How can I be in a good mood? What a joy it is to be smiling, serene and full of self-confidence… Unfortunately, on a day-to-day basis, we tend to be stressed, anxious, touchy, even aggressive. In other words, we’re far from being in a good mood. What if we changed things? What if we put in place some good habits to be in a good mood tomorrow? Here are 11 habits that will change your life.

1 – Being in a good mood: boosting your self-confidence day after day

Having solid self-confidence means being able to maintain our optimism and good mood whatever happens in our lives.

In fact, self-confidence means having confidence in one’s qualities, skills and even in life in general. In other words, we’re no longer afraid; we can move forward with confidence.

As a result, our mood is no longer subject to the vagaries of life. We can remain positive and pleasant, in other words, we can be in a good mood.

Unfortunately, many of us still say that we lack self-confidence. But, fortunately, self-confidence can be learned!

To do so, we need to understand that self-confidence is a perception of reality, not reality itself. In fact, we believe that we don’t have the skills or resources to do something. But that’s not reality, it’s not true.

What’s more, we live in a world that makes us believe we have to be perfect, to do everything perfectly. Here again, it’s just a belief, a thought that goes round and round in our heads. What if we questioned this thought rather than our whole person?

That’s why, to be in a good mood, I wholeheartedly invite you to repeat to yourself like a mantra: I’m a good person, I’m up to it.

2 – Have a morning routine

Being in a good mood means knowing how to start the day on the right foot. There’s nothing worse than waking up in a hurry and having to choose between brushing your teeth or doing your hair… (laughs)

Having a morning routine, in other words taking the time to get up and do what makes us feel good BEFORE we start our day, is the best way to be in a good mood for the whole day.

Especially if, as part of your morning routine, you take the time to do a bit of physical exercise and visualize the day ahead in a positive way.

What if you made a commitment to get up 5 minutes earlier tomorrow morning to take the time to drink your coffee in peace and quiet, or to do your hair beautifully and not in a rush? You can take 5 minutes to read, to look out of the window. In fact, you can do whatever you like, as long as it makes you happier.

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3 – Be in a good mood: get a good night’s sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep means getting to know yourself, i.e. knowing how many hours of sleep you need to be in good shape the next day. Maybe it’s 9 hours, 8 hours or 6 hours? To find out, all you have to do is test.

What’s more, to get a good night’s sleep, it’s advisable to stop eating after 8 p.m., and to avoid looking at bright screens in the hour before going to sleep… In other words, rather than watching TV, it’s time to start reading good books.

I’d like to add that having little “happiness” rituals helps a lot when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, especially when it comes to practicing gratitude. In fact, before going to sleep, I invite you to list, in your thoughts or in a little notebook, all the things and people that have made you happy today.

For example: I had a delicious cup of coffee. I loved laughing with my colleague and listening to music…

Because by listing all these beautiful moments of the day, you’ll feel a wave of happiness and gratitude, and so you’ll be in a good mood.

4 – Read to forget your bad mood

According to a scientific study, reading is the best stress reliever. In fact, just 6 minutes of reading can reduce stress by 60%.

So what does this have to do with being in a good mood? You can’t be in a good mood if stress is eating away at your stomach. So I invite you to regularly plunge your gaze and attention into a book. Whatever it may be. I say “book”, but it could be an article, like the one you’re reading right now.

Because when you read, your attention is focused on the present moment, your thoughts fall silent and your breathing becomes slower and deeper.

5 – Keep your home clean and tidy

Have you ever felt calm and in a great mood after tidying up your home? Have you ever felt proud of yourself after sorting through that overflowing cupboard?

In fact, when you tidy up your home, you also tidy up your thoughts. When you dust your furniture, you dust your thoughts. And when you declutter your living room, you declutter your thoughts.

Tidying up at home means tidying up inside.

What’s more, we breathe better in a place where we like to be.

In other words, to be in a good mood, it’s essential to live in a place where life is good.

That’s why I’m inviting you to put a few little housekeeping habits in place. For example, always do the dishes before going to bed. That way, in the morning, you can drink your coffee or tea in a clean and tidy kitchen. You can also always clear the table before you go to work, so that when you come home from work, you’ll be able to take a breather.

6 – Smile to cultivate a good mood

Studies on emotions have shown that if we stimulate particular facial muscles, we feel a particular emotion.

In other words, when I frown, I will feel discontent. And if I smile, I’ll feel a gentle wave of joy. I invite you to try it out right now. Smile gently and listen to what you feel.

That’s why, to be in a good mood, you have to remember to smile as often as possible. Morning, noon and night!

7 – To be in a good mood: give yourself little moments of pleasure

Taking care of ourselves, taking a break, a wellness interlude is just as important for us as it is for those around us.

Indeed, if we never have time for anything, and especially time to relax, chances are we’ll become irritated or touchy, and thus a burden on those around us.

So I invite you to get to know yourself better and discover what makes you feel good, what gives you pleasure. Then schedule at least 5 minutes of pleasure-break time for yourself once a day.

Here are a few pleasures you can choose from:

Drink a cup of coffee or tea, take a 10-minute nap, read for 10 minutes, take a bath for 15 minutes, take the time to put cream on your body, bake a cake on Sunday, light a stick of incense, watch a video that makes you laugh, read some of your favorite jokes…
In other words, if you want to be in a good mood, take regular pleasure breaks.

8 – Have a passion

When you have a passion, you forget everything, right down to the notion of time. The stress and worries of everyday life melt away.

In fact, a passion is a moment when you take the time to breathe, to return to your everyday life. We recharge our batteries. In other words, a passion helps us to be in a good mood.

Unfortunately, we don’t all know what our passion is.

To find out, I invite you to ask yourself a magic question: “If you won the lottery, what would you do? Where would you be? With whom?”

I invite you to take the time to think about this question.

Because a passion is an action you take whose sole purpose is to make you happier.

Indeed, a passion is not intended to make you famous or rich. But being happy is even better!

Here are a few examples of passions:

Drawing, gardening, coloring, reading, cooking, sports, walking, plants, decorating, writing, sewing… It can also be a subject like astronomy, history, travel, philosophy…
How can you be in a good mood? By regularly indulging your passion, by doing something that makes you happier.

9 – Be in a good mood: take up a sporting activity

Slumped on our sofa, even with a great series on or a fragrant cup of tea in front of us, if it goes on for too long, it’s not good for our good mood. In fact, too much sitting down and being cooped up can make you grumpy.

That’s why you need to get into the habit of moving your body. You can take a 30-minute walk, or do 10-15 minutes of yoga, fitness or even just dance.

Why do we do this? Because, first of all, we’re proud of ourselves for getting off the couch.

What’s more, our bodies are too, and they let us know by feeling more relaxed and secreting the happiness hormone endorphin.

In other words, doing a bit of sport is ideal for being in a good mood.

10 – Renewing our decision to be in a good mood every day

It sounds silly, but it’s not. In fact, let’s get into the habit, every day, of renewing our decision to be in a good mood.

In fact, this habit consists of creating a positive thought, a mantra, and repeating it to ourselves every day.

Here are some examples of positive thoughts:

“I’m calm and in a good mood”

“Everything is going wonderfully well. I choose happiness and good humor.”

“My day will be wonderful. I believe I can cope with whatever problems arise. It’s fantastic to be alive. Thank you!”

“Today is the perfect day to be happy.”

I invite you to choose or create a phrase that makes you smile and repeat it to yourself several times a day. Write it on post-it notes and stick them everywhere!

How can you be in a good mood? By remembering to be in a good mood every day.

11 – Cultivate gratitude to stop being negative

Thanking Life for all its blessings is a great way to be in a good mood.

To do this, every day we can take a few minutes to make a list of all the people and things in our lives that make us feel good.

Indeed, getting back to the things that are important to us helps us avoid dwelling too much on negativity.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How to be an optimist: 7 tips for becoming an optimist
Discover Start the day on the right foot: 10 morning habits to adopt

I recommend this inspiring book:

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

The author takes us on a personal journey of discovery as she explores practical strategies for infusing more joy into everyday life. With humor and realism, Gretchen Rubin shares her year-long experiment to improve various aspects of her life and increase her overall happiness. The book serves as an inspirational guide, offering practical ideas and advice we can apply to cultivate a positive mindset, improve relationships and find joy in life’s ordinary moments.

I enjoyed this book, which reads like both a novel and a manual. You can adapt the author’s advice to your own life, choose what applies to you, get inspired… and create your own tracker! It’s fun to follow Gretchen’s experiences as she takes her project very seriously, with plenty of tables, notes and bibliographical references. You’ll come away inspired and motivated to set up your own happiness project!

Thank you very much for reading this article.

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

Take care of yourself