Monthly Archives: August 2015

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How to Create a More Happy Life

7 Ideas to Help You Grow in Happiness

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It seems that everyone is searching for happiness. When I Googled happiness I got 349 million results.

Is happiness something we can find or is it something that we will always be chasing? We can capture temporary happiness in the present. Many times it is a decision rather than a state. If you decide you are going to be happy your likelihood of achieving it is much higher.

You don’t have to be rich materially to be happy. I have met some very happy people in places where the people are poor economically. Many people have temporary happiness when they purchase something, but find that happiness wears out quickly and the “thing” no longer makes them happy.

I have spent time over the years pondering what makes people happy. People seem to be most happy when they are giving or doing something for others. It does not take money. It just takes your time.

Here 7 ideas to create more happiness in your life:

1) Perform daily acts of charity. During your morning reflection time think of things you can do to serve other people. What nice things can you do for one of your family members, a friend or somebody at work today?

2) Do a service project. Many employers and church organizations have projects like Habitat for Humanity, serving homeless shelters, painting projects for seniors and many other projects to help others. Do at least one of these each year.

3) Write a note to a friend or your spouse. A handwritten note can be powerful for the person receiving it. Send your spouse a love letter. Send a friend a letter letting them know how they have affected your life. Write a note to one of your children letting them know how special they are.

4) Do something fun. Go do an activity with your spouse, family or friends. Do something that you enjoy and have not done for a while.

5) Write down 5 things per day that you are grateful for. A lot of people use a gratitude journal to record these.  Gratitude is one of the keys to being happier.

6) Create Memories. Memories are created by doing things not by buying things. Things wear out, but memories last a lifetime.  Think of some of your best memories. Write them down. Talk about them with your family at your next family dinner.

7) Pray for others. Pray for the people that you know that are sick, have marital issues or have other needs on a daily basis. Prayer is powerful.

We will only find true happiness in the Lord.  We were made to know, love and serve Him.  In eternity we will find all the happiness we seek.

Be Great!

 

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7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Personal Relationships

Is Your Cell Phone Harming Your Relationships?

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Are you the spouse or friend that is sitting at the restaurant watching your spouse or friend text or tweet while sitting across from you? Is your husband checking his email, Facebook or talking with his friends via Whatsapp while you are trying to have a conversation with him?

I recently heard a woman say that she felt like she was not good enough or there must be something wrong with her because her husband is always on his phone when they are together. She wondered why he finds that his friends are so much more important and interesting than her.

Here are 7 Easy Ways to improve your marriage and relationships:

1) Turn off your cell phone at mealtime. Meal times should be conversations with people at the table. It is a great time to spend talking to your family and guests.

2) Turn off noise reminders for texts and social media sites. You will not be interrupted.  You will not be tempted to answer them immediately.

3) If you are with your spouse or friends don’t take your cell phone in to the restaurant or turn it off. There are a couple of reasons to have the phone on, either you are on call or you have small children at home.

Next time you are at a restaurant take time to look around. How many people are texting, on social media or talking on the phone? This may surprise you.

4) Don’t text or use Snapchat, Whatsapp, Twitter or other communication when you are talking with your friends or spouse. How do you think your spouse or friends feel while you are typing away as they are trying to talk to you? Or when you answer that Whatsapp text right when you get the beep while they are in mid sentence.

5) Don’t take the phone to bed. This is bad on a couple of levels. It will definitely reduce or eliminate intimacy. It will also reduce your sleep quality, especially if you leave the notifications on.

6) Don’t text your spouse or friends when they are in the same house, apartment or room as you. Talk to them.

7) Check email, texts and social media before you get home from work. Don’t get home and then immediately pull your phone out and start checking social media. Give your best to your best when you get home.

Be Great!

 

 

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A Great Way to Start Your Day

A 7 Step Morning Routine

 

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How do you start your morning? Do you have a morning routine?

You will find that your days will go better if you start with a morning routine. To get a better start to your day set up a morning routine before you head off to work. This may mean having to get up a little earlier. Getting up before everyone else gets up will enable you to have some solitude in the morning.

Here is a sample 7 Step Morning Routine:

  1. Have a cup of coffee or your favorite morning beverage pray and reflect
  2. Reflect on what you are grateful. Record it on a list or in a journal
  3. Decide what charitable acts or acts of kindness you can do for someone today
  4. Plan out your day
  5. Write a handwritten note or two to friends
  6. Workout  (If you never exercise start with short walk in the morning)
  7. Shower and have breakfast

Develop your own morning routine. Write it down and stick with it for 60 days.

Share this with a friend. Live life intentionally!

Be Great!

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How To Put More Simplicity In To Your Life

7 Ways to Simplify Your Life

 

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We all have a lot of stuff. We have so much stuff that there is over 2.35 billion square feet of self storage units in the United States. We have closets full of clothes we have not worn for years. We have multiple email accounts with hundreds or even thousands of emails. We have desks that have stacks of stuff on them. We have multiple calendars filled with appointments. Here are 7 ways to simplify all of this.

7 Ways to Simplify your Life

    1. Clean Your Closet
      • Schedule a Saturday morning to clean your closet
      • Take all the clothes and shoes you have not worn in the last year and give them away to one of your favorite charities
    2. Clean Your Email
      • Set up an offline folder for your unread email
        • Set rules for email to go to an offline folder automatically.
      • Reduce the number of emails you get in a day by unsubscribing as you receive solicitation emails
      • Delete your trash
      • Take action on email
        • Read and take action when you read the email
        • Move unwanted emails to trash
        • Move emails you want to keep to your offline folder for unread email or to Evernote to read later
    3. Clean Your Desk
      • Keep your desktop clean
      • Focus on one thing at a time
      • Purchase a simple organization system. A tray or box for working on, need to delegate, need to file and need to shred.
    4. Clean Out Your Cell Phone
      • Delete all the apps you have not used in the last 60 days
    5. Get Rid of Your Storage Unit
      • Sell everything you don’t need or give it to charity
      • Bring everything else home and save yourself the storage cost
    6. Evernote
    7. Calendar
      • Use a  calendar system
      • Use separate work and home calendars if that works better for you
      • Schedule fun things in to your calendar

Be Great!