If you’re having a bad day (like those days where you get up “on the wrong side of the bed” / you just can’t get going), go out of your way to do something kind for someone. It’s a kind of brain hack because your brain has trouble with the cognitive dissonance of “I feel terrible” and “I did this nice thing”, so you will feel better after.
Of course, you can also just do the nice thing whenever you see an opportunity. My general philosophy is that there are so many problems I can’t do anything about, I try to never let a problem I can do something about go by. Even if it’s just something small.
Always go above and beyond to be nice to service workers. Even if they aren’t helpful. Even if they are rude. I promise they had a worse day than you did. You can still ask for whatever you need, but do it politely. Don’t raise your voice. If they are helpful, thank them, and if you can, say something nice about them to a manager.
My time is a piece of wax Falling on a termite Who’s choking on the splinters
~Beck, “Loser”
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.
~Kris Kristofferson, Me and Bobby McGee
The people who love me still ask me, “When are you coming back to town?” I answer, “Quite frankly, when they stop building roads, And all God needs is gravity to hold me down.”
~Alison Kraus, “Gravity”
Four hundred years later, I learned about my roots, And how they traded in their white sheets for badges and blue suits
~Onyx, “Getto Mentalitee”
Is your mother worried? Would you like us to assign someone to worry your mother?
~Chaise Longue by Wet Leg
You want me to love you in moderation Do I look moderate to you?
~Florence + The Machine, “Moderation”
And the salt in my wounds Isn’t burning anymore than it used to. It’s not that I don’t feel the pain It’s just I’m not afraid of hurting anymore.
~Paramore, “Last Hope”
the shit hasn’t even begun to hit the fan.
~Incubus, from “Consequence”
I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve. I have a history of losing my shirt.
~“One Week” by the Barenaked Ladies