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How To Be Happy

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how to be happy

How To Be Happy

Apparently, knowing and practicing how to be happy is one of the most desired life goals. And why wouldn’t it be?! We all want to experience happiness but when that isn’t happening, the question of how to be happy is certainly worth thinking about.

Of course, it can be difficult to harness the emotion of happiness when circumstances and events often conspire to move us into a mood of something less than happiness, but, that doesn’t detract from the overarching need to feel happy and thereby feel we’re living a worthwhile life. [Read more…] about How To Be Happy

5 Tips For Creating a Sense of Wellbeing

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Many of us struggle on a daily basis with creating a sense of wellbeing. Often our internal monologue feeds us a stream of pessimism, beating us up over the things we haven’t done, reminders of our failures along with thoughts of the people we think we’ve offended and a list of ‘should haves’ which could equal a telephone directory. We then supplement this with a daily dose of ‘news’ just to make sure that we haven’t missed anything worthy of our negative attention.

Naturally this isn’t going to do much to improve our sense of wellbeing. That elusive feeling of calmness, balance, control or serenity, to name but a few adjectives which the word ‘wellbeing’ might conjure up for you.

But there are ways you can regain or create a sense of wellbeing, and they are well worth the effort of doing. Because creating a sense of wellbeing has a profound knock on effect for your life and also has the added benefit of being cumulative. By that, I mean the more you do it, the more you get! Win-win!

So if you’re in need of a boost to your sense of wellbeing, try some or all of these tips. Work them into your daily routine and remind yourself often (we sometimes just forget to do these things) so that you can maintain your sense of wellbeing over the long term. [Read more…] about 5 Tips For Creating a Sense of Wellbeing

Challenge Yourself and Get 5 Great Results

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challenge yourself

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Is it time to challenge yourself?

Think for a moment, is it time to challenge yourself?  Is there an unfinished or even un-started challenge that’s preying at the edges of your consciousness? It calls to you now and then, comes to mind when you can’t sleep accompanied by pangs of guilt or pops into your mind when you hear of others’ accomplishments?

There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet.
William Frederick Halsey Jr

You think about it and think that you can’t do it, or it’s too small to warrant the effort. You’re embarrassed, because you know it’s something you should address, but somehow, you just don’t!

• It’s that messy back bedroom that should be a guest room, if only you could make it presentable.
• It’s that nail-biting habit you want to eliminate.
• It’s that friend you need to contact.
• It’s that difficult conversation you’ve been putting off.
• It’s your neglected hobby, wasting away in the corner.

But the problem with all the things we want to do, or achieve or have is that we must put the effort in. We must rise to the challenge they present.

Whether it’s money, time, emotional or physical effort, the results will only come once we commit and take action. But the good news is that there are huge benefits to jumping in and getting on with it. Here are some of the reasons why you should challenge yourself. [Read more…] about Challenge Yourself and Get 5 Great Results

An Ideal Day?!

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…and b-r-e-a-t-h-e….

It was the start of a hectic day.  In this case a Sunday which should have been relaxing, but wasn’t.

You know the kind of day when you can’t seem to find a moment for yourself, when your mental to-do list is screaming for attention, but others’ demands are screaming even louder. The upshot is frustration, overwhelm and stress!

‘Welcome to my world’ I hear you say. And indeed, I hear it.

I have this utopian vision of waking up on a Sunday morning, the sun is shining, casting diagonal brightness through the blinds across the white duvet, my first cup of tea has already been placed by the bed and all is well with the world.

Instead, it was a fitful night’s sleep, punctuated with cat fights (literally) and toothache (ouch!). The morning has dawned grey (but, thankfully, dry) and my morning cuppa is hurting my aching tooth. Add to the mix a hubby with a pulled back muscle, barely walking and needing some TLC, three adult children competing for bathrooms to see who can get out of the house soonest and my mental-to-do list screaming its needs at me, and instead it feels like Armageddon! [Read more…] about An Ideal Day?!

Have You Reached Your Personal Rock Bottom?

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Have You Reached Your Personal Rock Bottom?

There’s a quote by Jim Rohn that I believe to be true of all of us and our circumstances. It’s a quote that sums up not only why we finally get into action, but also why we keep at it when the going gets tough, which it inevitably will. I’ve used it on my ‘About Me’ page as it’s a quote that has had a profound effect on my understanding of my motivations. Here’s the quote:

We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or desperation.

Whilst one of these motivations is positive, for the most part, I think change comes about for many people as a reaction to a set of negative circumstances that finally drives them to make the change for the better. This was the case for Jim Rohn.

Today’s post is about this negative, but ultimately positive reason for making changes in our lives.

We’ll all experience low points in our lives. Their severity will vary as will our ability to cope with ‘the slings and arrows’ that come our way. But what exactly is a low point, or, to use the vernacular, rock bottom?

There’s no absolute definition, instead, it can be anything that causes our ability to cope with daily life to diminish to a point where we feel acute disempowerment, scarcity, embarrassment, numbness to life’s pleasures, loneliness, overwhelm, mis-alignment with our values, misery etc. This list isn’t exhaustive and I’m sure you can add your own thoughts and experiences to this.

We can be laid low be seemingly inconsequential circumstances, but, like water dripping on a stone, we can eventually crack under the relentless patter of a situation that we find uncomfortable.

Alternatively, an event can be so unexpected or profound, that the experience affects our ability to function effectively.

One of the more  famous stories to fall into this category recently came from the commencement speech given by J K Rowling at Harvard in 2008, when, referring to the difficulties she’d experienced when writing the first of the Harry Potter series, she said:

I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

J K Rowling was referring to the time in her life which had seen the passing of her mother, divorce from her first husband and father of her child and a period in which she had lived on benefits.

Hitting rock bottom is hard (pun intended). Why else would it be called that? But it’s also the place where you can finally stop, stand up and take stock – if you allow yourself to do so. This is the point where the frustration and anger will finally dissipate, where the sadness and fear will overwhelm but where it can also be released and become a strength that you didn’t know you possessed.

From here, it’s possible to start making the changes, inch-by-inch, hour-by-hour and day-by-day. This is the opportunity to start again, but this time, with new insight and better plans.

Feeling humiliated is often part of the deal when hitting your lowest point. You’ve messed up, big time. You feel stupid and possibly remorseful for the things you know you’ve done to others, even if it was never the intention to hurt.

But whilst rock bottom is lonely, humiliating and scary, we are never alone. In landing in this place, we’ve merely taken the place of someone else who has recently found the strength and courage to look up and climb out. Now it’s our turn. Our turn to re-assess what got us to this place, what changes we need to make, what strengths we’ll need to muster from within so that we too can climb towards a better life.

And this is the crux. Hitting rock bottom should be the catalyst for change, it should never be the place we stay. The reality is that if we stay there, we have another rock bottom heading our way. Things will only get worse until we finally accept the messages life is throwing at us.

Staying there potentially leads to a place where our spirit may be broken, where we no longer feel able to pull ourselves out. It’s at times like these when friends and family may intervene, that things may finally begin to turn around for us.

But, this may not always work since rock bottom is a very personal place.

What’s enough for one person may not be so for another. If you’ve reached a point where you’re not going to put up with these conditions, this treatment, the embarrassment, the pain or any other circumstance any longer and you’re ready to do something about it, you’ve reached your personal rock bottom. But look around and you will see others facing the same struggles but they’re not yet ready for change. They will need to sink further still before reaching their lowest ebb.

In the end, choosing to address our personal rock bottom and make the change is our responsibility. Whilst our loved ones may endeavour to help us move forward, if we’re not ready, then no lasting progress will be made.

Like everyone, I have had my fair share of ups and downs.  Indeed, this post was inspired by an event this week that has prompted me to look at where I need to make further changes in my life if I’m to align with my personal values and therefore feel happier.

What about you?  Did you reach a personal rock bottom and have climbed (or begun the climb) back out to a happier life?  Or maybe you haven’t quite hit your rock bottom yet, but you know it’s coming?  I’m always inspired by the stories of others, so please do share if you feel able to.

What to do next…

> Read another post – 5 Signs You Need Help With Procrastination
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Photo: Symphony of Love

Changing Bad Habits to Good Habits

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changing bad habits to good habits
Wasn’t Me!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Changing bad habits to good habits – my top 5!

Changing bad habits to good habits is a difficult but noble undertaking, because the truth of the matter is that our habits, both good and bad are highly visible in the results we see in our lives. Whilst we may like to think that our bad habits are our own little secret, nothing could be further from the truth. And by dressing them up in reasons (excuses) it only prolongs their negative effects on our lives.

So in my blog today, I’m coming clean and putting five of my bad habits up for scrutiny with a few things I’ve been trying out to turn them into good habits. It’s a bit uncomfortable to do this, but shining the light on the dirt helps to clear it away. I hope it doesn’t offend you!

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

The Problem With Paper

I have a huge love-hate relationship with paper. On the love-side, I adore stationery, little notebooks, big notebooks, paper-based diaries, personal organisers, journals and even bits of scrap paper. Every new, shiny little book cries out to me to write in it. If I’ve got a new idea, it stands to (my) reason, that I need a new notebook to jot down all my thoughts! Amazon and W H Smiths love me! [Read more…] about Changing Bad Habits to Good Habits