100 Ways To Get Out of a Funk

We all have down days.

You get all the way to the final interview and they say, "no." You get mustard on your shirt. Your baby bearded dragon dies.🦎

Sometimes @#$%@#$ happens that's hard to understand in the moment, makes it feel like the universe is working against you, makes you just want to cave in on yourself. I've been there. It's NOT FUN.

Here's the thing though: whenever we feel out-of-sorts because we're outside our comfort zone, we can be sure that a lot of learning is happening.

Where things are stable, comfortable, and predictable we often don't learn so much. On the other hand, where the soil is disrupted, where we stretch, where we're outside our comfort zone - THAT'S where things grow🪴; that's where learning happens.

And yet, whenever we're outside our comfort zone, especially in the moment, it can feel REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE, right? What's the best way to deal with that?!

ROUND TABLE WHISTLING

There's a scene in the musical Camelot⚔️ where Queen Guenevere and King Arthur wonder "what do the simple folk do to help them escape when they're blue?"

Their seven-dwarf friendly solution: whistle.

HERE'S 100 MORE

Is whistling too naively 20th Century for you? Ok, I get it. Here's 100 more ideas you can use to lift your spirits the next time you hit a rough patch.

Just please remember, even though it's not always fun to be in a rough spot - that's very often the best place to get traction. Hope these serve and hang in there - whatever you're facing - you can do it!

1. Listen to music you love

2. Watch a great movie

3. Clean your house

4. Pet a dog

5. Donate to charity

6. Buy a meal for someone that needs one

7. Go for a run

8. Swim

9. Eat chocolate

10. Lift weights

11. Ride a bike

12. Watch stand-up comedy that makes you laugh

13. Take a walk

14. Get your hair cut/styled

15. Call a friend

16. Volunteer for a worthy cause

17. Read or write a poem

18. Pick the salad

19. Get a manicure/pedicure/facial/makeover

20. Play a video game

21. Go outside

22. Take a nap

23. Learn how to do something new

24. Meditate

25. Read to a toddler

26. Look at art

27. Sit by a fountain

28. Get in some really cold water

29. Listen to birds sing

30. Dance

31. Go to a zoo

32. Listen to live music

33. Talk to spirits

34. Get somebody to rub your feet, your back, someplace that feels good

35. Travel

36. Declutter and donate

37. Visit with a senior citizen

38. Get under a really great blanket

39. Smell something amazing

40. Look at beautiful flowers

41. Help somebody learn

42. Give an anonymous gift

43. Be in nature

44. Pray

45. Read inspiring quotes

46. Read/watch a story about people overcoming something really hard

47. Plant a tree

48. Wear new shoes

49. Make your bed

50. Take a shower

51. Have a nerf gun fight

52. Get some balloons (bonus points for water balloons)

53. Ride a horse

54. Watch a sunrise/sunset

55. Look at the ocean or a mountain

56. Introduce yourself to 10 strangers

57. Tell someone "I love you"

58. Catch a firefly and let it go

59. Brush your teeth

60. Send notes to 5 people

61. Build a snowman

62. Cry

63. Smell a baby

64. Pull weeds

65. Have faith; believe

66. Look at old photos

67. Scream into a pillow

68. Look at the stars

69. Close your eyes and balance on one leg

70. Doodle

71. Ask for/offer a hug

72. Drink water

73. Draw a picture

74. Take 10 deep breaths

75. Sit by a fire

76. Lie on the floor (or even better, the ground)

77. HAVE SEX

78. Light a candle

79. Stretch

80. Eat a steak

81. Watch a documentary about WWII or the Roman Empire

82. Watch trashy TV

83. Sit halfway up the stairs

84. Sneeze

85. More pie

86. Visit a museum

87. Blow bubbles

88. Watch fish swim

89. Play a musical instrument

90. Floss

91. Tour a historical site

92. Order extra pickles

93. Walk barefoot outside

94. Let yourself have pizza and ice-cream...also tacos, obviously

95. Forgive others, and yourself

96. Write down 10 things you're thankful for

97. Sleep outside

98. Hold your breath underwater

99. Read something sacred

100. Serve others unreasonably and outrageously