The default human emotion is happiness. It’s only when things get in the way of happiness that you fail to experience it. How many people really focus on making each year a happy year? Not many. Luckily, it doesn’t take a lot to have a good year filled with more good memories and fewer annoyances.

Unless you’re living under a rock, you deal with at least a few people that know how to push your buttons. However, you can learn a lot from difficult people. Challenging situations present opportunities for learning and growth. Are you making optimal use of the difficult people in your life?  What if the people you enjoyed the least actually enhanced your life? How powerful would that be? There are ways to make the best of the situation.  There are many things to learn from the difficult ...

Your emotions help dictate your state of mind. This means that to keep your state of mind intact, it's necessary to have emotional balance. That way, you can make it through even the toughest times. You can enhance your emotional well-being, so when challenging times come around, you'll be more prepared to handle them!  These strategies can help you manage your emotions effectively:  Identify your support system. It's very easy to experience emotional dips. This is especially true ...

Many people think that napping is for lazy, old, or mentally weak individuals. However, napping is common among mammals. Look at how much time your dog or cat spend napping. It’s impressive. It only makes sense that we could all benefit from a regular nap. Why aren’t you taking advantage of naps? You might be making a big mistake. See how napping can bring you many physical and psychological benefits:  Less fatigue. Studies have shown that napping is a poor ...

Many of us seem to live hectic, busy, over-scheduled lives. The idea that you can increase your energy by making a few simple changes to some behaviours or by adding some healthful choices and activities is quite attractive.   Revitalize yourself by making these simple additions and changes to your life:  Exercise 6 days a week. Even though the mention of exercise might make you think your schedule will be more cramped and you’ll probably sap your energy doing it, facts ...

Comparing yourself to others is a reliable way to reduce your confidence, motivation, and self-esteem. It must be natural to make these types of comparisons because nearly everyone does it. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a good move. If you want to become the best possible you, avoid comparing yourself to others. The Dangers Several challenges occur when you compare yourself to someone else: Everyone has a different starting point. You might be just learning to play golf, but ...

If you find that you often slip into negative moods, you're probably thinking that an attitude adjustment might help you. After all, a positive attitude not only helps you stay happy but also enables you to accomplish your hopes and dreams. One of the best ways to improve your overall attitude is to take every opportunity to say positive things to yourself. What you communicate to yourself through words, thoughts, and images are interpreted on a deeper level than you may realize. When you ...

Do you find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day? Our lives are so filled with work, family, and appointments that we often can't seem to fit in everything we need to accomplish in a 24-hour day.  But what if we could accomplish more in less time? If this were actually possible, it would allow us more time with those we care about and more time to focus on ourselves.  The good news is: there are simple strategies you can use to ...

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong, or everyone is going to find out that you don’t deserve your achievements? If you can relate to those feelings of chronic self-doubt, you’ve probably experienced imposter syndrome. You’re not alone - studies suggest 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point in their career. Overall, imposter syndrome stems from a high sense of self-doubt. Instead of attributing your success to your skills, you might downplay ...

Spring is a good time to make your home and workspaces sparkling clean and clutter-free. However, there's something else you should be paying attention to as well, and that's keeping a clear and happy mindset. If you find that you're having trouble dealing with life's stresses, and you need to sort out your thoughts, it will benefit you to use some of your spring cleaning time on yourself! Try some of the following tips to reorganise your thoughts: Get rid of anger. There are many ...

Our wisdom and compassion often increase as we grow older, but so do our health challenges. More than 90% of older adults have at least one chronic condition, and more than 75% have more than one. Plus, these figures are even higher for women than for men. Natural changes like menopause and your family medical history play a part, but a healthy lifestyle can help you stay as strong and independent as possible in the years ahead. It’s not something many of us like to think ...

Are you fed up in your current job? Perhaps feeling undervalued or overworked? If that sounds like you, perhaps you need a career change. This is a big step, but unless you want to become a professional sportsperson, there is no reason why you cannot make a career change when you’re in your 40s. Do You Really Want to Change Careers?  When you first decide to change careers, you will likely have to start from the bottom rung of the ladder, with a drop in pay. Are you willing and ...

Do you ever wonder why you're here? After all, you were created with a unique set of passions and talents that no one else in the world can duplicate! Discovering your purpose in life lets you use your unique assortment of feelings and abilities to bring you greater self-fulfilment. When you're doing what you feel like you must have been born to do, you can create a life you enjoy through and through. Your goals will have more meaning to you, and challenges will be naturally easier to ...

When you keep the idea of kindness in the forefront of your mind, you’ll reap incredible peace and satisfaction. Plus, you’ll bring joy and serenity to the lives of others. Take a look at the following suggestions of how to go about thinking, living and breathing kindness. You’ll find yourself loving life more and more when you carry out these simple acts of kindness each day.  Focus on kindness. In the morning when you brush your teeth, think about how ...