Looking for Superman

One of the best ways to improve your mood is to look up. It seems so simple that it's almost trite, but it works for me more often than not.

If you're like me, you spend a lot of your life looking at the floor, or the pavement, or, if you're a hippie, your dirty feet and the hackey-sack you just missed.

To an extent, that's fine. There are a lot of cool bugs down there. You also want to avoid stepping on a crack and giving your mom a spinal injury.

There are a few drawbacks to this, though. For one, other people tend to be at eye-level. Try looking them in the eye. You'll feel more connected, and since they're all staring at the pavement, they won't even know you're doing it.

Worse, looking down tends to be a cauldron where all your negative emotions brew and simmer. I don't know about you, but when I catch myself slipping into bitterness, anger, or self-pity, I am almost always staring hard at the ground.

The best thing is that this can often be changed by looking up. Tilt your head up, strain your neck, and raise your eyes like someone just told a corny joke. Take in whatever is above you. Force a smile too, although I'm betting you won't have to.

Imagine your deity of choice is looking down at you and smiling. If you don't swing that way, just look up at the sky. It's scary how easy it is to go hours without even doing that. If you're indoors, close your eyes and imagine the office light has sunny qualities.

When I do this, I almost always feel more happy. I feel hopeful and at peace. My mind clears. It doesn't always last, but I don't always need it to. Sometimes I just need to put my problems in perspective for a minute.

I don't know the science behind this. It doesn't always work. Looking up won't raise your mood at a loved one's funeral. But most of our problems aren't that serious - we just dwell in them until they seem that way. Looking up, even for a minute, helps us break that seductive, destructive pattern.