2 Simple Ways To Reduce Stress and Find More Joy

As we drown in information overload and stay glued to our computers we live an increasingly unnatural life.  There is no way our brain can keep up with the amount of information we are subject to every day.

The amount of electronic devices that deliver information to us grows at an incredible rate. We have smart phones, tablets and don’t forget the lowly personal computer. Many people own all three devices. Billions of websites and hundreds of thousands of apps offer every imaginable type of information at the touch of our fingertips.

We text and Facebook our friends at an astonishing rate , spreading ourselves thin while losing those deep personal friendships that face to face camaraderie creates.

And don’t get me started about business productivity. We all know we are meant to produce at a high rate while the bulk of us don’t receive a raise near the rate of inflation.

Humans are meant to connect with nature. We need to find time to disconnect from the smart phones, take a walk in the woods, breath and clear our minds. I take a walk at lunch every day to get out of the office and see the horizon of the sky expand before me. I always come back in refreshed. I try to walk the dog as much as possible in the woods near my house.  Slowing down the information being thrown at us and reconnecting with nature is a simple change, yet is surprising how it puts a smile on your face and lifts a weary heart.

Seek true friends you can be honest and genuine with. I’m not sure if Facebook or texting is the best way to forge a deep friendship. Having heart to heart talks and opening up to someone, as well as having a shoulder to lean on, is essential to being a happy and well adjusted human being. Without close friends life is that much tougher and uncertain. Deep friendships allow us to express our fears, share laughs and celebrate victories. So the next time you think about texting or Facebooking how about meeting up for supper instead?

Less stress, more joy. It just takes a small effort every day.

Happiness Is The Ultimate Goal

When making life changes isn’t happiness your ultimate goal? Isn’t a life filled with joy, contentment, love and those soft wonderful moments what you strive for?

Success isn’t happiness. Find happiness and success will follow right behind. Find positivity and success will be right behind. But always, always find gratitude.

All the experts are with me on this one. Gratitude is a seriously beautiful building block to everlasting happiness.

I am grateful for having a warm and furry pet to hug.

I am grateful for plenty of foods and an abundance of water.

I am grateful to live in an open and uncensored society.

Think about 3 things you are grateful about every day. Let go of the constant flow of bad news. Squash the media. Block advertising out of your life.

Find the beauty. Find your connection to nature. Love your life.

6 Factors Guaranteed To Promote Happiness

I’ve read at least two dozen books and written 56 articles related to happiness. Here are the top 6 factors (in order) which seem to always repeat. Think about making some life changes around them!

Nurture relationships

We are happiness when we are around our closest friends.  Close friends also provide much needed support and guidance in difficult times.

Nurture your health

Taking control of your body, be it meditation or exercise reduces stress, worry and promotes calm and positive emotions. Try taking a walk instead of having a drink after work.  Meditate in the morning instead of rushing out the door.

Express your gratitude

Appreciating life in general and all of its small gifts on a regular basis will always boost your happiness. Write out an appreciation audit (list everything you are grateful for) and go over it at least once a week. You will love this exercise and it will always bring you back to what is truly important in your life.

Be kind to others

Doing acts of kindness will lead to others to like and appreciate you more.  This will improve your social relationships. Kindness also increases confidence, optimism, compassion and promotes purpose and meaning in life.

Live In the present moment and find joy

Worrying about the future is prevalent in our information drenched society. Bad news saturates our day. Learn to live in the present moment and clear your mind of endless chatter. Yes….smell the flowers… find a sense of calm…. take in a beautiful morning.  Each morning I stand outside and take in the fresh air while marvelling at the sounds of the world waking up.  THEN I get in my car.

Devote yourself to a goal

Happy people find meaning and purpose in life through committing goals. We become more confident as we accomplish our goals. Finding a goal provides structure in our lives. Find a goal that will be personally rewarding and meaningful for you today!

Love – The Ultimate Life Change

If one of your personal values is love and you have it as a core value in your  tracker, do you have a good definition of love?   Or is your definition just warm and fuzzy?

In Barbara Frederickson’s book Positivity she comes up with a pretty good definition.

Positivity comes in ten forms.

Joy.

Gratitude.

Serenity.

Interest

Hope.

Pride.

Amusement.

Inspiration.

Awe.

Love.

Why is love at the bottom of this list? Because if you mix all of these up in a blender… you get love.

Think about a time you felt love. At  different points in time it had most of these elements in it. When you define love as a personal value, whether love of a person or love of the world it helps to remember what makes up love.

You just may want a little of all of these positive elements in there.

Just to remind you what love really is.

Have You Been Creating Memorable Stories With Your Life?

Lately I love writing about creating memories.  The quality of your life is dependent on how you remember it. The quality of your life is a collection of stories interwoven together from a lifetime of memories. When you talk about the stories of your life are you feeling happy or content? Do your stories create sparks of joy? How about when you talk to yourself about your stories? Are you proud about your stories?

Sure you can stand around the water cooler on a Monday morning and talk about the BBQ or recommend what novel you are reading. But what about the stories that make your heart skip? What about the stories that tested your courage?

A friend of mine once gave me a plane ticket to fly to three cities in Europe. I landed in Zurich and was also allowed to fly to Sweden and Finland as well. It was a fabulous gift. I decided to include side trips to Italy and Estonia. A week before leaving, I took out my Let’s Go Europe book, highlighted a few choice youth hostels and took off. When I think back to that experience I’m amazed that in three weeks time I walked, took trains, ferries and flew to some incredible places.

I got lost in Italy at 1: AM searching for my youth hostel, shared my cigarettes with a Russian bus driver (I was the only customer) in Finland, and shared tea in Helsinki with a British art critique and an American improving lives of orphans in Russia. In Sweden I stayed on a 200 foot sailboat and went to a lingerie fashion show (poor me). My courage was tested a few times during that trip, but the memories will last a lifetime.

Staying in and experiencing the present moment is an amazing habit to find peace and even joy, but ultimately the overall quality of our life is governed by our memories and stories . This is your remembered self.

How do you remember yourself? Are you making life changes so that you think back upon your life with happiness and pleasure? What stores stand out in your memory? Are your glued to the Internet and television while the world passes you by?

Maybe it’s time to make new memories, and create a few new stories. There is a whole wide world to explore.

Reference:  Daniel Kahneman – TED – Ideas Worth Spreading

How To Be Happy And Create A Lifetime Of Joy With Your Memories

Just came back from Ogunquit, Maine. I love it there. I love the quiet beach, eating fresh seafood, breathing in the crisp ocean air and talking amazing walks. Why though? The reason is that I have such warm memories of this place. And my memories tell me a story even before I walk on the beach. My future and the joy I find are largely due to my anticipation based on my memories.

I saw a whale come out of the water a few days ago and that tied in to my memory of seeing dolphin’s many years ago in Wildwood.

These memories and the anticipation that comes with them will last me a lifetime.

I’ve written about living in the now and experiencing the present moment many times. During these times I feel contentment but not necessarily joy.

Joy I find comes from remembering the incredible beauty in the stories of my life. I may have experienced stunning beauty on multiple cliffs or felt the peace and quiet of a hot summer day. I have heard the sound of waves lapping on a shore in many places. These extraordinary memories never get old.

When I think about any of these memories of my life I am truly happy and even joyful at times.

Forget about buying stuff, go out and create a lifetime of wonderful memories. That is what true joy and happiness is all about.

If you enjoyed this post today, please do me a big favor and use the “Twitter” button down below (click on the + sign) to share it with your Twitter friends and followers (You can also share it on Facebook, Digg, or any of the other sites you see below as well).

Stop Complaining, Whining Or Making Lame Excuses And Start Living

I have been working incredibly hard to make meaningful life changes for years. I have changed my fundamental relationship with money (I wanted to be a millionaire by 30).I have settled into two challenging careers and am content with both. I have struggled with back issues but have more or less come to terms with this. I’ve tried to build deeper and more loving ties with family and friends.

We all have life changes we want to make. The biggest life change I’ve made BY FAR is to appreciate the fact that I’ve been given the privilege to live on this blue planet, which slowly twirls around in the middle of an infinite universe. Every single day I think about this. Everything else is insignificant. Lots of money, a powerful career or fame will not bring you a deep joy or heartfelt appreciation. If you think they will you are either incredibly ignorant or our consumer driven society has continued to suck you in and spit you out.

Go take a look up at the sky. It’s going to rain whether you like it. It WILL be cloudy some days (unless you live in Arizona). There is absolutely no point in wishing otherwise. You are just wasting energy and your time hoping for a change that is beyond your control. Learn to enjoy the day and whatever the planet serves up.

The sun will rise and it will set (it only hides behind the clouds). This has not changed since the beginning of time. Enjoy this day because you will never, ever see it again. It is May 09 2010 today. At midnight this day will have passed….forever. Are you going to enjoy it? Or are you going to spend time complaining, whining or making lame excuses?

Sometimes I sit in traffic and fume after some asshole that has cut me off. If he is driving a big Mercedes SUV I may get judgmental and hope something bad happens to him…or her. But in the end these silly incidents don’t matter. I just let it go. What really matters is that I’ve been born onto this beautiful planet and have had a few years to share it with many extraordinary living beings. And even though we are seriously fucking it up with oil spills and raping the forests, I’m eternally grateful for my time here.

I look out at the sky from my car window. I picture this magnificent blue planet circling the sun with a trillion stars winking all around. I remember how damn lucky I am to experience this miracle surrounding me. I feel a deep felt joy. I hope you learn to as well.

Make a life change to enjoy every waking moment you have here. It won’t cost you a cent.

Related posts:

Choose To Be Happy

Lead A More Meaningful, Peaceful And Happy Life

Find More Joy In Your Career and Entrepreneurship

Don`t whine, complain or make excuses about what you cannot change.

As someone who has worked in some of the largest and leading Aerospace and Pharmaceutical companies in the world here is my best advice. Don`t try to change what you can`t. And don`t whine, complain or make excuses about it either. In each company I have worked for I have seen plenty of fundamental mistakes being made. These mistakes can create enormous inefficiencies across the company. The best you can do is point them out, provide examples and trust your advice is taken (one day). There may be a million reasons why the company’s priorities lay elsewhere and most of them are probably legitimate. Do your job to the best of your ability and don’t worry needlessly about what is outside of your influence.  When the company feels enough pain they will change. In the mean while enjoy your job and stop worrying about what you cannot change. You`ll feel a huge weight lift off your shoulders.

Segregate your tasks into Vice Presidential duties

As an entrepreneur I have found that segregating my tasks into Vice Presidential duties helps enormously. One day I am VP of Production, another I am VP of Sales, and another VP of Finance. This affords me more clarity as to what needs to get done during any given day or week. Trying to do everything all at once, usually leads to only partially completing tasks and frustration. As I am writing this article I am VP of Production. I am not thinking about any other tasks other than production and writing this article. And I am enjoying writing it immensely. Try it! For more great information on this concept read the book E- Myth Revisited.

Other Brilliant and Related posts

Successful Small Business – The Three Top Requirements

Wealth, Money And Getting Filthy Rich 101

If you enjoyed this post today, please do me a big favor and use the “Twitter” button down below (click on the + sign) to share it with your Twitter friends and followers (You can also share it on Facebook, Digg, or any of the other sites you see below as well).

The New Achievement Rule: Feel The Sensation Of Success

The second biggest value people are seeking on www.mylifechanges.com is achievement. Achievement, success, accomplishment, whatever you want to call it will never be reached without following this golden rule.

First feel the sensation of achievement

First you have to feel the sensation of achievement in whatever area of your life you are trying to change. It may be wealth, relationships, health or just serenity but the key is to visualize yourself as already achieving your goal. Feel the sensation of reaching your goal. Visualize it, taste it, feel it. How does it make you feel? This is the all important question. Does it make you feel proud? Does visualizing your accomplishment make you feel like you are being of service? Does it give you a warm and fuzzy feeling? Meaning and purpose?

The problem is that most people picture their success as a BMW or a large house. But these are just fleeting feelings of material accomplishment. They never last. What really last are feelings of happiness, peace, bliss  and fulfillment first felt in your heart and then in your mind. Remember when you went away on vacation? Perhaps you stayed near the beach and saw dolphins swim by each morning. Memories that bring that kind of pure joy to your heart , are what stick in your heart and mind. There was that everlasting sense of wonder from something bigger than you. It will last a lifetime. Now think back to all the toys you have had. Do they bring back a sense of wonder and joy? No. It is your feelings and sensations from something other than your stuff that will bring you a long lasting joy. Joy from material objects never last.

Now picture yourself having achieved your goal. How does it make you feel?

Now that you have captured that feeling, it is time to take action. Go and start working on your goal. And always keep that sensation of achievement inside of you. You’re ultimate goal is to capture that wonderful feeling you are after. That feeling is what your success should be. That feeling opens up your heart.

The #1 Goal In My Life

I am seeking permanent serenity, joy and happiness. It isn’t always easy. Becoming enlightened means we have to let go of all the conditioning, worries and ego that we carry with us every day. It requires that we accept life as it is and stop struggling against it. We slowly learn how to tear down all the walls that protect us and to let the light shine in. We learn how the heart reacts to life and then the mind afterwards, creating unnecessary pain, insecurity and worry. We learn how to not react and to not keep the pain inside of us. We also learn to accept suffering, instead of avoiding it and move on. We learn to let it all go. We learn to use our consciousness. We learn to be truly happy.

I read that we are one spinning planet of water and dirt spinning around a star, amongst hundreds of billions of stars in our own Galaxy. Sometimes I look up at the sky and think about that. It seems that everything else is trivial compared to that thought. Should I be that concerned about what people think about my clothes or car?

I am learning to accept everything life has to offer. My time is limited on this planet. I want to spend the rest of it experiencing freedom, joy, peace and love. I hope you choose to join me.

Next Page »