Some days I don't want to get out of bed. Lately, just checking out seems like a good option. I don't know what to do or where to get help. My life is not going how I planned, it just plain sucks!

If you see a picture of yourself here or someone you know personally, then let's talk.

In this current frame of mind you will probably resist my next statement. "It's all in your head." Yes it is, the bills, the bickering, the bouts of emptiness all start in your head, then work their way into your life. You don't have to believe this right now. Come back to this statement later, when you're feeling better.

It's like a game of which came first the chicken or the egg. I don't feel good because my life is so bad. I'm telling you, "Your life is so bad because you don't feel good." If you will learn how to change the way you feel in any given moment, your life will begin to reflect the good by showing and giving you good moments, then even better and better moments.

You can feel better even if you have cancer, even if you have been sexually or emotionally abused, even if you are going through a divorce, even if you are a single parent, even if you are overweight, even if you don't have alot of money, even if you are moving again for the 10th time.

This I know for sure because I've overcome all of these things at some point in my life. It's not about what's happening to you, it's about your reaction to what's happening in your life.

Here are 10 ways to feel better in the moment:

-- Get quiet and take 3 deep breathes, slowly in and out.

-- Put on music that makes you feel good and calm, sing.

-- Start reciting your favorite positive affirmations, yes you should have some.

-- Call a friend who makes you laugh, not one who commiserates with you.

-- Go online and read jokes or find a joke book and laugh, laugh, laugh.

-- Go for a short walk.

-- Write your bad feelings on a piece of paper then shred it or tear it up and throw it away.

-- Next, write good feelings on a piece of paper, fold it up and put it in your wallet or pocketbook and keep it.

-- Pull out a picture or photo album of your loved ones, especially if you are in the pictures, study them, remember the event, allow your mind to wander.

-- Simply smile, it can be a fake smile at first but the longer you smile the more genuine it will become. Try it.

Now, let's go back to my previous statement, "It's all in your head." Feeling good is a choice, just like feeling bad is a choice. Let go of thoughts that try to control you.

If you will begin to change the way you see things, the bills and bickering may not stop overnight but you will feel better in the meantime. And then depending on the strength of your beliefs, your life will get better and better. How fast this happens is totally up to you.

In the words of Abraham-Hicks, "There is nothing more important than that you feel good."

Copyright (c) 2007 Priscilla Parham