You just received a nasty email from a coworker. Your child has decided to do the opposite of everything you have instructed them to do. The cashier checking you out gave you attitude for no apparent reason. You log on to social media only to find a disrespectful comment about your character from a complete stranger. Maybe you started off in a good mood but one little annoying bump in the road has your attitude plummeting faster than a crashing airplane. Whatever it is that has you feeling down, I’ve found several tactics that always help to lift my spirit.

Here are 7 Ways to Encourage Yourself When You’re Feeling Down:

1.) Help someone else. When we are feeling down its hard not to make everything about us. But when we push through the negativity to offer someone else kindness it helps us to focus less on feeling negative and empowers us to plant seeds of the type of kindness we want to see more of around us.

2.) Get moving. When we are sad many times we like to curl in a ball and be all by ourselves. However, sometimes this only provides an environment for our feelings to fester and grow out of control. Not only does a little physical activity help to clear our mind, it also helps to increase blood flow to help us feel physically better as well. From personal experience I can tell you a little exercise goes a long way. No need to run a 5k. A simple walk around the neighborhood might provide more relief than you think.

3.) Pray. Talking to God about your problem can help you release some of the stress and  it also takes your feelings to the One who can do something about it. So many times I’ve asked God to heal my heart or help me to improve my attitude and He’s helped beyond my expectation. When we seek God, we open ourselves up to receive more encouragement and strength than we could on our own.

Click here to read the rest of this article originally posed on The Praying Woman.