday. This is not a recommended beat the blues strategy.

Get Your Mental Sustenance

People that increase their competencies are happier than those who don’t. Investing in yourself makes you feel great, and that’s key to beat the blues.

One option is to take some online courses or even earn a degree, as this will keep you mentally sharp and therefore happy. If you already have a university degree, consider going for a master’s degree. You can take your courses in your spare time, and you might even find that you want to pursue another career after completing your degree. Learning new things is a surefire way to beat the blues by taking you to cognitive heights that you have never before experienced.

If Garbage-In-Garbage-Out is true of food, it’s also true of what you’re shoveling into your mind. I haven’t read the science on this subject recently, but I’m guessing surrounding yourself with messages that don’t point you higher will emotionally drag you lower.

Beat the Blues

Don’t let a single bad day or sluggish start knock you off course. I know it can be paralyzing when you’re not getting the right start and you’ve got big responsibilities ahead. It’s a challenge, but I have no doubt that if you’re the type of man to read this article, that you’re up to the task of beating the blues.

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Comments

  1. Your point on Get Your Sustenance is well taken. I saw the move “Forks Over Knives” recently and was impressed how eating healthy foods can transform people’s lives.

    I appreciated you sharing the glycemic index. It’s fascinating how the body reacts so differently to different types of sugars.

    • Todd Mayfield says

      I haven’t seen “Forks Over Knives.” How is the premise related to the title?

      Once I understood the Glycemic Index it helped me be much smarter with what I eat. It’s more important than understanding simple vs. complex carbs.

      • Todd,

        The premise of “Forks over Knives” is to choose foods that you can eat with a fork, and to not eat foods that require you to use a knife. Essentially, they are advocating eating less meat and dairy products and replacing them with a more plant based diet.

        The movie follow the lives of several people who made the switch and over time they all showed vastly improved readings for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc, and a markedly reduced reliance on pills.

        I found it inspiring to watch people take control of their lives and improve their health.

  2. All very good tips Todd. I would also add regularly taking the time to do things you like and to interact more socially. That kind of stuff can keep you in a better mood throughout the week. It gives you something to look forward to and limits the amount of time you spend dwelling on any problems. A lot of people underestimate the important of all of these things, even stuff that should be obvious like sleep and healthy food. Eventually that stuff catches up to them though.

    • Todd Mayfield says

      You’re right, the fewer human touch points we have the more we’re deprived of emotional fuel. Nothing brings on the blues like loneliness!

  3. “Get over it”. Amen brother. You got my day off to a good start!

  4. I honestly think getting up, moving around, and engaging in activities is a great way to not only stimulate your brain but to help get over your unfortunate situation.

  5. Hah! I always eat that whole bag of orange chicken from TJs. Good article. For me, it is almost always ‘get moving’. A solid run can break almost any bad mood.

  6. Nice post Todd, depression is the silent killer, especially in winter around the holidays, this is really important stuff for guys to read.

  7. I always seem to get a bit of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) entering the fall season. I try to do focus on all of the positive things in my life. Family, friends and the many blessings that we take for granted on a daily basis. Looking at the positive aspects of your life and training you mind to continually do so makes a big impact.

  8. Positive thinking is what i believe its the clue… hard work and relaxing times at your favourite place…

  9. I love these suggestions.
    I would like to ad something what i think you missed out:I
    Inner critic…sometimes it’s best to tie up and gag the inner critic, just to let the creativity flow out of your right brain. We get great comments about our free topic generation exercise. It uses a sneaky time-based technique to silence the inner critique long enough to allow the creativity to flow.

  10. Hey todd this is a refreshing post!

    In my business and life sometimes I find myself guilty of many of these things!

    So it’s nice to have some help in dealing with them sometimes thanks!

    Have a great day 🙂

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