Happy woman in sunny lavender field.

My Go-to Happiness Tools

1. Do a shower power meditation. Take a shower and multitask washing away your stress and anxiety. Concentrate on the feel of the water upon your skin. Envision the power of the shower washing away your negative thoughts! Whoosh! Envision fear, regret, and anger soaping off you and swirling down the drain. 2. Send the universe some “muah!” Gratitude is often the antidote to depression. And that’s a researched fact. A study done by the University of California showed that when people took time each day to think about five things that made them happy, they increased their overall joy and improved some health issues as well. With this in mind, send five “muahs!” to the universe. Literally. Think up something you’re grateful about, then pucker up and blow the universe a kiss! Then do it again! Appreciate. Blow a kiss. Repeat. Appreciate. Blow a kiss. Repeat. 3. Juice up your spirit. I love how I feel when I’m drinking fresh-pressed juices on a regular basis. They increase my energy—and help me to feel healthier and happier! (Oh, and younger too, thanks to those awesome antioxidants they provide!) 4. Sniff your way to a happier mood. Studies from the University of Miami School of Medicine report that lavender is a major olfactory happiness tool—shown to improve mood, soothe anxiety, and even help to reduce some physical pains. If you don’t have lavender around your home, grab a bottle of vanilla extract from your kitchen cabinet. This yummy scent is also considered a powerful aromatherapy happiness booster. Added Bonus: Studies also show the scent of vanilla arouses men, so considered yourself forewarned! 5. Get lit. Studies show that sitting in dark rooms can lead to darker thoughts and that, alternatively, spending time in bright light (from being outside in the sun or inside in very well-lit rooms) can create happier brain chemistry. With this in mind, the Princeton Theological Seminary recommends something called “happy light bulbs,” which is either 60- or 100-watt daylight bulbs. 6. See problems from a headstand position. Yoga in general is a wonderful practice to keep your mind, body, spirit at their happiest and healthiest. Many yoga passionistas (including celebrity yoga guru and fellow Positively Positive contributor Jennifer Pastiloff) especially recommend doing headstands to release stress. MRI studies even back up a headstand’s mood-boosting benefit—showing how regular headstands literally improve brain function. 7. Get doodle happy. Grab some magic markers and doodle lots of heart icons. Big heart doodles. Small heart doodles. Give some of the heart doodles smiley faces. The silliness of this doodling action combined with the repeated visual stimuli of seeing icons representing love will cheer you up. Extra Feel Good Bonus: Doodle your heart icons on a plain white card and mail it to a friend/loved one with a note expressing your adoration of them 8. Stare at something yellow. Put on a yellow shirt. Buy some yellow flowers. “Yellow can lift your spirits and self-esteem,” says color psychologist Angela Wright. 9. Walk on something green. Being surrounded by nature is good for human nature. Go take a hike, or go for a stroll in the park. 10. Say “ohmmmmm.” Give yourself the gift of five minutes of quiet time, sitting in a comfortable position, humming “ohmmmmmm.” Studies show the sound of this vibrating in your throat relaxes your body—even warming up the skin a bit. 11. Organize your home/office. You’ll wind up cleaning up messy thoughts in the process. It’s a funny thing how the less clutter you have all around you, the more calm your mind becomes. 12. Give yourself a helpful hand. Try some hand reflexology. Massage the chakra points on your palms—right at the base of each thumb. They match up with your adrenal glands, which need a little loving attention when you’re stressed/depressed. Hold one hand in the other, then use the pad of your thumb to gently but firmly massage this zone. 13. Give someone else a helping hand. Studies show that doing acts of altruism and kindness create an instant happy mood boomerang, raising the serotonin in the giver as well as the receiver of these actions of love. Interestingly, studies show that even observing someone else doing something kind can increase one’s own happiness levels. There’s even an expression for this, called “Helper High.” With this “Helper’s High” in mind, feel free to share this list of happiness tools with others—and give yourself an “instant happy” for knowing you might be improving someone’s day!
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Young-happy-woman-standing-in-field.jpg

Simple Pathways to a Happier You

Quick, name three things that make you happy. OK, now when was the last time you enjoyed those three things? Sometimes the secret to a happier you is as simple as asking yourself what makes you happy, and taking a look to see if you are actually doing those things. You could be so busy living you haven’t stopped to reconnect to your sources of happiness. Sound like you? Here are some simple ways to get reacquainted with the happier you.Be grateful all day. It may sound like a tall order, but you can live daily in a state of gratitude; all you have to do is be present. Notice all those tiny things you love about your day each day. Have a little bit of appreciation for that cup of coffee in the a.m., a smile from your child, the music you love on your way to work, or the text from your best friend. It only takes seconds to notice things you love throughout your day, and the reward is great—a smiling you.Go for imbalance. The notion of life balance gets a lot of play, as if someone somewhere is living this perfectly harmonious life where work, family, friends, sleep and play all get equal parts of your time. It’s silly. Toss out the notion of life balance and throw your life purposefully into imbalance so it leans toward the things you value the most. Phew, doesn’t that feel better already?Get your resilience lingo ready. Have a phrase that can snap you out of a funk or a bad mood fast. Maybe it can be as simple as “I’ve got this,” or it could be funny, like “Time to pull up my big girl boots.” Just come up with a quick sentence that resonates with you.Marinate in anticipation. Ever notice how happy you are when you are counting down the days to a fun trip or a vacation? You can be happy like that more often. Actively schedule fun things on your calendar and enjoy the happiness that comes from anticipation. Always peppering your calendar with things to look forward to is a serious mood booster.Get your heart into it. If you want to be happier, exercise. This isn’t a public service message, but real science. Researchers at Penn State University found that exercisers have greater feelings of excitement and enthusiasm. Plus, exercise reduces the stress hormone cortisol, releases those feel good endorphins and increases your energy.Focus on your strengths. Using your strengths makes you feel strong, says author Marcus Buckingham, and that’s a lot more rewarding than the frustration that comes from trying to work on your weaknesses. Notice moments when you feel strong or in your zone (typically it’s when you lose track of time) and find ways to have more of those moments. It’s all about identifying the moments that renew your energy and bring you joy and going after those moments, Buckingham says.Choose one of these strategies today and reintroduce yourself to the happier you.Sandra Bienkowski, owner of The Media Concierge, LLC, is a national writer of wellness and personal development content and a social media expert.
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Happy woman in swimming pool wearing sunglasses.

How to Have a Happy Forecast

Every time someone walks into a room, they bring their own weather.Some people smile at you and you feel warmed just by their attention. Spend time with them and you get a sunnier perspective on the landscape that you are walking together. When you’re with them, you feel stronger to face the challenges.Some people usher in a cold front. You wrap your sweater a little tighter around you to insulate yourself from their chill. Others bring cloudy skies, with a chance of rain. Unpredictable, stormy, or just overcast.Yes, a happy person chooses their own barometric pressure. And you can tell the temperature in their spirit the minute they walk into the office, the book club or the party.Now there are plenty of good reasons why sunny days turn cloudy, but the person who has learned to navigate their own weather welcomes a whole lot of other people to walk with them in the rain. How do they do that? Among other things, they adopt three sheltering attitudes:They consider others. When they walk into the room, a happy person doesn’t think, “Well, here I am. Please love me.” Instead they get their eye on someone in front of them, walk toward them with body language that says, “Well, there you are! I was hoping you’d be here.” They set their own insecurities aside and serve another. In so doing they take the pressure off themselves—to measure up a certain way or out-do someone else. They are free to make someone else feel braver, and not surprisingly, they get there themselves.They know how to share their life. One year for my birthday, I bought myself counseling. It’s funny now, but at the time, I knew I needed to work through some huge hurts and changes in my life and I wanted to spare my girlfriends another lunch talking about the situation. I wanted to share my life with them, but the whole of my life—not just the sad parts. I care about my girlfriends and they care about me and we’ve learned that sharing includes, but is not limited to, “help me get through this.”They say thank you. Gratitude just makes you sunnier. With practice, anyone can see the good that even rain brings. Gratitude sets an altitude for living. When you’re most grateful, you just find it easier to breathe. It’s a curious fact—often the people who have suffered the most are also the most grateful. In their struggle to survive, they see something beautiful and precious that gets missed in routine living. I think they get a glimpse of the blue skies above the clouds.What’s the forecast today? You tell me. We all struggle with insecurities, with heartache, with challenges, but we can also choose our own weather outlook.Makes you wonder, when people see you coming do they grab their umbrella or sunglasses?
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