Julianne Hough Reveals The Mental Trick She Uses To Start Her Days Off Right

Actress, dancer and fitness queen Julianne Hough knows the secret to making every single day a happy one.

It's quite simple, actually.

Hough told Well+Good that every morning, she thinks of five things she's grateful for and sets spiritual goals for herself.

She explains,

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning — which is usually around 6:30 am — is sit up and think of five things I'm grateful for that have either happened to me already or that I want to do that day that will in turn make me grateful. I set little spiritual goals for my day. They don't have to be big achievements — just something like wanting to smile at 10 people and seeing them smile back.

Feeling happy after counting your blessings isn't something that happens by chance.

It's actually proven that focusing on what you have in life and what you're thankful for is a huge mood booster. It's really one of the fundamentals of having a positive outlook on life.

It sounds cheesy, I know.

But gratefulness not only improves your outlook, it also helps your sleeping habits, physical health, mental strength and self-esteem. That's the power of the mind right there.

Don't believe me? Take a page from Hough's book and list in your head (or write them down) five things you're grateful for right now. I'll wait.

Chances are, you're feeling happier and sunnier than usual. And that's never a bad thing.

As much as we like to complain, focusing on everything we don't have in life does absolutely nothing for us.

And setting spiritual goals is something we definitely don't do often enough. Having a positive effect on other people, even if it's as simple as a smile, has a positive effect on your life, too. That shit is contagious.

And you can experiment with that today.

A spiritual goal could be listening to people around you better than you did before; it doesn't necessarily have to be an outward action.

And they don't have to be about religion, either. They can be about connecting with someone on a level that's deeper and more meaningful than throwing them a like on Instagram.

And who knows? Maybe you'll have Julianne Hough to thank for your shiny, new positive outlook.

Citations: THE FIRST THING JULIANNE HOUGH DOES EVERY MORNING WILL HAVE YOU RETHINKING YOUR ENTIRE DAY (Well+Good)