Tag Archives: happiness

N is for Negative Nellies – are they driving you Nuts?

 

 

 

 

 

Know a lot of “Negative Nellies?” – know enough to get them out of your life right now!  Negative people can be energy vampires, people who will drain the very life out of you by looking at the dark side of everything.  We’ve talked a lot about the power of positive thinking and the Law of Attraction that says that what you give out is what you get back.  Say No to the world, and you’ll get Nothing but No back.  Say Yes and chances are life will be good!  YES!

Negative thinking, according to respected thinkers like Caroline Myss and Louise Hay, can even create illness.  Negative attitudes create negative responses within your body.  Positive thinking can open you up to lifestyle changes that help you heal any illnesses and become a naturally positive and healthy person.

We all complain sometimes, sometimes you actually have a reason to do it.  If you’re complaining because something has really gone wrong and you need help finding a solution, then go ahead and get it out.  But if you’re complaining just to be heard or to vent about things all of the time, then get a grip and cut it out!

If you find yourself in the company of constant complainers, you get to choose whether they will be in your life or not.  Here are some tips to deal with “Negative Nellies” –

1.  Be positive with them.  When they start their complaining, say to them, “I know you will figure out what to do – you’re so smart…” or something like, “Wow – that really is tough – but you are so good at dealing with stuff like this – I know you’ll find a solution.”

2.  Don’t take anything they say personally.  (One of the 4 Agreements of Don Miguel Ruiz.)  Most of the time when people say something bad or negative, it’s about them, not about you.

3.  Ignore their comments.  I find it easier just to change the subject rather than engage in a negative discussion.

4.  See if you can reframe the conversation to get them to see at least one good thing about the situation.  But don’t be surprised if this doesn’t work – some people love their negativity!

5.  Disarm someone’s negativity by being upbeat and enthusiastic and pointing out all the nice things you see or feel or hear.

6.  Make new friends.  Spend your time with people who are happy and positive.  If you can’t get away completely (family or work), limit the time you do spend with them, set boundaries, don’t be available.  Make naturally healthy choices for yourself.

7.  Practice Unconditional Love.  In your mind, see the Negative Nelly surrounded by love and happiness and light.  Love them no matter what.

8.  Keep a gratitude journal next to your bed and make it an everyday habit to write down 5 things that made you happy.  It will help your attitude and your sleep.

9.  Be of service.  Help somebody else.  It’s hard to be negative when you’re putting a smile on somebody else’s face!

10.  Spend your time doing positive things for yourself.      Use your time to cook and eat healthy foods.  Drink more water.  Get enough sleep.  Look in the mirror and smile.  Read some motivating and inspiring books like  Everyday Positive Thinking by Louise Hay or The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. Make better use of your own time by taking care of your natural beauty and your natural health.

 

 

 

FacebookYahoo MailShare

O is for Optimism – Opening up to being Overjoyed

Optimism, or positive thinking, can make a world of difference in your life.  Simply by putting a smile on your face can send a signal your brain to stop thinking negatively, quit your worrying and start trying to be happy.  The results of this simple movement of putting the corners of your lips up rather than down will reduce your blood pressure, change your attitude toward other people and  yourself, and reduce your risks of heart attack and stroke, thereby extending your life and helping you to age gracefully.

Try that easy exercise right now -   Look at your face in  the mirror.  Are you  frowning?

 

 

Now – keep looking in the mirror and lift up the corners of your lips.

How did that make you feel?  I know I’m happy now – just thinking about you smiling!

You get to choose.  You can be a pessimist and think that everything that goes wrong in the world has something to do with you and that you are responsible for all the bad luck and challenges you may have to face.

Or you can choose optimism and know that, no matter what happens, this too shall pass.  The sun will come up tomorrow (thanks Annie!) and something new will take the place of whatever’s going wrong right this minute.  Be grateful for the things you have, focus on your strengths, do something to make you feel good (play with a child or a pet, watch a funny movie, go out and help someone else) and remember – SMILE!

See previous post – G is for Gratitude!

 

 

 

 

FacebookYahoo MailShare

J is for Joy – 6 Steps to a Joy-Filled Life!

“To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy…is to set our own conditions to the events of each day. To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jump for Joy!  Fill your heart with joy!  Put a smile on your face and face the world with joy!  Just do it!

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine your life being filled with joy.  What would that look like to you?  How would it feel?  What things could you accomplish if you were filled with joy?  How would your world look?  How would you look?   How would it make you feel?  Why not start today to have that joyful life you are imagining become your real life – a life filled with happiness?

Here are 6 steps you can take today to begin living your life in joy:

1.  Smile.  The easiest thing you can do to bring joy into your life is to put a great big smile on your face.  What?  You say to me, “My life isn’t joyful.  I’ve got problems.  I can’t smile.  I’m too sad.”  Well, I say back to you – Just Do It!  Simply turn up the corners of your mouth and smile – for only a minute – see how it feels.  Do it again.  Pretty soon, you’ll be smiling not only from the outside, but maybe a little bit on the inside too!

2.  Hang around with positive people.  Get rid of the energy drainers in your life.  Don’t listen to naysayers.  Surround yourself with people who will support you and encourage you to be the best you can be.

3.  Eat a healthy diet.  Provide your insides with joyful foods that will give you energy and vitality and you will see that health and happiness will show up on your outsides and in everything in your life.  Nourish your body and nourish your soul.

4.  Take time to sit in silence every day.  Listen to the sound of nothing.  Shut off the TV and (OMG!) turn off the computer.  Meditation, or just sitting in silence, will give you a chance to think about happiness, a chance to tune out and turn in and finally hear what you have to do to live a joyous life.

5.  Pamper yourself every now and then.  Get a massage.  Take an aromatherapy bath in luscious lavender and joyful jasmine.  Slather some rich, luscious body creams all over yourself.  You deserve it, right?

6.  Get up and move.  Get off your chair.  Get away from your computer.  Put on some music (I personally like Zydeco – just click and listen to Queen Ida and her Bon Temps Zydeco Band go!).  Dance!  Jump!  Joy!

FacebookYahoo MailShare

F is for Forgiveness – Don’t Forget YourselF

Forgive Yourself for more Natural Health

Go ahead – Walk right up to that mirror and give yourself a great big smackeroo on the lips and say “I Love You!”

Whoa now – you say you can’t do that.  You don’t love yourself.  You think you’re fat, ugly, dumb, _____________ (fill in the blanks).  Well, YOU’RE NOT ANY OF THOSE THINGS!

You are a unique and awesome individual with so many good qualities, I don’t even have room to list them all.  So love yourself, be good to yourself, and if you think anything bad about yourself – now is the time to Forgive yourselF!!!!

Start by thinking about someone who cares about you (or if they’re no longer in your life, cared about you once).  Once you remember that you were once loved, you will start to feel loveable again!

If you’re mad at yourself for something in particular, take a good look at it.  Acknowledge what you might have done wrong and take responsibility for that.  If you need to, figure out what you can do to repair the situation or just make amends, to the person you wronged; or if that is not possible or could do more harm, to yourself.

Now forgive yourself so that you can go on with your life.  Say out loud to the mirror or in your mind, in writing or to the others involved if you can, something  like: I forgive myself for ______ , _______ and _______ . I take  responsibility and I have done whatever I could to make things better.

And now – forgive yourself.  And if it takes more than one time, do it all over and at the end – Forgive yourself.  No one is perfect.  We all make mistakes.  And we all deserve forgiveness – even you!

 

FacebookYahoo MailShare

D is for Darkness – Don’t Despair – Daylight will Dawn!

Darkness and Light are both parts of Natural Health

Well, we made it past Valentine’s Day and I’m happy to say, at least for me, it was a rather nice day after all.  So I’m here to tell you that you may wake up in the morning and think that all that there is today is deep despair and darkness, but somehow, some way I know you will find the Dawn!

If you are struggling with crises, be they mental, physical, emotional, real or imagined, it doesn’t seem that anything will ever change.  But I know, I really know that, as trite as it may seem – This Too Shall Pass!

Whatever is going on in this very moment for you, it will be the next moment soon, and another moment after that.  I’ve mentioned before that those in the darkest dungeon of despair who contemplate suicide don’t really want to die.  Most of them just want things to get better, to change, to have the despair be over and find some happiness in their lives.

There are so many things you can do to cheer yourself up.  I don’t want to trivialize depression and despair and I hope that if things are so bad that you can’t look up and you can’t cheer up day after day – you will please find some help.

But if you need just a little help, please try some of these things.  Smile – turning your lips up instead of down may make you happy for a moment.  Sing – Zip A Dee Doo Dah can brighten your day.  Watch a funny movie or a funny TV show – it worked for Norman Cousins (Anatomy of an Illness) to cure his ‘terminal’ illness and it might just work for you.  Get a massage – having yourself pampered can’t hurt, can it? Help someone who is worse off than you – it’s an act of faith to give back and it’s been said you can’t be in Faith and Fear at the same time.  Write three things down in a Gratitude Journal (see previous Post – J is for Journaling – Just for Gratitude).

So hang on.  For another moment.  And know that without the darkness, it is almost impossible to notice the light.  Here comes the sun – right now!

 

FacebookYahoo MailShare