You can set a ‘mental bookmark’ to your happiest state and use it to improve your mood whenever you need.
Our minds are always changing with new thoughts and experiences. This change is natural, but it can make us lose track of how we really see the world. We can’t undo thoughts or compare our current mindset to previous ones. If we try to sort out all these thoughts, we will probably become overwhelmed and confused even more. Instead, we can take a real moment from our past that is pleasant, and use it to normalize our state of mind.
- Choose a Joyful Memory: Think of a time when you were very happy. Not ecstatic, more like blissful. Focus on one specific moment from that time. It should be real and personal, where you are alone or where others are just in the background. It would probably be a moment from your childhood, when your views of the world were simple, and happiness was simple. It doesn’t have to be from your childhood, it could be from any time, but childhood memory also has a bonus of your mind being less biased by the culture that surrounded you, and you being more in tune with your senses.
- Relive with Senses: In that moment, remember everything around you – what you saw, heard, smelled, maybe tasted, and felt. After that, remember an action that you are anticipating that will bring you joy.
For example, imagine being on a beach, seeing the blue sea and sky, smelling the ocean, hearing the waves, feeling the warm sand, and getting ready to dive into the water. Make sure you see it through your own eyes. - Practice Makes Perfect: At first, it may take some effort to relive all these details. With practice, just thinking of one detail can quickly bring back the whole scene. This is your personal ‘happy place.’ The idea is to fill your senses with positive elements that never change (anchored to the memory), flushing out everything else.
- Use it Regularly: Especially when your state of mind is not what you want it to be. Eventually, your mind will get used to this method. It might even start doing it automatically. The aim is to be in this base state constantly, eliminating changes in your mood, making the term meaningless.
Though it might seem like a simple trick, regularly revisiting your base state can make your mind stable, and your happiness less dependent on external factors. It helps you see clearer solutions to problems and find easier ways to achieve what you want, just by being in the right mindset. Eventually, you will not even need the memory, you will just remember the mindset.