I once had a friend that was very cautious. She would suggest that I not try certain things, in fear that I might fail or somehow get hurt. I believed her until a new friend blew up that idea on life/love.

The new friend would say, “are you crazy, go for it.” My life expanded at that moment, not only because of her positive attitude, but also because I had someone who now believed in me. Surround yourself with people who cheer you on and be that friend for those who need cheering.

When faced with setbacks, don’t look around and start pointing fingers at who’s to blame. Look in the mirror and figure out what your going to do to fix it, grow and move on. Being a victim is a waste of time and energy. Only you can change your future.

When I’m feeling a little anxious about something, it sometimes helps to sing a little song to myself. “Oh what a beautiful morning” from Oklahoma has always been a good go to. It’s cheesy, but it works.

Watch this and wait for the refrain…starts right at the first minute mark.

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“Ultimately, what we need in order to be happy is at some level pretty simple. It requires doing something that you find meaningful, that you can kind of get lost in on a daily basis.

When you observe children, they are very good at this. They don’t get distracted by all those extrinsic yardsticks. They go for things that really bring them a lot of enjoyment. In my book I talk when we got my son a little mechanical car when he was about 3 years old, because he saw a neighbor get that car. Continue reading →

Maybe you’re a person that already can find the funny in life. If you are, good, keep doing it. If not, stop taking everything so seriously and lighten up. It will make life so much easier and happier.

Need a little help figuring out how to have a sense of humor, read this wikihow article: http://www.wikihow.com/Have-a-Sense-of-Humor 

The science:

From Psychology Today

In the Mood

That laughter is a full-cortex experience is only fitting considering the wide-ranging effects it has on us psychologically and physiologically. Perhaps the most obvious effect of laughter is on our mood. After all, with even the most intellectual brands of humor, laughter is ultimately an expression of emotion

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Finding reasons to be happy now can benefit your future.

Dr. Dacher Keltner of the University of California claims she can predict a person’s future by judging the strength of their smile. Researchers examined yearbook photos of 111 female students taken between 1958 and 1960.

Subsequent tests revealed that the women who expressed more positive emotion in those photos became more mentally focused, had more successful marriages, and enjoyed a greater sense of well-being.

From the article:

“While positive emotion tends to broaden thought, negative emotion tends to narrow it and hold back development….The findings of Dr Keltner and his colleagues, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, are among the first to show that differences in the extent to which people express emotion may be stable throughout their lives and dictate personal and social success.”

Get more here.

Thinking of others is not only good for everyone around you, it’s also good for your psyche. Don’t make yourself the center of the universe and then it won’t be the end of the world if something goes wrong.

Visualize your stress is locked up in a helium tank. Fill up balloons with your stress and label them (i.e. job, relationship, a person’s name, etc.) Then one by one let the balloons go. Watch them rise into the sky and disappear into the clouds.