I was recently asked to write an article detailing my advice for using color therapy to help boost the mind, body, and spirit on a daily basis.

I don’t consider myself a color therapist per se, but I do have a gaggle of color hacks that I use nearly every day to help improve my mood, motivation, and ability to communicate better with everyone around me.

Here, I will share seven of my favorites that you can begin using yourself right away.

If you like these, you might also want to check out my top-rated online course, Life Hack With Color Psychology: Increase Your Influence over at Udemy.
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1.) Be the most interesting and exciting person in the room with a bit of RED in your clothing and presentations.

Red is my go-to color for when I have to teach an early morning class at 9AM the Monday after Spring Break has ended. I usually wear a red shirt on mornings like this that will immediately help wake up and invigorate my sleepy students. Red is also a great choice to weave into visual presentations to help your message pop and generate a bit of excitement.

Red is a color that gets the heart pounding. There’s a reason we associate love, passion, anger, and other strong emotions with it, so do be careful not to overuse it either.

You can see I use red in small doses to add bursts of energy and enthusiasm in my website. If you want to check out my homepage, you’ll also see my red shirt in action in the first slider image photo as I teach a class.

One of my favorite cartoons by Scott Hilburn (color hacks goodness)

2.) Feel and appear younger and become more cheerful with YELLOW this morning.

Drinking a bit of orange juice in the morning is proven to boost your mood, in no small part thanks to its yellow-orange color. Yellow is a color that is also associated with youthfulness and cheerfulness. You can use this color to brighten up a room or to make yourself appear younger when you wear it.

Like red though, you want to be careful not to use too MUCH, especially if it is a really strong, highly saturated yellow. This is because yellow is the most difficult color for our eyes to process. Babies have been shown to cry more in a yellow bedroom and people are more likely to start fighting in a yellow kitchen. My recommendation here is just use yellow in small doses OR add some white to it to de-saturate the hue if you want to paint a whole room this color.

3.) Turbo charge your energy, creativity, and effectiveness at work by hanging up an ORANGE tapestry or large painting/poster on your office wall.

Last year I bought a beautiful orange tapestry from India to hang up in my office. At first I was worried that it was going to be too obnoxious and actually more annoying than inspiring. To my happy surprise though, I found myself full of positive and creative energy whenever I was in my office and my productivity went through the roof. Better still, every time I would walk in my office, I felt like I was being recharged as if I were a solar panel in the sun.

My colleagues and students would also often comment how much they liked the tapestry and reported being in a better mood after having visited my office. Maybe it’s time you think of adding some orange power to your office or home as well.

4.) Tame your public speaking fears and come off like the authority you are by wearing BLACK during your next presentation.

Have you ever seen Steve Jobs wear anything other than black in his now classic Apple presentations? Black is a color associated with confidence and authority. If you, like me are really more of an introvert, it can sometimes be difficult to be seen and heard in a roomful of loudmouths.

The next time you need to give a presentation or close a deal, wear black and know that you ARE being seen, heard, and believed. Hopefully by also using this color hack it will also help calm any public speaking fears you have. Otherwise, skip over to #5 and hop into the green room before giving your talk.

5.) De-stress, unwind, and ward off negativity with GREEN today.

Green is a color that produces chemicals in the brain that make you feel calmer and more relaxed. Is it no wonder that taking a walk in nature is so good for the mind, body, and spirit with all those trees around? Of course it’s also why guests on late night TV will first sit in the green room before coming out on stage to be gawked at by millions.

Green is the color I often wear on a regular Tuesday when I have a hectic schedule and perhaps a few high-drama meetings I need to go to. I can’t ward off every drama king or queen by wearing this color, but I can at least help deflect negativity and stress away from myself, perhaps onto the poor unsuspecting colleague wearing red over in the corner. (Just kidding.)

Note: If you just taught the sleepy students and were wearing a red shirt, you might want to cover it up with a green sweater before walking into the “cost-cutting/budget-slash” meeting later in the day where tempers are sure to flair.

6.) Use the power of BLUE to better remember things and ace that exam.

Studies have shown that you remember more when you write down your notes using a blue pen. Also people are better able to concentrate and focus when sitting in a blue colored room. It may be best to remember that when studying for your next test. Quick! Write that down (using blue ink).

Blue is also the best color to wear when at a job interview because we associate trust, loyalty, and accountability with this color. If this intrigues you, you might want to read about how politicians especially use this color to win your votes in another article I wrote about the subject for The LAMP.

7.) Connect to your higher self and have some meditative moments with a bit of PURPLE.

Have you ever noticed that spiritual and religious leaders love to wear the color purple? This is because purple is associated with spirituality and transcendence. It’s also the color of wealth and royalty, namely because back in the day, only kings or aristocrats could afford the very expensive purple dyes for their clothing.

Purple, like fellow cool colors blue and green, is a relaxing color. It’s also a color associated with the crown chakra, also known as “the seat of cosmic consciousness.”

Maybe after a long day of using powerful color hacks to better tame your world, you might consider a bit of relaxing and soul-soothing with this most illuminating color.

Here’s some purple wisdom for your day

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Did you find these color tips helpful? Please let me know or add your own color hacks in the comments.

Thanks!

P.S. Did you know that everyone who is on my mailing list is entered each month to win a free art print? If you are already on it, no need to do anything. If you’d like to enter the August giveaway, you can do so here: https://buff.ly/3PRt4aM