As a writer of life advice, I don’t see it as my job to develop completely novel ideas. By this point, all the best ideas have been taken, making it highly unlikely that anything seemingly original actually is.

Instead, I aim to repeat the best ideas I’ve heard and those that have worked for me. By processing ideas through my brain and putting them into words, I give them my unique twist. My goal, through repeating good ideas, is to contribute to the vital work of keeping them prominent in our society. Good advice is only helpful if you remember it. You need to hear it a few times and from a few perspectives for it to stick.

That said, the advice I’m giving may sound obvious. I know you know it, and I know you can do it, but not everyone applies it.

Here it is:

You have the power to brighten your day—and in doing so, you will also brighten the days of those around you.

A Fresh Start

Each day begins with you waking up. When you awake, you are effectively a new person, free to choose how you’ll approach the day. What happened yesterday only matters in that it lays out the pieces on your playing board—how you actually play the game and how you choose to move the pieces is up to you today.

One of the most critical choices before you is to either passively wait to see what kind of mood you’ll inherit based on what happens around you or make choices to brighten your day.

We all know that we have an array of choices, but for complex emotional reasons, we sometimes choose self-pity and helplessness. However, it is easy to choose the brighter day instead. What feels like lifting a huge emotional lift isn’t nearly as heavy as it may seem. Our brains only need the slightest guidance to continue on a new trajectory.

My best evidence for this effect is my experience and observations of the people around me. It’s amazing to witness or experience how minor progress or the tiniest act of agency can begin a positive spiral in someone’s day.

5 Tangible Actions to Brighten Any Day

You can try these out with minimal effort and nothing to lose.

1. Get Something Done

Human energy isn’t like fuel in a car—you don’t use it up as you go. When we get something done, no matter how small, we feel a massive rush of motivation or energy to continue on that path. Accomplishing a task instantly improves our mood and builds our confidence. For this reason, starting your morning with a few quick wins is one of the easiest ways to brighten your day.

2. Meet Up With a Friend

Among the various activities humans were made for, spending time with others is at the top. A 2020 article published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that people who have close friends are more satisfied with their lives and less likely to suffer from depression. One way that friendship is believed to lift our moods is by changing how we respond to stress. The support of close confidants buffers us from the toll that stress can take on our health and mental well-being.

3. Exercise Your Body

My experience with exercise has been nothing short of miraculous. As a competitive distance runner in high school and college, I’ve gone on many runs, and every single time, I finished in a happier mood than I began.

4. Spend Time Outside

An article published by the American Psychological Association in 2020 highlights a growing body of research pointing to how essential nature is for human well-being. A simple walk in nature is enough to boost your mood.

5. Perform an Act of Kindness

Doing something kind for someone else is a surefire way to brighten your day. Because the human mind is a complicated system, it’s not always easy to rally yourself into a better mood by wishing it were so. Sometimes, introspection can make it worse. A better approach is to replace negative emotions with more powerful ones that will lift your spirits. Being kind to another human takes your mind off your problems and reminds you that people matter most.

It’s not always possible to brighten your mood. I don’t want to downplay the complexity of the human mind or the genuine suffering that can occur in life. However, it’s a helpful and reasonable default to believe that, in most cases, a few small steps can brighten your day.