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Sadness is a normal yet undesirable fact of life.
Here is a basic strategy in combatting sadness: Transform sadness into action.
There are two kinds of sadness: melancholy and dissatisfaction.
Melancholy is passive. It’s where a person laments their fate and wallows in self-pity. Melancholy is where a person surrenders to the mood and resigns themselves to their current state.
Dissatisfaction, on the other hand, is active. It comes with a certain passion. It can motivate a person to act and even make major changes in their lives. Thus while sadness is inherently negative, nevertheless at times it can provide a force and energy for change and thus give birth to positive results.
Practically speaking, think of a personal concern that is causing you sadness, think deeply about which parts of this concern are within your control to bring about change. Meditate on the fact that with feelings of dissatisfaction there remains vitality. This vitality leads to agitation to the point of doing something to rectify the cause of sadness.