We lead busy lives and have all sorts of obligations as parents, professionals, and friends. It's easy to lose yourself in everything that has to be done in any given week. While it's great to give and spend lots of time with loved ones, there is a time and place when you should slow down and get a little selfish. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 27 – Sometimes You Need To Treat Yourself And Spend Some ‘Me’ Time

Today is all about food. We all know that chocolate can make us happy, but it goes much deeper than that. Good nutrition and healthy eating can have a big impact on your mood and how you feel in general. And then there are certain minerals and nutrients that are directly linked with happiness or depression. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 26 – How Good Nutrition Can Help Your Mood

Since starting this 30 Day Happiness Challenge, I've been a lot more aware of the happiness of the people around me. I'm sure you've experienced the same thing. It is causing me to look at people more closely and pay attention to their actions, their feelings, and how that seems to correlate. It's been interesting and has given me some fresh perspectives on this whole happiness thing. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 25 – Stop Complaining. Take Action.

In my last post I talked about how much focusing on experiences instead of things can help reduce stress and increase happiness. Today, I want to take that one step further and focus a little more on getting rid of things - both physical and mental. The idea is to find happiness in simplicity. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 24 – Happiness In Simplicity – Declutter Your Life And Your Mind

I think there's a lot to the concept of owning less. While I'm not ready to give up my house and most of my worldly possessions, I have been thinking a lot more before I buy new things. In today's post I share my thoughts about switching from buying stuff to investing in experiences instead. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 23 – Trade Things For Experiences

Have you tried meditation? I'm still fairly new at it, but I can tell you it works. It's an amazing way to calm the mind and reduce stress. We've already talked about how stress can have a negative impact on our happiness. Meditation on the other hand can be a great tool to help you experience more joy and experience it more fully. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 22 – Meditating Your Way To A Happier You

Today we're talking about Christmas. I'm using it as an example of how my attitude towards gifts and giving vs. receiving them has changed over time. I hope it sparks an interesting discussion about how giving back in a multitude of ways can help us increase our own happiness and that of those around us. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 21 – Giving Back Makes Us Happier

We all talk to ourselves in our heads and we talk to other people of course. We're born to communicate and it's one of the most important skills we learn growing up. How we communicate, whether in a positive or negative way has a big impact on our happiness. It's time to start paying attention to those words - both spoken and silent. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 20 – Think & Communicate In Positive Ways

When you stop to look and experience things day by day and hour by hour, life is pretty amazing. Why waste all that time worrying about things in the past and future that are outside of our control. Today's post is about my thoughts on living in the moment and the positive effect it can have on your life and how happy you feel. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 19 – Live In the Moment

Listen, we all have bad days, weeks, and even months. There are bound to be negative thoughts and emotions creeping up more often than you'd like. You can't avoid them, but you can choose how to deal with them. One of the best ways to get through those tough times and turn things around is to learn to deal with those negative thoughts and emotions. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 18 – Learn To Deal With Negative Thoughts and Emotions

Are you keeping a journal? If not, now is a great time to start. Getting in the habit of writing about the things you are grateful for and recalling happy moments from your day. Writing it down reinforces those feelings and you have a record that you can come back to again and again. This is one of my favorite tools in the happiness tool belt. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 17 – Keep A Journal To Practice Gratitude And Happiness

Who knew? You can fake happiness. Try it right now. Put a big fake smile on your face. Don't just curve up your mouth, get your eyes involved too. Give me your prettiest smile. Feeling better? Me too. It's amazing how you can conjure up a feeling by faking it until it becomes real. Read on for more in today's post. … [Read more...] about 30 Days to Happiness Day 16 – When All Else Fails, Fake It