I Am Feeling Sad – Three Action Thursday

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the holiday season. Now back to reality right?!?!

So have you ever felt sad for no reason at all? Over the holidays I had a couple discussions and witnessed some facebook posts that hinted at people being sad or depressed. Which got me thinking a lot about my own life. Sooo today, I’m going to cover….

How I personally break out of a mental funk
How everyday interactions with others can change two people’s lives.
And….Jedi level Money Tracking

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ever feel down? Less than optimal mentally? I am generally a happy person, but I will occasionally go through a slump that lasts 2 or 3 days even when things in my life are going well. It’s unexplained, I’ve never been able to figure out why it happens to me. But it SUCKS!!!

Over the last couple of years, I have discovered a remedy that cuts my mental “down time” in half. I have basically devised a Mental Health Prescription for myself. Just like a doctor would prescribe antibiotics, or some other drug to cure a physical ailment….I have created my own prescription for when I start feeling inexplicably down. Here are the three things I do….

I write down 3 to 5 things I am thankful for. I’ve discovered that it is really hard to feel bad/down when you put your mind and heart in a state of gratefulness.
I listen to positive content. I put on a Zig Ziglar recording, or I listen to an audio book about personal/professional development, this forces my mind to focus on personal growth and positivity.
I double down on hugging/loving my family. I’ve learned that my love language is physical touch. So the act of hugging my family members is a huge help in bringing me out of a negative mindset.

**Action: Develop your “Mental Health Prescription.” What are the 3 or 4 things you are going to do the next time you wake up in a funk?!?**

Lastly, If you are down or depressed a lot then please go see a Mental Health professional. There is NO stigma…seek help immediately. The world needs you and your talents, and we need you at your best.

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

I was at a New Years Party earlier this week, and someone gave me some great feedback on 3BT and how they really enjoyed these emails. Without skipping a beat, I told him…”Wow, thanks man! You filled my bucket today!” He looked at me quite strange, to say the least, so let me explain to you what I ended up sharing with him…

How did you feel after your last interaction with another person? Did that person “fill your bucket” by making you feel more positive? Or did that person “take from your bucket,” leaving you more negative than before? It’s a metaphor for how we make others feel or how they make us feel.

And I completely stole the idea from Tom Rath, the Author of “How Full is Your Bucket?” The book reveals how even the briefest interactions affect your relationships, productivity, health, and longevity. Organized around a simple metaphor of a dipper and a bucket, and grounded in 50 years of research, this book will show you how to greatly increase the positive moments in your work and your life — while reducing the negative.

**Action: Click the link above and purchase the book! It’s a quick read and will change your mindset and hopefully some of your habits in dealing with people.**

PERSONAL FINANCE

Earlier, I supplied my own personal finance spreadsheet that you could use to track net worth and your investments. You can find it here… my net worth template!! Well, my good friend, Justin laughed at my spreadsheet and then fed me this Business Insider Article. In it, a very popular personal finance blogger goes over his “Jedi Master” level spreadsheet and how he monitors his finances.