Look back with thanks
Being thankful is good for your health and happiness. You may not be a naturally grateful person but it is an easy habit to learn if you try hard enough. It is never too late to become more grateful. Start with the past. Think back to your childhood. Remember...
Let your light shine
Someone once said to me, “We were put on this earth to walk like gods”. Yet we spend so much time running ourselves down and underestimating our abilities. Stop for just a moment and consider what an amazing creature you are. It is easier to think about what you can’t...
Fix the past
When your mind is clogged up by grievances from the past, it blocks your happiness. You can let go but sometimes you just need to fix things. However long after the event it is, take a first step. Write a letter to the person in question, alive or dead, whether or not...
Let go the bubble
There are some things that act as happiness stealers. We carry burdens of the past around. We have regrets which stop us appreciating the moment we are in – I shouldn’t have, why didn’t I? We have resentments that eat away at our delight – they shouldn’t have, why...
What really makes you happy?
Many of the things held dear in a western, materialistic society are not actually what makes you happy. It sounds a bit hair shirt and kill joy to say that. Enjoy the fruit of your labour, spend your wages how you like and enjoy what you have achieved. There are some...
Teflon VS Velcro
If someone criticizes you, the memory is often stronger than the praise they have given in the past, partly because we go over and over it. Negative stuff is also more granular and sticks like Velcro. Positive slides right off like Teflon. Deliberately engineer a...
Build a happiness picture
It’s play time. Get out the paper, the glue and even the glitter to create the ultimate mood board. What are all the tiny, medium and huge things that make you happy? Not what would make you happy but what, in fact, does. Collate photos or do some drawings. Create a...
Everything could go right…
People say, “Worrying is natural, everything could go wrong”. I say, “People really believe that nonsense?” Worrying is like going into a bank and saying, “I don’t have an account but I want to pay you interest in case I owe you money some day.” Nuts, huh? People say...
Never had it so good?
A politician lost his job saying this, so let’s check. How is your life better today than your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents? Life is better in numerous ways – advances in medicine, you keep your own teeth, your life expectancy has gone up, your...
Cherish the moment
OK, what are you doing right now? Well, you are reading this. What else? Thinking about the day ahead, reliving mistakes from yesterday, grudges from the past, fears of tomorrow? STOP right there. You have this one perfect moment in time that you will never have...