Let go of the need to solve it right now

• Use your back burner. Gently hold the problem in your mind without actively analysing it. This simple technique will help you solve many problems and will greatly reduce the stress and effort in your life. Richard Carlson
• When inspiration does not come, I go for a walk, go to the movie, talk to a friend, let go… The muse is bound to return again, especially if I turn my back.  Judy Collins
• Identify a particular problem or question for which you need clarity. Write the problem down just before retiring for the night, and then go to sleep, possessing full trust that you will come up with a solution to the problem. Confidently assign the problem to your subconscious mind, and expect to receive the answer during the night or upon waking in the morning. Place a pad of paper and a pen next to your bed. Maxwell Maltz
• It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it. John Steinbeck
• Let go of the need to know,  Problem solving

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Don’t try to solve your way out of low moods

• The next time you are feeling bad, rather than fight it, try to relax. Richard Carlson
• Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by your low moods. People do not realise that their moods are always on the run. They think instead that their lives have suddenly become worse in the past day, or even the last hour. A low mood is not the time to analyse your life. In low moods we lose our perspective and everything seems urgent. Life is almost never as bad as it seems when you’re in a low mood. The trick is to be grateful for our good moods and graceful in our low moods – not taking them to seriously. Richard Carlson
• Practice ignoring your negative thoughts. You can analyse your thoughts, ponder, think through, study, think some more – or you can learn to ignore them – dismiss, pay less attention to, not take too seriously. Richard Carlson
• Negative thoughts do not need to be studied and analysed. Simply recognise that the reason you are feeling sad, angry, stressed or whatever is that you are sweating the small stuff. Instead of rolling up your sleeves and fighting back, back off, take a few deep breaths and relax. Richard Carlson
• When you are in a low mood, don’t make impotant business (or life) decisions. Don’t force it.Your thinking and wisdom are not as sound as they will be in a higher state of mind. Richard Carlson
• I have found that truly happy people have the capacity to distract and absorb themselves in activities that divert their energies and attention away from dark or anxious ruminations. Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Mood,  Problem solving

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Don’t ruminate when you feel low

• The combination of rumination and negative mood is toxic. Research shows that people who ruminate while sad or distraught are likely to feel besieged, powerless, self-critical, pessimistic, and generally negatively biased. Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Imagine you’re in a bad mood—frustrated, anxious, whatever. Research tells us unequivocally that that’s NOT the time to ruminate on what’s going on. Brian Johnson
• Form the habit of making decisions when your spirit is fresh…to let dark moods lead is like choosing cowards to command armies. Charles Horton Cooley

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