HAPPY is as HAPPY DOES!

 

As a writer of a POSITIVE LIFE BLOG… SPIRIT UNBROKEN, I am often asked how others, my readers, can become “happier” in their own lives. In the next few weeks, I will share things that I have said “yes” to and that have helped me to become happier in my own life.
Just by picking a few of these ideas, you too will be on the track to being more content and happier overall. I do not have all the answers, but as I age and look back on my own wins vs. losses things become clearer and worth passing along.
Being Imperfect
Trying to be perfect is setting the bar too high. It will be impossible to reach and ultimately lowers your self-esteem. You may not feel very happy about how things are going in your life even though they might be going very well indeed. “Perfectionism” for yourself eats at you and your happiness. Embrace your own imperfectness.
Believing in perfection Often we actually believe what we see about relationships and families by watching “perfect families” and “how love should be” on television and in the movies. It looks so good and wonderful and you want it for yourself. Best selling authors capitalize on this formula over and over again. However, in real life it clashes with reality and it can harm or possibly lead you to end relationships, jobs, projects etc. just because your expectations are fiction. It is very useful to remind yourself: No one has it all in spite of outer appearance! I know this for a fact.
Go for good Aiming for “perfection” usually winds up in a project or something else progressing very slowly or never being finished at all. Perhaps, go for good instead. Warning: Don’t use good as an excuse to slack off. Simply realize that there is something called “good” and even “very good” and that’s not a bad thing .
Being Yourself
Not being able to be yourself, always trying to change for others, or censoring yourself doesn’t feel good at all. It makes life feel so small and limited.
Supportive people. Spend more time with the people who support your dreams, values, and you as a person. Or at least people who are not antagonistic and negative. Try spending less time with people who normally criticize you.
Supportive and life-expanding experiences. Change your environment from time to time. Go further and spend more time with sources of information that support your dreams and can give you information that expands and makes your life happier. Accordingly, spend less time with negative and limiting influences.
Things you like
It is important to find some time and energy for the things that make you come alive.
Mix it up. Try something new, even if it is just something small, each week. Eat a vegetarian dish at lunch if you always eat meat. Listen to some music that isn’t your norm. Go out to a movie, café, or pub with friends if you usually stay in at night. Perhaps it’s the other way around. If you are someone who surrounds themselves with others, try spending quality time… alone. Create variation and expand your comfort zone regularly in small ways, is key to living a happier life. Boredom creates contempt.
Reconnect. If you used to go fishing, paint, or play the guitar and it really made you come alive… then discover it again. Use an hour for it this week and see if it still brings you joy and makes you come alive.
Be Optimistic
Pessimism can really limit your life and bring it to a standstill. It can make it feel like there’s no point in trying because it won’t make a difference or you’ll just fail. It can create ceilings and walls made out of glass where there really are none.
Ask questions. When you’re in what seems like a negative situation, then make something better out of it by asking yourself questions that promote optimism and helps you to find solutions. For example: What is one thing that is positive or good about this situation? Or what is the opportunity within this situation?
Start off positive. Good influences in your life can make a huge difference. Therefore, start your day off with positive things. A good breakfast, a form of exercise you enjoy, reading or praying if only for a short time. You get the idea!
Foregiveness

Forgiving is not always easy and can take time, but there are some things that can make it a little easier.
You forgive for you. As long as you don’t forgive someone you are forever linked to that person. Your thoughts will return to the person who wronged you and what he or she did…. over and over again. The emotional link between the two of you is so strong and inflicts much suffering in you and, as a result of your inner turmoil, and often in other people around you too. When you forgive, you release yourself.
Make a habit of forgiving yourself. Do not just forgive others, but also yourself. By forgiving yourself – instead of resenting yourself for something you did a week or years ago, you make the habit of forgiveness more and more of a natural part of you. And so forgiving others becomes easier too.
Don’t just take the word “happy” for granted. Live it, practice it, and you too shall become it. HAPPY… in life, work, and relationships.

EQUALITY OF LIFE

Source: EQUALITY OF LIFE

EQUALITY OF LIFE

Our Life, as it is given, is always a Blessing; it’s all in how we look at it.
Feeling good is relatively simple to accomplish. Put what’s happening to yourself in perspective with what’s going on in the world around you. There are always individuals whose tests and hardships are more difficult than our own. Perhaps, we are having a trying day or there is an immediate situation of discomfort. Things are going to bother and aggravate us, but they are part of living. However, we can control the extent to which we are bothered and just how we choose to react to the stimulus.
I like to look at the big picture. You know…the outcome that might be at the end of each event and situation. Is this the worst thing that has happened to me…ever? Is there something that can be done to make it less negative? What can be learned from this? You get the idea.
Reflecting on the things that really are important in my life, or things that I enjoy, usually makes me feel immediately better. Sometimes, challenges help us grow or we discover something new about others or ourselves. I dealt with this almost intuitively as a child. Occasionally, as an adult, I need to remind myself of the benefits of this practice…it’s not always easy.
“Are you always in a good mood?” I’m frequently asked. Sometimes, it’s asked with sarcasm. Maybe it is thought that someone who always appears happy… must be putting it on! Rarely, if ever, is there a bad mood in me. I do sometimes get a bit blue or melancholy, but it is short lived. For me, being in a bad mood just takes too much energy and time. Also, everything that follows in that day is marked with negativity. Perhaps, my own memories of walking on egg shells around the moods and tempers of my family has helped me determine my own path. My thoughts are more of why would you want to be in a bad mood, when it’s easier to be happy?
A constant check and recheck of what’s really important in life and what’s not…helps me keep things in balance. I’ve done a total one hundred eighty degree turn from years before. For so long, I had tried to please everyone, but myself. That was a throwback to my childhood. Although it still is important for me to please others and be appreciated, it is now equally important for me to be pleased with myself. If something doesn’t feel good mentally, physically, or emotionally… I try my best to let it go. Admittedly, I’m not always successful, but I make the effort of trying.
Part of my recent journey has been discovering things about myself. Why do I think, feel, or do something in a certain way? As expected, many of my actions and reactions are the direct result of years past. The memories are often painful, but worth the exploration. My best thinking and self-examination are usually done at the ocean. For years, I’ve found great solace in its waters. There is a place like that for each of us; this is a place where we feel good about ourselves and complete. It’s important to go places and do things that make us feel good about ourselves.
The ocean makes me feel clean and whole. It’s like a baptism of spirit each and every time I visit. In the presence of the vast and perfect balance of these waters, my anxieties and personal issues seem small and almost trivial. My individual life in proportion to all the people on earth is analogous to one drop of salt water in the entirety of the seas. When I put the painful memories of my past in perspective, it is not nearly so overwhelming.
Each of us is making the same life’s journey, but the routes and durations are varied. LIFE will continue to test and amaze each of us… and in the end… it will all be equal.

POSITIVITY is CONTAGIOUS in Life, Relationships, and the Workplace!

 

Instead of thinking about what could go wrong, a positive thinker thinks
about what can go right. A positive thinker is going to look for the good in things. That means they will always try to find something positive about every situation and what they are supposed to learn from it.  You can see what a plus this would be in your own life, your personal commitments, and your work.

When you give off positive energy, you infect others with that same positive energy and that they will return that energy back . It is basically the belief that what you put out into the world will come back to you.

A positive thinker is going to be able to stay upbeat in any situation; they do not dwell
on the negative. They accept the challenge/ test as given and then move on. Nothing presented is mere doom and gloom, but rather a stimulus from which a lesson can be learned.

Positive thinking can be used in every aspect of life, from the little things to major things. It can be used to help you get through trying times. You can also use it to just make your average day go a little better.

Positive thinking involves being able to turn off the negative thoughts and
replace them with good thoughts. You will start to do everything in a more positive way… including how you treat others. This will not go unnoticed. Your interaction with others plays a large part in your life.

Positive thinking will allow you to believe that you can accomplish something if you put your mind to it. You will be able to set goals and reach them because you will believe that you can do it.

Positive thinking is very influential. It is going to start to shape everyone and everything around you. You are going to see the great power it has almost immediately. The power of positive thinking is not subtle.

You have to make an effort to let positive thinking start turning all your thoughts and ideas into positive thoughts and ideas. It is up to you, and only you,  to start pushing the negativity out of your head and let positive thoughts guide you. When you start to find your thoughts drifting to the negative… it is your responsibility to make an effort to make them positive instead!

The power of positive thinking is that it will shape your life. It is so contagious that it will affect the world around you. You will start to see positive thinking everywhere you go.

The true power of positive thinking is that it allows you to live life to its fullest potential and for all that it has to offer without letting negativity bring you down.  A positive mind anticipates:  happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Not assuming there is “potential” in every situation is missing the point of positive thinking.

When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images and see in our mind’s eye what we really want to happen.

Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances
will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but
eventually they do. When you expect success and say “I can,” you fill yourself
with confidence and joy.

Fill your mind with light, hope, and feelings of strength and soon your life will reflect
these qualities.

newest book

 

When you choose the best possible action, it makes it that much easier to
choose the best positive meanings to the given situations stemming from the best possible actions that were chosen.