10 Simple Tips for Living a Happier Life

Everyone strives to be happy but the mistake that everyone makes is that they think that happiness is some kind of finishing line in a race. Once you have crossed that line, you will live happily ever after. That is not true. Happiness is a choice! You can choose to make your life happy. So here are a few ways you could try today.

1. Let go of past memories.

Everyone has both sad and happy moments. So forget about your painful memories. What’s in the past, stays in the past.  Instead, focus on your good memories and move on.

2. Be optimistic.

Always try looking on the bright side of things. Look for the silver lining behind each dark cloud. For example, if you had an unfortunate accident and your car is badly dented, but on the bright side, nobody got hurt and that dent in your car can be repaired. There is always a bright side to look on so be optimistic!

3. Be close to your family

Try and maintain a close relationship with your family and friends. Our       relationships with them have a greater impact on our happiness than anything else.   Human beings are made to be social creatures. So appreciate the existing relationships that you have.

4. Try finding a job that gives you happiness.

If you are feeling stressed out in your current job and not getting the job satisfaction that you want, perhaps it’s time for a career change. Job satisfaction plays an important part in your happiness. So give your job a chance. Try having a positive attitude in your job. If that doesn’t work, it may be time for a change of jobs.

5. Make friends

You need to make friends with people who share a common interest. Find something that you are deeply passionate about. It could be a hobby or an organization you can volunteer in. There you could meet people who have the same interest and passion as you.

6. Exercise

Exercising releases endorphins. So, not only you are taking care of your body but you will automatically start to feel good about yourself.

7. Change your thinking

You have to start living life to the fullest. Don’t delay your life a second longer. Try something new everyday or pick up a new skill!

8. Don’t let the small stuff bug you.

Remember all the small petty stuff that used to bother you? Forget all about it and focus on the bigger picture. Life is too short to be worry about trivial stuff.

9. Live your life for yourself.

Stop trying to live your life up to other people’s expectations. You are your own person. So start living it for yourself!

10. Lastly, remember to love with all your heart. You have all this love to give so give your love to something and start feeling happy today!

"The greatest happiness is to transform one's feelings into action." -- Madame de Stael

Here are a couple of positive affirmations for you:

"I know that my Higher Power accepts me just as I am."

"I am responsible for my own happiness."

"I have the right to ask for what I want/need."

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Stress Management for Self Improvement

Stress has always been a part of our daily lives. We often find ways to deal it with but it can become unbearable when you're tightly under its grip. The important part here is to take control of stress before it ends up controlling you -- which is to say that you will be making a lot of mistakes that will take quite a lot of time and effort to fix. This is where stress management comes in.

Why Get Rid Of Stress?

We can never deny the fact that stress can be a big hindrance in everything you plan to do with your life. It can get in the way of business, career, or even with your family and friends. If you give in to the irritation and anger that is often the result of stress, you are bound to make the wrong decisions and commit plenty of mistakes that will cause any number of problems for you and your family.

You can lose your job, do badly in a business deal, or even make enemies left and right when you let your stress control you. Learn to control your stressors and get rid of them every time they crop up to improve your quality of life.

Find The Source Of Your Stress

Knowing the source of your stress can help give you a number of possible solution options to help counter it. If your stress stems from overwork, then take some time off from your busy schedule to relax. The home can also become a stressful environment, especially when it's disorganized and sometimes cluttered. If you think that the design of the interior is giving you problems, then take some time to rearrange the furniture, or add some home décor to make it more comfortable to live in.  Once you are able to determine the problem(s) then you can take the necessary steps to correct them.

Learn To Relax Once In A While

Everyone would agree that work, or the demands of work, is a major cause of an individual’s stress levels. If you think that you have “that wild look” in your eyes every time your boss asks you to do something, then it might be time to ask for a vacation, or some leave to relax yourself outside of work before it leads you into trouble.

Take some time off from your busy schedule and visit the local spa. Pamper yourself by indulging in a full-body massage or get an aromatherapy session going on to help you relax. You can always take a vacation if you really want to get the thoughts of work out of your system, but a regular massage will do wonders if you can't afford to be absent from your work for an extended period.

Find the Child within You

Kids are known to be stress-free. Even if you scold them or force them to eat vegetables, you will rarely see them suffer from stress for a prolonged period of time. The reason for this is that their mindset is set to enjoy life as they see fit. We can all take our cue from them and enjoy life a little bit more.

Find your inner child and just play. You can grab your Playstation 3 out of the cabinet and bring out the games you usually play during your free time. Another idea is to listen to your favorite music or read some of your favorite literature on the internet or your kindle. You can even play online games if you like, anything small just to help get your mind off of your work.

Keep in mind that the basis of stress management lies not in the methods you use for removing stress from your system. The focus here is to learn new methods to divert your mind from the situations that cause us to stress.  The point is to give ourselves time to relax and later come back to face the situation with a clear mind.

Earth Therapeutics Stress Management Kit

Here are a couple of positive affirmations for you:

"I accept and learn from my mistakes."

"Wealth is pouring into my life."

"I welcome and accept abundance into my life."

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Meditation as Stress Management

Stress is purely a mental problem. When the mind goes haywire, then the rest of your body will also do the same. You will become emotionally unstable when you're under the throes of stress and you will mostly like feel the repercussions on your body, like muscle cramps, headache, and more. It is important that a person learn stress management techniques to get rid of it before it becomes permanent.

Stress Is All In Your Mind

The initial effect of stress is in our minds. Our normal thought patterns are disrupted.  These patterns, once disrupted would lead to confusion. This would eventually negatively affect us both emotionally and physically if subjected to it over an extended period of time. Stress is oftentimes caused by both work and financial matters. Friends and family members can also become a source of your problem.

Since stress starts with the mind, you need take the necessary steps to control it within your mind. Relaxation plays a major role in stress management.  Relaxation is often the prelude to every other technique that you use to help you cope with the problem.  It is a fact that we can think clearly when we are in a relaxed state -- we weigh each thought that passes through our minds calmly and rationally, whether it’s a problem or just some stray thought from the day's events.

Meditation to Help You Relax

One way to help your mind relax is through meditation. This method can help you focus your mind clearly on a problem without getting distracted and come up with the right solution to get it out of your system. After all, a calm and focused mind can easily cope with stress.

There are several ways to practice meditation.  You can either enroll in meditation classes and be instructed in a group environment, or you can do it on your own. The former is perfect for those who have some spare free time, since meditation classes take around 2 to 3 hours per session. You will be guided slowly by your mentor on the different exercises, both mental and physical, to help you relax and focus your mind.

If you don’t have the leisure time available during your work day, then you can do it on your own for a few minutes while you're in the office or on a break.  Ideally, you can set aside an hour or so for quiet time at your house in a comfortable chair or bed.

Starting With Meditation

There are different methods and tools you can use to start meditation on your own. You can listen to calm music or chant a mantra. You can also buy books to help you achieve meditation through visualization techniques. Pick one that suits your individual taste and get started practicing.

First find a quiet place to start your meditation exercise. If it's your first time practicing, then make sure that you won't get distracted with the noise in your surroundings. Lock your room or tell everyone that you don’t want to be disturbed.

Start with the meditation by looking for a place where you can sit down and relax. Don’t lie down since that will only put you to sleep before you can complete the exercise. Apply your own relaxation method. Concentrate on your mind and let random thoughts fill your head. Observe each thought calmly as if you are watching a movie. If a stressful scene comes out, try your best not to focus on it, but push it aside and allow a new though to surface. Keep doing this exercise until you arrive at a time when your mind becomes comfortably fuzzy and blank.

Next you want to try to think of one problem that you want to solve and focus on it. Again, don’t get emotionally attached to the image and only observe it in passing. You will eventually arrive at a solution to the problem without even trying to do so.  That is the whole key to meditation.  Allow your thoughts to flow freely in and out of your mind and the best solution will undoubtedly present itself to you.  When you are done with your contemplation you can arrive on the best solution from all the thoughts that passed through your mind. 

I hope this brief explanation of meditation helps in some way.  If nothing else maybe it will peak your interest and encourage you to try meditation.  I hope you do practice meditation, it has been a great help to me.  I am much more patient now than I ever was in the past.  I also have developed some deep breathing techniques that go with meditation that help me calm down in stressful situations.  I enjoy meditating every night before I go to bed and try to set aside some times during the day as well because it is easy to fall asleep when you meditate before you go to sleep.  I also enjoy listening to brain entrainment and isochronic tones but that is another story for another day.

Here are a couple of positive affirmations for you:

"I am calm and relaxed in every situation."

"My work is deeply satisfying."

"I study and comprehend things fast."

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