What did you feel when you read the quote on this picture? Did it make you smile? It was just a simple greeting, but it warms the heart. Can you imagine how others would feel if you sent them a message like this?
In a world filled with divisive messages and fear and hate, why not send more messages like this? Each one is a little do of positivity. It might be just what someone needs to brighten their day. I encourage you to send out several cheerful greetings daily. See how people respond.
Above is a breakfast sandwich I enjoyed the other morning at my favorite place, The Wisconsin State Fair. It was delicious. Last year, my mother, Margie and I discovered it the first day we went. Shortly after that, I proposed to her. In reflection, we all recall the sandwich being quite delicious.
With that in mind, I was excited to bite into this one with the hollandaise sauce,ham, and cheese all in a delicious croissant. While it did satisfy my taste buds, it fell short of the year prior. No fault of the establishment. The ingredients were just as delicious.
What was missing? It was the company, the excitement of the day. Here I sat, all alone, trying to recreate that. Margie was baking and my mother was getting ready to help someone else.
What I learned was that it is the people and what you do with them is what makes memories and makes moments special. It not only adds flavor to a lonely breakfast sandwich, but it adds flavor to life as well. If you want to fill your life with happy memories, fill it with special people and loving times.
As we get older, we appreciate how fleeting life is. It was difficult to understand this as a child. Isn’t a year always the same length of time? It is, but as the years go by, they seem to go past with a quicker pace. The loss of a childhood friend yesterday, before the age of 50, just proves life may not even be as long as we think it is.
That is why it is so important not to save the good things for the future. The joy, the love, just enjoy them now. You may not get another chance. Share love, share happiness. Live now, it’s later than you think.
This is a picture from a little Italian grocery store I visited while taking my aunt out to her old neighborhood. I love the suggestion on the bottom. “Best served in good company”. How many things should have this suggestion? Good company makes everything better.
On this evening, I was accompanied by not only my aunt, but my mother and Margie as well. We ate at my aunt’s favorite Chinese restaurant, shopped at this grocery store and relaxed at an independent coffee shop. All that would be a great night for me, but doing it with those you love make it even more amazing.
How about you? Have there been things you have done that are ‘best served in good company?’ What other products do you think should have this suggestion printed on them? My suggestion would be coffee. Sharing a good cup of coffee with a friend makes it taste that much better. What is your suggestion?
One of the great secrets to an amazing life is to set yourself up for success. Learn as many tools and strategies to improve your life and maintain a positive emotional state as you can. Never rely on just one strategy to get the job done. Just as a screwdriver would not work to saw a log in half, or a saw to put a screw in, different situations in life call for different tools.
One thing that will help is setting your environment up for success. In this endeavor, use the same approach. Engage as many tools and strategies as you are able. I have a daily inspirational calendar I read. There are also motivational pictures and quotes in my locker at work. We discussed having a ‘happy playlist’ of songs that inspire you at the ready. Another great idea is to keep pictures around that just make you smile. The picture above of the otter is a great example. I have many silly and adorable pictures of my beautiful lady that never fail to put a smile on my face. I would share one of them here, but I fear I may be sleeping on the porch then.
How about you? What tools and strategies do you use to keep a smile on your face and joy in your heart? Do you have any pictures that make you smile? Are they placed where you can see them every day? Share your ideas so that we may all be one step closer to an amazing life!
Here is a great gift I received from the love of my life. A book filled with 500 things to be happy about. The cool thing about all of these…well…things, is that none of them require a large amount of capital. Most of them require none at all. Can you imagine that? In a world that makes a fortune off helping people find their bliss or joy, here is a book that lists 500 ways you can do it for free or pretty close to.
One of the things that makes this book so fun, other than the amazing lady who gave it to me, is that many of these things happen to us daily and we take them for granted. Why is that so fun? It means we are passing by happiness daily to look for it. Most of them we fail to notice or fully appreciate. Some we even turn into negatives. Does this sound confusing at all? It did a little to me in reading what I just wrote, so let me clear it up with a few examples.
Here is a picture of me working out. Seriously, it is of the late Greg Plitt, one of the people I draw inspiration from. Many of us are on a quest to get in better shape. Does this sound familiar? You make an gym date with your friend after work. 5pm rolls around and you are so tired you just want to collapse on the couch. How could you have been so dumb to say you would go to the gym? Suddenly you are mad at your friend, mad at yourself and dreading going to the gym. You make it there and complain about how tired you are through your entire workout. After you make it back home you cannot believe how sore you are. With a change in perception this could be an entirely different experience. You could look forward to working out after a long day knowing that it will help reduce stress, release the feel good hormones and provide you more energy on the back end. You could enjoy the knowledge you are getting stronger with each rep. When you get home you could let the sore muscles give you a feeling of pride that you put in a good workout.
There is a literal fountain of possibilities to be happy. Most of them require the ability to be present. Some listed in a book are as follows. Finding a matching lid to a container. We all know how frustrating it can be when you can’t. Why not enjoy a little moment of happiness when you do. A bird landing close without seeing you. How cool is it to be able to catch a glimpse of an animal that is normally scared of humans? Peeling of the protective sticker on a new gadget. Knowing that it is ready to be used. It is like starting a new adventure. Take a moment to smile about it. How about the smell of early morning coffee? If we take a second to notice it at all, we may just say, “That smells good.” What if we really took even a few seconds to pause, inhale and really savor the smell.
Here is what I noticed almost all of the ‘things to be happy about’ involved. There were two things required to transform what may be ordinary happenings into moments of joy in our hearts. Those two things are being present and being grateful. Knowing this, we can transform anything into a moment of being happy. Like our workout example above, if we change our perception, we can change our emotional state. Imagine being grateful you can workout. Sure, you may not be where you want to be, or able to do what you want to do just yet, but you can workout. Many people can’t. Think of the ability to read this blog. How many people in the world are still not literate? How many do not have access to the internet?
Let us add to the list of 500. Share your little things that bring you great joy, or could bring you great joy with a little present moment awareness and gratitude.
Here is a reminder that in the midst of spring cleaning, working on getting that summer body back and wondering where our New Year resolutions went, that we should always have a little fun.
The quote in the picture above captures this perfectly. Feet dirty, hair messy and eyes sparkling. The first thing that came to mind was a charity race I did a few years with Margie’s daughter. It was 30 obstacles in about 5 miles. Raised money for children with cancer. At the end of it, we were covered in mud, scrapes and pride. Not only had we completed the challenge, we raised money for a great cause. Our eyes were sparkling.
The next thing I thought of was children. When we are young, every day is an adventure. We dive right into life. Our feet are usually dirty, our hair is usually messy, but our eyes are usually sparkling. I think we need more of that as adults. I would love to hear what you do to put the sparkle back into your eyes.
Last post we discussed the importance of having ways to cheer yourself up. I would still love to hear any ideas you have for that. One of our readers (lbeth1950) mentioned she loves to call her best friend.
This reminded me how important it is to both have and be someone who brings joy into life. Do you have one of those friends you just feel better after spending time with? Are you one of those friends for someone else? It is vital we keep a group of people around us who brighten our spirits.
It is also important to have friends in all avenues. What I mean is to have friends you can call, friends you can message online, but most importantly, one’s you can physically connect with. Sometimes these friends will change avenues. My friend Curtis I enjoyed having coffee with and solving the world’s problems. He, and his wonderful family, moved to Las Vegas. Now it is more of an online friendship.
The point being, if you have a great friend, keep them even if you have to make some adjustments. One of the best ways to assure you have a group of amazing friends is to be one! Make sure whenever you have an opportunity to bring joy to the life of another you take it!
I love to fill my day with moments that make me smile. Better yet, I like to be fully aware and appreciate those moments. Too often we fail to understand the value of simple moments of joy until they are gone. This is just one of many reasons to be present during your day.
When we are not slaves to distraction, we can feel the joy in our hearts that these simple moments bring. Another way is to reflect on moments in your day that bring you joy. As I’m writing this, I am doing just that. Let me tell you, it is making me smile just thinking about, and being grateful for them.
Some of these moments for me are waking up to see comments from readers of this site like you. It is that first sip of coffee in the morning. One of my favorites is coming home from work and first setting eyes on my beautiful fiance. What are your simple moments of joy and how can you better appreciate them?
Today is one of my last days of vacation. I’m looking to get the maximum amount of feeling good out of the time I have left. I’m going to use these for brain chemicals, and the behaviors that go with them, to accomplish that.
Looking at this list, I would love to know what your favorite is.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 