In this Day 6 video of the Autumn Blues Course, the presenter checks in on participants' progress with the previous day's random acts of kindness activity and introduces the ongoing "toolbox" metaphor for mood‑management strategies. Emphasizing the importance of having a variety of tools, she explains that today’s focus returns to external, environment‑based techniques. She recommends a simple, actionable tip: subscribe to daily positive‑message services such as "Notes from the Universe" by Mike Dooley and the "Positive News" newsletter, both of which deliver uplifting content that can boost serotonin and dopamine levels. She provides brief descriptions of how these services work, encourages viewers to find a source that resonates with them, and reminds them to register for the course to access handouts and additional resources. The video ends with a friendly sign‑off and a teaser for Day 7.
Chapters
Hi there and welcome to day 6. We're halfway through. And how did you get on with yesterday's activity, the random acts of kindness? Did you download the handout to give you ideas of things that you can use? And this is not about going out and doing something amazing every single day, that's unrealistic, but doing just a little thing every day is going to help you feel better by helping others. And that, as I said, cumulatively is going to make the world a much better place for all of us to live in. And you're going to hear me referring time and time again to these techniques being a lot like tools. We're building a virtual toolbox because if you only have one tool in your toolbox, that's the only one you've got to use. So if you only have a hammer, all you're going to do is hit things really hard. But when you have a chisel and a screwdriver and spanners— what other tools I can't think of? You can tell I'm not a DIY expert, can't you? It means that you have the right tool at the right time. So there may be times where you do genuinely need to hit something really hard, but there may be times that you need just a little bit more finesse. And so you can dive into the toolbox and bring out the tool that is appropriate at that time. You will have your favorites, but then there's those others that just sit at the bottom until that one day where you go, actually, this is the day where that tool would be really, really good, and out it comes. So as we're halfway through today, I'm going to give you a really easy technique. We started off, the first couple of tools were all about outside things, working with the environment, and how when you resist, it creates friction that drains you. So when you work with the outside environment, it tends to help. We then had a couple of tips that were all about working inside your mind, creating thought patterns and habits and behaviors that start to increase those serotonin and dopamine levels, raising your mood. And so today we're back outside because today's technique is again working with what is going on in the outside world. And I'm going to keep the camera up here because actually I've still got my slippers on. And today's tip is to register for some of the services out there that deliver good messages every day. Now, the one I love is called Notes from the Universe. It's by a guy called Mike Dooley. Who is somewhere to the other side of eccentric. I don't know what planet he lives on, but it looks like an awful lot of fun. And I get a daily email delivered into my inbox, and it's almost as if sometimes he's like inside my head. He's a candid camera because the message is so poignant to the challenge that I'm facing or how I'm feeling at that moment. And I save them. I create a little directory, and every now and again, again, if I need a boost, I will just scan them, have a look, because there's always a message in there that makes me go, yeah, it is all going to be okay. I can do this, whatever the message may be. So, have a look at that. I will put the link to it in the email. So, if you haven't picked that up already, that's where you will find it. And if you've jumped on and found this video from somewhere else, do register for the course because there's lots of links to other resources that you can access and use. Alongside these videos. But if Notes from the Universe doesn't work for you, if you just use a browser and type in positive messages or daily affirmations, there are lots of them out there. Find one that works for you. And I would also encourage you to subscribe to Positive News. This is a weekly— it's like a newsletter a newspaper even, that comes in but only focuses on heartwarming positive stories, and it's just doing its little bit to abate that huge amount of negativity that comes in from a lot of the national news that we are, we are bombarded with. So subscribe to a positive email to land in your inbox every day because these emails are going to stop from me, Fairly soon, and then you've got something to replace it to give you that little drop of dopamine, serotonin, the feel-good chemicals. And I will leave that with you to get on and do now. Have a wonderful day, and I will look forward to sharing Day 7 tip with you tomorrow. Bye-bye for now. Bye-bye.
