 Life isn't meant to be easy, but surely it doesn't have to get any harder. The challenges we face in life can sometimes feel grueling and impossible to overcome, but perhaps there are some changes we can make to lessen the blow. To explore this, we will look at seven psychological tricks to make life easier in this video. Number one, positive day dreaming. An article from Psychology Today talks about the concept of positive day dreaming. You've likely been in a situation before where you have an event coming up that stresses you out, like a speech, and all you do is get wrapped up in all the things that could go wrong as you approach the date. With positive day dreaming, you focus on what could go right instead, and then celebrate your achievements after the fact. Dr. Nick Morgan, PhD, the author of the article states that creating space in your brain for positive outcomes is a very good way of making it likely that you'll have such positive outcomes in the future. Next time you have a big project coming up, try to imagine yourself doing well at it. Number two, attach goals to a value and use them for learning. We rely on goals for a lot of things. They can keep us going and give us something to look forward to, which is a great thing. However, sometimes they can also be discouraging. When we think of all the goals we've forgotten, fallen short on, or are just too high to reach, one trick suggested by psychologist Dr. Jade Wu is to attach your goals to a life value and to focus more on learning than performance. Having goals that support a life value is like following the North Star. You're working towards something that will improve your life and in turn benefit those around you. As you're pursuing one big goal, say improving your social life. You may find smaller supportive ones like reaching out to older connections or getting involved in an organization that brings you closer to your main goal. The other part of this is focusing more on learning versus the results. Rather than setting a specific number to shoot for, improving your knowledge in a specific area could help you get closer to your desired results, which will feel less daunting if you fall short on them. Number three, get an accountability buddy. We've all set goals before, but sometimes they can fall by the wayside. It's easy to do, especially if no one else knows what you were intending to do, right? Research from Ball State University looked at using health contracts to help motivate older adults to exercise more. They found that when being held accountable, in this case, having the contract, many of the adults achieved their goals with only a few who didn't show much improvement. When you're trying to achieve something, having someone else know about it allows them to get involved. If you don't follow through with it, you are not just letting yourself down, and you're also letting your friend down too. For many, this is a powerful motivator to follow through with what you say. Number four, focus on your emotional intelligence. When you think of intelligence, you likely think of your ability to solve problems, get creative, and do complex tasks. While this is a type of intelligence, there are many more that come into play. One of these is emotional intelligence, EQ. Your EQ is your ability to empathize with others, as well as process and understand your own emotions. While this sounds difficult, fortunately, this type of intelligence is extremely fluid and can be improved upon, think, growth mindset. Having a handle on your feelings and being able to understand and relate to others is important. Not only does it help you understand yourself and how to best work with your emotions, but it can also help with boosting the quality of your relationships. Number five, find the humor. Humor makes things easier. When things are going wrong, you may find that even the slightest chuckle makes the situation a tiny bit more tolerable. Research from the Mayo Clinic suggests that laughter has so many benefits from relieving pain, soothing your fight or flight response, and increasing the amount of endorphins in your body. The Mayo Clinic also suggests over the long term that people who frequently laugh show improvements in their immune function, experience less pain, and have an overall brighter mood. While sometimes you can find humor in a situation that's bad, other times a sappy comedy after a long day may be all that you need. Number six, develop a growth mindset. It's easy to look at someone else's many achievements and feel that they have something that you simply don't. While it's easy to fall into this way of thinking known as a fixed mindset, it's important to know that there is more to achieving excellence and natural talent. A growth mindset is the belief that your intelligence or abilities are not fixed and that you can improve upon them over time. It's believing that people who do excellent work can combine their talents with hard work and dedication to get there. And number seven, future thinking. Psychology Compass, a research and consultation company, talks about a concept called delay discounting. This refers to the idea that people will go for short-term satisfaction despite knowing there's a bigger benefit from waiting longer. The future is uncertain, so why wait, right? Their solution is to be mindful of the future and work towards achieving goals that will benefit you down the road. The key, however, is to keep being motivated, which can easily fall away. The same article suggests episodic future thinking where in order to maintain focus, imagine yourself in vivid detail, having achieved your goal and all the benefits that surround us. When you start to feel that you're losing focus, use this technique to remind yourself what the goal is and what you'll hope to get out of achieving it. While life has its way of being difficult, fortunately there are some small things you can try that will make big differences. What are some ways you can use some of these psychology tricks to make your life easier? Let us know in the comment section. Are you looking for a cuddly companion that brings positivity and mental wellness to your daily life? Get your very own sigh. The lovable plushie is here to brighten your days. It embodies the spirit of Psych2Go and it serves as a reminder to prioritize your mental well-being. Its green leaf symbolizes growth, renewal, and the importance of self-care, whether it's for yourself or as a thoughtful gift for a loved one. Sai is ready to be your smugly friend through all of life's ups and downs. Buy your Sai plushie today. Link is listed in the description box. 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