Whenever you are looking for a fast, easy way to recharge your overall state happiness, simply take a walk. Take the time to visit God’s Creation and spend time with Mother Nature. There is a natural energy that accompanies the unique and soothing feeling of the world we live in.
But, can being in nature really make a difference?

There are several studies in the Journal of Environmental Psychology that have explained the positive effects that accompany spending time with nature. Personally, I believe that all Creation was designed to work together. We take the time to keep our world in the best shape that we can while nature itself helps to reset our psyche. So the answer to the question above is this: Yes, with the right attitude, simply being in the presence of nature will help us to connect or re-connect with us to our world. And believe me, it just does not get any easier than taking a walk in a park.

Simply put, when you take the time to spend in nature, even for just 30 minutes, will increase your feelings of energy and overall health. Additionally, spending time in nature will also leave you feeling more feeling and giving. The fact is you will thrive when you choose to stay linked to Mother Nature.

Best of all, Fall brings us a beautiful collage of colors that can excite the senses and make even he manliest of men see the world in a new and fresh way.

Good or bad, we live in an achievement focused society. A world where success becomes so expected that our accomplishments many times get overlooked. We have been trained to set the bar high and then make sure we hit the mark time and time again.

One thing we have not learned to do as often as we should is to take the time to celebrate our successes, which means we lose out on the opportunity to boost our creativity, ride the energy and build confidence in what we do. While it is very important to recognize our successes most of the time we choose not to do so.

I am not talking about ego overkill, but instead a strong confidence that we generate within ourselves. We do not need to brag for others, but instead we simply need to make sure that we know what we have done is good. So…clear that high bar and then take the time to let your success sink in. After all, you deserve it!

Here is one simple solution. Make the choice to recognize your accomplishments – each and every day.

When you choose to recognize those achievements you will feel more satisfied, strengthen your motivation and build momentum. Take time today to make a difference in your own life.

• Start by capturing your daily achievements
• Make sure to write them down. I strongly believe in having a journal just to follow my accomplishments. When times seem tough, I can go back and look at all the things I have achieved.
• Then, and most importantly, recognize your success and take time to celebrate!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

Every person on Earth experiences happy moments. Those moments will lift our spirits, unlock our hearts and increase our overall energy. However, to maintain this heightened state of being takes practice.

Studies show that the average happy feeling lasts for about three to five minutes before beginning to fade away. However, when we make note of these special times and choose to share and relive them, it is then possible to extend the life of our positive emotions.

This is a choice though. It is important to choose to make it a daily practice to identify and be thankful for all of your positive moments. I am going to show you a few ideas specifically designed to increase your happiness. Choose to try one this week and start enjoying the feeling of renewed happiness.

• Start by keeping a daily journal. Write down all of your positive experiences. When you choose to write down these experiences it secures the memory in your brain and boosts your mood.
• Then share your highpoints with others. Make it a habit to tell the day’s highpoints to others. By sharing you joyful experiences you exponentially expand your own positive emotions as well as those of the people you share them with. We call this a twofer!
• Believe it or not, a picture really is worth a thousand words! Try to take a picture of those joyful moments. Then, you can make a slide show, using one of your favorite songs, and start to realize how much you are getting out of life.
• Smile! When you smile it is contagious. Try it! Smile at someone today and see what happens.

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE  BETTER!

There is only so much emotional stress you can choose to handle before you allow yourself to get into a bad place. In fact, when your energy is low it is even easier to give in to the fear and negativity that surrounds you. 

This is the very reason I believe it is so important to create positive daily habits that will keep you feeling strong and restore your emotional reserves. Choose to make it a habit to devote time daily to strengthen your energy every day and begin to experience more contentment, better health and a more fulfilling overall sense of happiness.

Here are three simple tips to help you refresh, recharge and renew your emotional well-being. Choose to take action today and create an atmosphere of peace, joy and happiness in your life.

• Start by moving your body every day – just 20-30 minutes of exercise can lift your temperament for up to 12 hours!
   
• Choose to practice appreciation – a little gratitude goes a long way, and it creates lots of positive emotions that will strengthen your attitude, incentive and overall health.
   
• Listen to inspirational music – music has the ability to quickly boost your disposition, increase your energy and transform your point of view.

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

It is far too easy to be judgmental. When you choose to simply pay attention to your thoughts you will see how many times you make the choice to be critical, and sometimes even flat out unkind to yourself and others. It is not a pretty sight to see. However by being aware of these comments is always the first step.

What is enjoyable is when you make the choice to voluntarily see the best in yourself and others. One way you can do this by developing the attitude of the three g’s: generosity, gratitude and gratefulness. Using the three g’s will teach you to learn to keep your heart open and draw out the best in all of us.

Today is the first Friday of the month. Try following the example set by KTIS, a radio station in Minneapolis/St. Paul - Minnesota, and do what they call the drive thru difference. When you are out and about today, go thru the drive thru and pay for the car behind you! Trust me, you will make a difference in their lives and your own!

• Make the choice to become aware of your judgmental thoughts
• Then, choose to immediately redirect them to be positive, look for the good!
• Finally, pay attention to how good it feels when you choose love over hate…

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

It is a scientific fact that emotions are infectious. When we experience the emotions of another person, mirror neurons trigger the same or a very similar response in our brain as well as our body. In a way, we are all walking, talking mood rings. (For those of you not born in the 60’s or 70’s a mood ring changed color with your mood, well body temperature to be exact)

When we choose to be happy, approachable and compassionate we naturally lift the emotional condition of those who are around us. Of course, the opposite is also true. When we choose to be apprehensive, irritated or judgmental we trigger those emotions in others as well.

One of the greatest gifts we have, as an individual, is our ability to positively affect others. This is why it is so very important to create those daily situations that will continue expanding the positive energy all around you. This choice in your life will not only help you, but it will support the attitudes and experiences of those you are close to as well, such as your family, friends and co-workers.

• Begin every day by creating positive emotions. Use positive self-talk to lift you up and acknowledge your presence in your own life.
• Then, MAKE THE CHOICE to Be a positive influence in your surroundings
• Finally, watch and enjoy the ripple effect around you.

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

Technology is a great tool. It provides an amazing freedom and flexibility to our lives. However, technology can also keep us tied down to work 24/7 if we do not make the choice to separate ourselves and be present in our lives.

When we choose to be constantly plugged in, there is a portion of our energy and focus remains attached on the future. This attachment makes it difficult to connect with the people we love. Additionally, the anticipation of what is yet to come minimizes the moment we are in.

This Memorial Day weekend give the gift of being present. Make the choice to experience the fullness of your life. If you can, take time to notice how time slows down when you are in the here and now.

• GOAL #1: Completely unplug for at least 24 hours
• GOAL #2: Pay close attention to what you experience during this time
• GOAL #3: Repeat as often as you can make time
• GOAL #4: Make the time!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

When life’s daily requirements continue to increase, it is all too easy to put off spending time with your friends. After all, you have got more important things to do than just hang out, right?

Remember those days of youth. Just walking down the street with your best buddy without all those pressures that adulthood brings. Just a couple of friends, hanging out and having fun! You can have those days again, but it takes effort and time.

As it turns out, hanging out with your friends is actually good for your health. When you open up and share your feelings with others it reduces stress and disease. Oddly enough, you also create more serotonin, a neurotransmitter that increases feelings of happiness, satisfaction and security.

Make time to cultivate your genuine friendships this week. Develop the connections that support you on so many levels. And start feeling the love!

• Start by scheduling a time with friends to hang out
• Then, continue to check in more often
• Make sure to keep your connections alive and well!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

To be honest, everyone wants more of something – happiness, health, love, time, satisfaction, success. In fact, most of us know what to do, we just make a choice not to do it. Instead of taking action to create positive changes, we blame, complain and make excuses for ourselves.

This is how we get stuck. We let our negative thought patterns become so entrenched that we fail to even notice them. They become this part of our life that we let lead us astray. This is why it is so important to have a daily practice of reflection.

It is through reflection we can see ourselves more clearly. We will discover personal insights and learn from our past. We also gain the knowledge that allows us to make the choice to take action and create the life we want.

• Take time every day to check in, see where you are
• Are your actions and choices are creating what you want?
• Find an action that you want to follow
• Then, make the choice to follow through on that action
• Repeat daily!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!