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Tag Archives: happiness
If you’re ready to give up, take a deep breath – for 2 reasons…
Posted on: May 9, 2012
1. You need to exhale all that negativity and inhale faith. Becoming aware of your breath helps you to relax and gain clarity for what next small step you can take.
2. If you could take that deep breath, that means you’re still alive – which means anything is still possible!! The only real excuse for ever giving up is that you’re 6 feet under! As long as you’re breathing, you have the opportunity to keep going and move forward to the life you desire – and deserve!
It’s time to let those old habits GO! Repeat: I release the need for these old habits from my life!
Posted on: October 13, 2011
Are you living with ZEST?
Posted on: October 6, 2011
Do you regularly appreciate the beauty in everyday moments? Are you living with an awakened sense of all your senses – seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting as much of the world as you possibly can – and appreciating all you discover? If so, you’re someone living with what philosopher Bertrand Russel calls “zest”?
“What hunger is in relation to food, zest is in relation to life,” says Russel.
Russel believed that life could never be boring to a person who’s cultivated the habit of zest – someeone who lives with attentive curiosity to the details of life. As a result, Russel believed that a common denominator among all happy people is “living with zest.”
You know you’re living with the habit of zest if you purposefully choose the scenic route to wherever you are going. Or you choose clothing because you love the texture of the fabric. Or you pick a shampoo or cleaning product because you love the smell – smell being just as important to you as how the product works. Or, you’re likely to notice the interesting shadows a vase makes on a table – or how clouds are shaped like a heart or a horse. Or you notice the music in restaurants – sometimes commenting on it to people. Or you notice people’s voices – if they have warm voices or interesting accents – which then makes you curious about what their voice might mean about them ! Or, you’re the kind of person who – if ever you were called to a police line up – you’d be able to recognize some of the strangers’ faces you see around you during a day – like the people waiting in line with you for coffee, or the face of your waitress at lunch.
All of this reminds me of what Nobel Prize winning scientist Daniel Kahneman shares. Kahenman says that we all experience about 20,000 individual “moments” in a day. According to Kahneman, each of these individual “moments” lasts a mere few seconds. When you’re fully present – being mindfully in the now – you’re able to appreciate more of these “moments” in time – instead of letting them become a blur in time. What Khaneman calls “mindfulness” is in many ways what Russel considers “zestfulness.” In both cases, when you’re able to live mindfully/zestfully in the now, you’re not being tempted to get sidetracked by regrets about the past or worries about the future – meaning you’re increasing your joy in the present!
Personally, I believe people who have a lots of memories are people who are living with zest. After all, when you have a memory it’s because you’re taking the time to appreciate being in the “now” – because this is the only way you can notice the details around you – if you are fully in the now. And in this time which you take to stop and be in the now – to zestfully smell the flowers – or zestfully stare at that stranger’s interesting face – or zestfully appreciate the taste/smell/colors of a magnificent meal – you are freeze-framing this moment for your memory’s photo album, instead of allowing it to simply blur on by you. For these reasons I also believe that the less memories you have in your life, the more likely you are to be speed-forwarding through each moment – not living in the now which is the opposite of living with zest!
IN SUMMARY: If you want to love your life more – you can begin by living and loving more of it – by zestfully living and loving every teeny-tiny, gorgeously-detailed minutiae moment!
YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Cultivate the habit of zest. Purposefully seek out the beauty in the seemingly trivial. Especially in the trivial. The colors and shapes of the foods you eat. The shadows a vase makes on your table. The interesting faces of the people on the bus with you. You will not only experience more happiness on a daily basis, but a month from now you will be able to look back and have more happy memories to appreciate.
Karen Salmansohn is a best selling author with over 1 million books sold and an Oprah columnist. Some best selling titles you might know: THE BOUNCE BACK BOOK, HOW TO BE HAPPY DAMMIT, ENOUGH DAMMIT, and BALLSY: EXTREME SUCCESS TIPS. For more happiness tips, sign up for her famous and free Be Happy Dammit newsletter on this site. You’ll instantly get a free chunkette of her BOUNCE BACK BOOK (praised by Tony Robbins) and you’ll join a crowd of about 20,000 happiness newsletter members!…
The Red String
Posted on: September 29, 2011
Note: This is a guest blog by Diana Worthman
Several years ago I felt like I was in a constant state of sadness. Nothing I did or said made things better. This uneasy, queasy feeling showed up in every aspect of my life. Especially in the dating realm. I went from being a bubbly, funny, always-smiling woman, to a crying all the time, bitching, misery.com kind of gal. Uck! I figured if even I couldn’t stand spending time with myself, other people were probably overwhelmed by me, too. I knew I seriously needed to revamp myself – pronto!
I started to read a lot of self-help books. While reading one about Kabbalah, I learned about The Red String. Someone ties it onto your wrist, mainly to protect you from the Evil Eye – but there’s so much more to the Red String than that. The Red String is also a reminder to stay kindhearted and positive – to maintain good energy for myself – and to make sure I’m sending positive energy out to the world.
When I’m wearing my Red String, I’m making a promise to myself that I will not sit around and gossip. I will not be a hater and say things that are hurtful and insulting because I’m angry at someone. Or envious. I will be a better person, and by becoming conscious of who I am choosing to be, I will be letting the light and life back into my soul.
When I first started wearing my Red String, it really hit me that all that negative talking and thinking I had been doing was coming right back to me – a vicious circle of doom and gloom. They say that envious eyes and looks of ill will have an impact upon us, stopping us from realizing our full potential in everything we do. Indeed, that is so true. When I began wearing my Red String, I stopped that bad habit – and formed a new habit – the habit of thinking and acting in positive ways. This Red String became my positivity instrument.
I can honestly say that my life has changed so much since I began wearing that Red String. I view people differently. I react to situations differently. I finally understand that I cannot have a life of bliss if I’m spewing negativity.
I love having this simple, yet effective reminder on me – prompting me to think before I speak, knowing that the more I speak about happiness and love, the more I will have it in my life.
- Diana Worthman…
Tagged Diana Worthman, guest blog, happiness, Kabbalah, Karen Salmansohn, love, The Red String
The #1 Contributor To Happiness
Posted on: June 30, 2011
Guess what’s been reported to be the number one contributor to happiness?
Money? No.
Good looks? Nope.
Popularity? Still nope.
A hot sex life? Guess again!
According to a report by The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, all these mentioned life goodies were topped by the biggest life goodie of them all: “autonomy” - defined as“the feeling that your life – its activities and habits — are self-chosen and self-endorsed.”
This makes sense, when you take a moment to contemplate how lovely autonomy can make you feel – and how miserable its absence can make you. In fact, when you’re upset about something in your life - a love break up, a job problem, your weight – it’s usually because you’re feeling as if you’re no longer in control of this area your life and bigtime lacking autonomy. Indeed, much of what creates sadness, anger, regret, disappointment – all these bad boy emotions – is having a feeling of being “autonomy-challenged”!
Researcher Angus Campbell emphatically endorses the perks of autonomy. “Having a strong sense of controlling one’s life is a more dependable predictor of positive feelings of well-being than any of the objective conditions of life we have considered,” says Campbell.
A University of Michigan nationwide survey also sings the praises of autonomy – reporting how the 15% of Americans who claimed they felt “in control of their lives” also raved about having “extraordinarily positive feelings of happiness.”
All of this reminds me of that now famous study on on those mice who researchers either gave cheese or electric shocks – no matter what these mice did. Purposefully these researchers created no logic to when the mice would be rewarded with cheese or punished with electric shocks. After a while, these mice eventually learned that their actions had no effect on their environment, and they lapsed into a state of passive listlessness and depression. Even when the experiment changed over, and the mice were given autonomy to avoid the electric shocks or gain more cheese, the mice were so depressed, they just lay there, choosing not to do anything at all!
Luckily, unlike a mouse, you as a human have that terrific homo sapien perk called “consciousness.” Meaning? You know better not to give up, even after your autonomy has been temporarily challenged. You know after a difficult time, you can take back the control you have over your life!
How to begin?
Happiness Tip: Marianne Williamson
Posted on: March 15, 2011
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. – Marianne Williamson
This quote was suggested to me by Lindsay Lopez of www.formpilates.com. Thanks Lindsay! I love Marianne’s messages too!
As always, If you enjoy my blog and posters, I’d highly appreciate it if you helped to spread the viral word – by forwarding this blog post/image to friends/family/coworkers/crushes by grabbing the url above and sending it to them – and/or posting it on FACEBOOK, and/or linking to a post on Twitter ( follow me @notsalmon),and/or joining my FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by signing up on the right side RIGHT NOW (you’ll be in a friendly crowd of about 20,000 happy members!) or joining me for some fun conversations on Facebook – by clicking RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!…
Happiness Tip: Sleep
Posted on: March 11, 2011
To hell with always being an early bird. Sometimes when you catch some zzzzzz’s you’re capable of catching more than a worm.
According to Charles Czeisler, a specialist in sleep deprivation at Harvard Medical School, lack of sleep can be as bad for productivity as drinking too much alcohol.
“We now know that 24 hours without sleep, or a week of sleeping four or five hours a night, induces an impairment equivalent to having alcohol level in the blood,” says Czeisler. “We would never say, ‘This person is a great worker! He’s drunk all the time!’ …yet we continue to celebrate people who sacrifice sleep for work.”
And Corporate America does promote workaholism amongst its ranks – pushing exec’s to work marathon-100-hour-workweeks, encouraging employees to take red-eyes and land with fast-feet running to the office, rather than catch needed shut-eye and re-energize.
Dr. Czeisler warns that burning candles at both ends actually does not justify the productivity ends. Indeed working round the clock can create the antithesis to high performance.
“With too little sleep,” Dr Czeisler says, “people do things that no CEO in his or her right mind would allow.”
For this reason, Dr. Czeisler suggests companies now start to incorporate new sleep policies which oppose employees working beyond a 16-consecutive-hour period, and prohibit working or driving immediately after late-night or overnight flights.
Dr. Czeisler comments how it’s interesting that companies have rules to protect employees against smoking and sexual harassment — yet companies promote self-destructive workaholism behavior.
I suggest you keep Dr. Czeisler ‘s report in mind the next time you have a choice between working too long versus getting some needed sleep.
In fact, I suggest you sleep on all this information.
Want more tips to increase your clarity and productivity? Check out ENOUGH DAMMIT and learn tips for finally getting the life you desire and deserve! You can read more about ENOUGH DAMMIT by clicking here. Ordering now is a huge help to me. I appreciate. Thanks!
As always, If you enjoy my blog and posters, I’d highly appreciate it if you helped to spread the viral word – by forwarding this blog post/image to friends/family/coworkers/crushes by grabbing the url above and sending it to them – and/or posting it on FACEBOOK, and/or linking to a post on Twitter ( follow me @notsalmon),and/or joining my FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by signing up on the right side RIGHT NOW (you’ll be in a friendly crowd of about 20,000 happy members!) or joining me for some fun conversations on Facebook – by clicking RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!…
Tagged appreciate, be happy, Be Happy Dammit, clarity, early bird, Enough dammit, happiness, happiness tip, increase your clarity, increase your productivity, productivity, Sleep, Sometimes when you catch some zzzzzz's you're capable of catching more than a worm, To hell with always being an early bird
Happiness Tip: Your Lens
Posted on: March 10, 2011
What a difference a new life lens can make, eh?
What kind of life lens are you choosing to view your life through now?
As always, If you enjoy my blog and posters, I’d highly appreciate it if you helped to spread the viral word – by forwarding this blog post/image to friends/family/coworkers/crushes by grabbing the url above and sending it to them – and/or posting it on FACEBOOK, and/or linking to a post on Twitter ( follow me @notsalmon),and/or joining my FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by signing up on the right side RIGHT NOW (you’ll be in a friendly crowd of about 20,000 happy members!) or joining me for some fun conversations on Facebook – by clicking RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!…
Happiness Tip: Problems
Posted on: March 10, 2011
Talk 20% on the problem, 80% on the solution.
(Curious and interested in buying ENOUGH DAMMIT and breaking bad patterns for good — or gifting ENOUGH DAMMIT to a friend? Simply click here. Ordering now is a huge help to me. I appreciate. Thanks!)
As always, If you enjoy my blog and posters, I’d highly appreciate it if you helped to spread the viral word – by forwarding this blog post/image to friends/family/coworkers/crushes by grabbing the url above and sending it to them – and/or posting it on FACEBOOK, and/or linking to a post on Twitter ( follow me @notsalmon),and/or joining my FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by signing up on the right side RIGHT NOW (you’ll be in a friendly crowd of about 20,000 happy members!) or joining me for some fun conversations on Facebook – by clicking RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!…
Set Your Intention For The Day
Posted on: March 7, 2011
Set your intention for the day:
Find some time for yourself to relax and refuel your greatness.
I believe the purpose of your life is to find and do the purpose of your life – your truest passions. For me, it’s writing self-help books and creating inspiring posters. For others, it’s creating new technology, designing various products, learning medicine — and at least one person was put on this planet to invent that little plastic doohickey which holds up the pizza box.
I recognize there are many challenges on your path to greatness, and you can offen grow discouraged. But far too often it’s not outside circumstances which stop you – but your internal beliefs. Far too many people get in their own way of greatness – by telling themselves what I call “Blame Excuses” and “Mythtaken Thinking.”
For example, right now you might be telling yourself you’re too old, too broke, too inexperienced to snag your passions. If so, let me tell you about a guy named Colonel Harland Sanders.
When the Colonel first tried to sell his chicken recipe he was 65 years old — with only a small pension — a tiny bit of money in the bank — and an old Caddie roadster. His first plan was to sell his chicken recipe to restaurant owners, who’d give him a residual for every chicken piece sold — a nickle per chicken.
He knocked on the first restaurateur’s door, and was greeted by a NOPE. Second door: NOPE. Third door: NOPE. In fact his first 1008 sales calls all served up a NOPE. Still, the Colonel continued to call on owners as he traveled across the USA, sleeping in his Caddie to save money.
It wasn’t until prospect number 1,009 that the Colonel received his first YES. Then, after two years of making daily sales, he had only signed up a total of five restaurants. Still the Colonel kept knocking on doors, staying passionately focused in the belief that his golden fried chicken would create a big pile of gold.
Finally by 1963 the Colonel procured 600 restaurants across the country to sell his Kentucky Fried Chicken! In 1964 he was bought out by a multi-millionaire — who made The Colonel a multi-millionaire himself.
I love this story – because it’s an “against all odds” tale. The Colonel was a senior citizen, with no money, entering a new field – and yet he succeeded! How? He knew how to fuel his greatness instead of fueling his fears, insecurity and excuses. Robert Louis Stevenson said it well when he said: “To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying amen to what the world tells you that you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.”
Here is one helpful soul-energizing, FUEL YOUR GREATNESS tip to consider:
WRITE MAKES MIGHT: I’m a big believer in the power of writing lists, writing in a journal, writing in a schedule book. Writing helps to clarify and organize your scattered thoughts and dreams. If you never write down your thoughts and dreams, they remain wishy washy vague ideas. And wishy washy vague ideas become wishy washy vague plans which bring wishy washy lousy results. Plus taking time to write down your thoughts and dreams refuels your excitement to go out there and snag ‘em! So while you’ve got your pen out, also make a list of all your best qualities and your happiest successes – so you remember why you have it in you to get everything you want in your life! It also helps to put your motivational lists and crystallized goals in places where you might see them often — and thereby not fall off the Greatness Bandwagon.
I’d love to hear from you – some of your ideas for how you will relax and refuel your greatness today. Perhaps it’s to stop and smell the hot cocoa. Maybe it’s to call an old friend. Or you could take a lunch time manicure. Or take some time to mediate, go to the gym, stretch yourself into your favorite yoga pose. You tell me! The important thing is that you promise yourself if at some point today you begin to feel stressed or discouraged, you will do something to pump back up your confidence and energy!
For more soul-energizing, FUEL YOUR GREATNESS tips, check out my book ENOUGH DAMMIT by clicking this line, right here, right now.
(Curious and interested in buying ENOUGH DAMMIT and refueling your greatness — or gifting ENOUGH DAMMIT to a friend? Simply click here. Ordering now is a huge help to me. I appreciate. Thanks!)
As always, If you enjoy my blog and posters, I’d highly appreciate it if you helped to spread the viral word – by forwarding this blog post/image to friends/family/coworkers/crushes by grabbing the url above and sending it to them – and/or posting it on FACEBOOK, and/or linking to a post on Twitter ( follow me @notsalmon),and/or joining my FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by signing up on the right side RIGHT NOW (you’ll be in a friendly crowd of about 20,000 happy members!) or joining me for some fun conversations on Facebook – by clicking RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!…
Tagged appreciate, be happy, Be Happy Dammit, Blog, Enough dammit, Find some time for yourself to relax and refuel your greatness, FUEL YOUR GREATNESS tip, happiness, happiness tip, instead of humbly saying amen to what the world tells you that you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.", Karen Salmansohn, motivational lists, notsalmon.com, refuel your greatness, refueling your greatness, Robert Louis Stevenson, set your intention for the day, the Greatness Bandwagon, To know what you prefer, write down your thoughts and dreams, WRITE MAKES MIGHT
