When you're kind to people or simply are polite, they help you.

I used to do a lot of driving for work and it's important to manage stress in traffic. Whenever someone would do something that aggravated me, I'd pretend that they did it for some silly reason and it helped me stay calm.

Someone cut you off? They must have have to shit so bad. Someone driving crazy fast? They're trying to get to their wife before their girlfriend does.

Whenever someone is doing, or is about to do, something stupid, simply say out loud what they're doing, and ask what they want to happen.

If you don't want to go outside, put on sunscreen. Might as well go outside now so as not to waste it.

1. When I have a thought I don't want, i hum a little tune

2. When I feel bad about something happening right now I remind myself that no feeling is forever, everything is temporary, there's always a tomorrow

3. When I feel bad about something that happened in the past I remind myself that happened to me, that I transcended it, and it doesn't define me, but allowed me to make better choices in future

4. I swapped alcohol and soda for seltzer

Just tell yourself you're not going to lift heavy/are going to lift light. When you don't have the motivation (or whatever) to go to the gym, tell yourself this. Like, "I'm not going to work too hard. It'll be easy." Works a treat. Then even if you end up doing that (which is unlikely - I always end up getting in the mood hehe) then at least you did something and kept the momentum.

Edit to say: The hardest lift is getting off the couch.

"never leave a room empty-handed" if you are leaving a room look around for something that doesn't below to that room take it with you and just move it somewhere close where it's supposed to be, eventually it's going to find it's place.

I do method acting, like "in this next scene I am going to play an extrovert who enjoys making small talk at professional conferences with potential customers and employers"

If someone is using rhetorical questions in a discussion, answer them earnestly. If you're not a prick about it it's a great way to defuse a heated debate sometimes.

Cleaning when I feel bad. Getting rid of physical things is a substitute for getting rid of mental things. Clean outside = clean(er) inside.

If you're overthinking or worried about something you can't control, other than something like planning for contingency, all that overthinking is pointless. Worse than pointless, since it adds stress and anxiety. There's usually zero real benefit.

It takes practice, but being able to say to yourself "well, I'll deal with that when it happens. No point in worrying about that now, " helps keep you out of the doom loop.

I just tell myself nothing really matters and we are going to die anyway, this really cheers me up, else I'd be too worried about all the shit going on.

Go to therapy and work on yourself deliberately for years and years. It works. I was super messed up and hateful and angry and I would never have believed that I could love myself, but I do.

I know "cheat code" implies quick or easy or both and this isn't either one, but it's life changing if you do it.

Be kind to your future self.

Helps me when I feel like procrastinating or overworking.

When I can't find something in the house after searching for a few minutes, I make a conscious decision to give up and take another approach - go buy the missing tool again, use a different material, whatever. The point is to decide it doesn't matter where the thing is. Most of the time I immediately look right at whatever I was looking for - as in within a few seconds. Family members are used to hearing me say out loud, "I'm just gonna go to Tru-Value and get another - Oh, here it is!" It works that fast and is very reliable.

My theory about this is that part of my brain knows where the item is all along, but enjoys the treasure hunt and won't let the information come to the conscious level. But once I sincerely decide to give up the search - it has to be a genuine decision, there's no faking it - that part of my brain knows the game is over and reveals where the thing is. But who knows, I'm no psychologist.

Better, there's an entire book of them. "Dialectical Behavioral Therapy" (DBT) calls them "skills", but they could just as easily be called psychological cheat codes or lifehacks.

If you notice something needs to be done and the task takes less than five minutes, just do it.

If you look a little angry all the time nobody guesses that you're actually stoned as balls.

When talking to people, just ask open questions about them, listen and keep asking question. People will think, you have great conversation skills, eventhough you do not.

Kindness and understanding first and foremost, always. But when dealing with uppity assholes in a situation where you are right, first remind yourself that nearly all adults are just faking it to get by, then start making direct eye contact, make every statement crisp, concise, and do not use any "partial" words {words like guess, sort of, possibly, might be, probably, etc) and when you've said what needs to be said stop talking, keep making eye contact, and focus on the idea that there is no other way than the way you just said. Don't be hostile, don't be insulting, smug, or anything other than resolute. Never break that silence first.

Most of the time, that will get you through, either by convincing everyone else that the issue is ended, or if any of these people are that rare adult who legit has their shit together, they will either move things along or engage you directly to work out a solution.

Confidence is one of the rare things that if you lie about it really well, it becomes truth.

This isn't some alpha thing, it's about removing unnecessary doubt. Sometimes that's more dangerous/costly/wasteful than anything else.

Amphetamines

Do only as much as I feel like. Don't feel like making dinner, but i'm ok just setting out the ingredients. OK, now I'm fine with just chopping vegetables. Now I'm fine just making the sauce. It only works if you genuinely allow yourself to stop at any point. If I have to stop after the sauce, everything goes into the fridge and I finish making the meal tomorrow.

If you're autistic, look between the eyes while talking.

Two minute rule. If you can do it in two minutes, just do it.

If you're doing sets of ten, restart your internal count to zero when you get to five. It's way easier to get yourself to hit your third rep than your eighth.

Being nice to people. You come out of interactions feeling better, and you often get more out of people by being nice.

Not techniques I use personally, but different forms of manipulation that one could (but shouldn't) use. You should look out for:

1. Informing someone of a fact that is different than what the recipient actually experienced. If they question it, tell them they just forgot it. This works best on people who don't write stuff down (like a diary).
2. Giving someone a gift out of nowhere. To most people, this gives them the feeling that they owe you.
3. Helping someone frequently to the point where they start relying on you. (See previous point)

A few manipulation techniques that should not be used. If you see someone doing these things, assume they have an ulterior motive.

After I come home from work, I want to be a solid lump of nothing. Instead to trick myself when I have tasks I need to do, I keep my work clothes on (including shoes) and it helps trick my brain that the tasks are just a continuation of my work day.

I make my bed every day. At least I'm consistent with that. I started doing that when I read about elderly people in the newspaper many years ago.

One person they interviewed was a black lady in her 80s. She said that her secret to long life was consistency. When she was a kid, her mother taught her to make her bed every day. So she made her bed every day, and was consistent with things.

Any_Austin is a youtuber and pilot who uses a pilot's checklist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMSAFE

In his everyday life to help him understand why he's feeling bad or grumpy. He talked about it in his podcast with Memoria.

When I think of something that happened during the day that was cringeworthy I tell myself, “You are so stupid!!”

When I catch myself doing that I now stop and say to myself, “No you’re not.”

Oddly, this derails the shame spiral and allows me to stay positive.

I tell people what's going on for me and in my life.

Whenever one of my relatives says something really ignorant to me (which is often), instead of getting into a pointless argument, I just blow it off by imagining them like a yapping little dog behind a fence.