How do you cheer yourself up when you’re sad? Who doesn’t dream of a life made up of nothing but joy and good cheer? Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. Joy follows sadness, and sadness follows joy. What do we do when sadness knocks on our door? How do we react? Here’s some advice for you to try out!

Cheer yourself up: give yourself the right to be sad

In fact, it’s perfectly normal to be sad. Everyone has been, is or will be sad.

That’s why, when we’re sad, the first thing to do is to accept it.

In other words, let’s forget about our little voice that may be telling us:

“Are you still sad? You’ll end up depressed! How dare you be sad, can’t you see how lucky you are?”

We have the right to be sad!

So I invite you to repeat these few words to yourself to stop tinting your sadness with guilt.

“I have the right to be sad. I’m a human being. I’m not perfect. And sadness is part of life.”

Take the time to experience sadness

Emotions are fleeting. Unless we don’t listen to it. In fact, when an emotion isn’t listened to, when it’s repressed, it comes back again and again, and it’s stronger and stronger.

That’s why, if we refuse to live the sadness that’s inside us, we’ll see it all around us.

So let’s take some time to live it serenely.

To do this:

Breathe deeply and calmly.
Relax your body, as emotion is often accompanied by tension. Relax our fingers, shoulders…
Verbalize our emotion: “I’m sad when…”. Let’s be precise in what we say.
Then, let’s learn to let go, differentiating between what depends on us and what doesn’t. When we can act on the event that’s causing us sadness, we can do something about it. When we can act on the event that makes us sad, then let’s act! If it doesn’t depend on us, let’s say that life isn’t perfect, the world isn’t perfect and no human being is perfect.

Cheer up: don’t take sadness too seriously

Our view of the world depends on our moods. When we’re happy, the world seems beautiful and smiling. And when we’re sad, it seems dark and a burden to bear.

So let’s not take our sadness too seriously, let’s not let it make us think that life isn’t worth living.

In fact, it’s our thoughts that are black, not life.

So let’s not hold sadness inside us and remember that tomorrow will be another day.

Remember this inspiring story

I seem to have read this story in the book Autobiography of a Yogi.

Here’s the message as I remember it:

It’s about a mother who has lost her son. She wept so much that God finally replied, “I agree to give you back your son if you bring me mustard seeds from a house that has never known death.”

The woman went from house to house, without ever finding the mustard seeds she needed.

But after a while, she realized that she no longer needed them. Indeed, she had come to realize that all houses had experienced death as she had… She no longer felt alone in her grief, and was able to overcome it.

How to cheer herself up? By realizing that sadness affects all human beings, and that we are not alone,

Find out more about managing your emotions

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How to free yourself from sadness: 3 steps to follow
Discover How to find time to be happy: 3 guidelines

I recommend this inspiring book on the subject:

The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins

This book provides a practical approach to overcoming hesitation and boosting motivation, which can in turn lead to greater happiness and success.
It really helped me understand a lot of things. I used the 5-second rule for the first time this morning to get out of bed and it’s really amazing. I didn’t have any problems I wasn’t late. I also used it throughout the day and it really helped me manage my anxiety, my emotions and get things done!
I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself.