Category: Success

How to Make a Vision Board

Keep Your Goals in the Forefront

Making a vision board is one of the best ways to get clear on your goals and keep them front and center in your daily life. Create a vision board.Making a vision board is one of the best ways to get clear about your goals and keep them front and center in your daily life. If your goals are part of your every day focus, then you are able to use them as a reference point in making decisions. If you want to publish a novel this year, then deciding between sitting in front of the television for a few hours in the evening versus sitting in front of the computer (or typewriter? or notebook with pen?) to write is made easier if you are reminded that your goal is publishing a novel. What facilitates this process of keeping your goals visible? A Vision Board.

What is a Vision Board?

Quite simply, a Vision Board is a board (physical or digital) that holds or displays pictures. Those pictures represent goals you want to achieve:

  • Obtaining something material, (like a new iPad)
  • Completing a project (like a kitchen remodel)
  • What your life looks like when you achieve your goal(s) (sipping drinks from the beach)
  • What you want your life to feel like (calm, peaceful, relaxed, healthy)

Any or all of the above. It’s your board, so you get to make the rules. If you are creating a physical board, then you need something to contain and display the pictures. I have used poster board and glued photos to it and I have done boards using a cork board and push pins which allowed some flexibility in arranging and changing the pictures if I needed to.

How to Make a Vision Board

How to Make a Vision Board
My business goals vision board for 2016

1. Gather Materials Needed

It’s pretty simple, really. You just need some picture sources (magazines, printouts, catalogs, photos, etc.), a background (poster board or cork board work great), a way to adhere them (tape or glue or push pins), and a place to hang your finished board.

2. Figure Out What Your Vision Board is About

Does your goal involve material things (car, iPod)? Are you trying to capture a mood or feeling (serenity, energy, abundance)? A place you want to visit (Ireland, Paris, Australia, Napa Valley)? Or a combination of these? Make a list so you can find the inspiring images, which is the next step.

3. Find Appropriate Images

Clip images from magazines or catalog, and/or download images from the web. Anything that inspires you to think about a particular goal. One of  my business goals is to offer weekend retreats for women on topics like Overcoming Fear, and Finding Your True Self. I have an image of women around a table enjoying a meal together, as that photo represents the sense of community I want my retreats to have. Additionally, I have the words “FEAR NOT!” clipped from a magazine ad that fit my retreat goal.

4. Lay Out Your Board

Now that you have a pile of images, you can arrange them any way you’d like on the cork board or poster board. Play around with this a bit to find an arrangement you’re happy with. Don’t spend too much time to perfect the layout as it’s more important to just get the images onto the board so you can begin to display it.

5. Look At It Every Day

Your board does no good if you set it in the back of closet, buried under out-of-season clothes. Put your board somewhere you will see it every day. It has to serve as a daily reminder of what your goals are, that way you will recognize opportunities that lead to goal achievement as well as be able to make goal-based decisions.

Now Go Do It!

To help you along, I’ve created a little video tutorial (see below) to walk you through the steps. I know that there are some of you who are still overwhelmed by the thought of actually doing a vision board. So I have created a How to Make a Vision Board booklet with step-by-step instructions, along with three layouts for you use with some ideas for things to put on the board.

Do vision boards work? Well, I have a picture of rolling green pasture that I put on one of my vision boards about two years ago to represent my bucket list item of going to Ireland. Guess who’s going to Ireland in June?!

Last year’s vision board captured the mood I wanted for the year: peaceful, calm, relaxing, healthy. I’d have to say that overall, those are words I would use to describe 2015, even though there were plenty of upheavals and uncertainties.

Are you ready to get started on YOUR vision board? Watch the video…

Unfocused Productivity

5 Productive Things to Do When You’re Unfocused

Sometimes I have laser-like focus. But there are days when I stare blankly at my screen. Here are 5 things to do when you're unfocused but want productivitySometimes I have laser-like focus. With task at hand I plow through and get the work done, barely taking time to drink water and breathe. This was the case in preparing my 30 Day Self-Care Challenge in 2015. From concept to fleshed-out plan took less than a week. But not all my endeavors are like that. Actually, most aren’t.

There are days when I show up at my desk and stare blankly at the screen. This in spite of the fact that I have taken time the night before to contemplate what one thing I plan to focus on for the day. Some days, it just doesn’t click.

So what is an entrepreneur to do? Sit around and eat bon-bons while catching up on Game of Thrones and Outlander? Tempting, but I recently sat down and put together a list of 5 things to do when I’m feeling unfocused but want to be productive. Consider making your own list (and feel free to use my list as a starting point!).

Productivity even when unfocused:

1. Delete email

Zero inbox? Me neither. Not even close. So set the timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes (or whatever time you want) and start deleting and filing. I try not to get caught into reading old emails. If I run into a bunch that I want to read (often from signing up for some list), then I make a folder and stick them in it. I do take the time to unsubscribe from those that I no longer have an interest in or have turned out to not be what I thought they’d be. Don’t be afraid to unsubscribe – besides lessening your inbox load, you are doing the sender a great service. Your not opening their email hinders their open rate. If you haven’t opened a single email from them in the last month or so, unsubscribe.

2. Read articles saved to reading list

Facebook has this really great feature where you can save an article link that someone posts. In the upper right hand corner of the post is a light grey downward pointing arrow. If you click it a menu appears and “save link” is an option (but only if the post contains a link to an article). Click that and the article is saved to a list. How to access the list? When logged into Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/saved and your list will be there.

When I find interesting articles via Twitter (often accessed from my iPhone), I save them to Safari’s Reading List.

3. Sort favorited pins on Pinterest

I favorite way too many pins, and always with the intention that I’ll go back later to see if I really want to commit to pinning it. Sometimes I’m not sure to what board I want to pin it; sometimes I don’t have time to follow the link to the original website to see if the information is really what I’m looking for. Sometimes I’m just lazy. But taking a few minutes to pin (and then unlike) a Pinterest pin is a good thing. Ideally I’ll get down to under 20 likes (I’m at 491 494 746 – I couldn’t help myself – as of the writing revision of this post).

4. Sort photos

Whether on my phone or computer – a few minutes of time can be well spent cleaning up “bad” (blurry, useless, dark) photos. Good bye duplicates. Good time to sort and tag as needed too. Certainly makes searching for that Pre-K graduation photo (to compare to the 8th grade graduation nine years later) a whole lot easier! Well, it would have.

If you’re not a Mac user, sort your photos in whatever program organizes them. You can take this task old school and sort through the shoebox of photos too!

5. Tag my Evernote notes

I don’t utilize this feature nearly enough. I’m still trying to master organizing in Evernote, and I really like how Michael Hyatt approaches this with tags. So besides tagging my notes, I guess I could use unfocused time to figure out an organization hierarchy as well!

Not familiar with Evernote? Then take some time to check it out. I have it installed on all my devices (it synchs across them all and with the cloud version), and I just learned how to clip web articles to it. The basic version is free (which is what I use).

So there you have my list of 5 things to do when your feeling a bit unfocused. Just remember to set a time limit. I find that I often get inspired by something (series of pins, interesting article, etc.) that sends my mind spinning and my creative juices flowing. Next thing you know – I’ve written a new blog post!

What things might you add or tweak to the list?

Dusting Off the Ivories

 

In a short amount of time – just over a week – I’ve gone from stumbling through this piece of music to being able to confidently (but not perfectly) play the first page.

 

I learned to play the piano as a child. My mother is a classically trained musician and music teacher, and I took lessons from her advanced students (you can’t teach your own child was her philosophy). I practiced, sometimes for hours at a time (in my mind), but usually not my lesson songs. I was drawn to show tunes and some popular music (most notably “Nadia’s Theme” also known as the theme from “Young and the Restless.” [listen here]). Sitting at the piano was a form of meditation for me; I could get lost in singing and playing and not worrying about homework or grades or what I was going to do when I grew up.

Despite all that “practicing,” I wasn’t a great pianist. Good enough to make it through a few hymns on Sunday if my mother (the church organist/pianist) was unavailable (and the substitute pianist was also unavailable). Good enough to entertain myself once in a while with a song or two. Good enough to help my children with their lessons.

Recently I started listening to Pandora Radio before bed, and I chose a channel I called “Lullabye Radio.” It has turned out to be a nice variety of contemporary lite music and classical. Often there are beautiful piano concertos, again contemporary and classical. And I started yearning to spend some time at the piano again.

So everyday, I take no more than 10 minutes to sit down and play. I started with Tchaikovsky’s Opening Theme from Piano Concerto No. 1, [YouTube video, but not of me!)] which I randomly selected from my mother’s music cabinet. After a week, I’ve gotten fairly confident about page one. Page two is decidedly harder, but I’m going to start tackling that soon. (My version is shorter than the YouTube video to which I link above).

The point of this rather long winded story is that in a short amount of time – just over a week – I’ve gone from stumbling through this piece of music to being able to confidently (but not perfectly) play the first page.  I’ve spent 5-10 minutes a day going over the same piece of music. I don’t sit down with the intention of perfection, but rather the intention of improvement. And each time I get a little better. Better than if I were to have sat for 2 hours straight and repeated the selection over and over. Each day I’m focusing on one thing for that brief amount of time – a form of meditation for me. My spirit is uplifted, I’m refocused and better able to attend to my other tasks of the day.

Do you have a meditative habit that you use to refocus? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

Power of the Sticky Note

Sometimes motivation comes in a little reminder you have posted around the house.

Daily Affirmations

I’ve taken to writing some daily affirmations on sticky notes and placing them wherever seems beneficial. After a while the conscious mind starts to ignore them (“that’s nothing new,” or “been there, read that!”), but the subconscious mind takes it all in – and that is key to giving the affirmation some traction. The other important factor is not letting your conscious mind disbelieve it. It’s okay for it to ignore or feel nonchalant about the affirmation. Better still if the conscious mind just believes it to be true and moves on. You don’t want the conscious mind contemplating how the affirmation is going to come true; details get worked out in the subconscious.

Post It Where You Can See It

So if the affirmation is “I choose to eat healthy,” then posting that on the fridge (or the snack cabinet or the dashboard of your car) creates a scenario something like this: at first your conscious mind is all over it – you contemplate choosing between the apple and the bag of chips (choose the apple). Eventually (and the amount of time varies by person and affirmation), you stop consciously reading the note, the the subconscious mind “sees” it and starts the process of encouraging a healthy food choice. You go for the cucumber slices before even considering the handful of chocolate candy. You crave the healthier choice because your subconscious is at work.

Put your daily affirmations to work for you! Use the sticky note.

Why Self-Worth Leads to Success

Self-Worth and Self-Care

Yesterday I treated myself to a foot massage. It was fabulous! The room was low lit with soothing music playing softly. I climbed up on the table and was instantly enveloped in warmth from the heated blanket beneath me. A few deep breaths later and I was completely relaxed; Jamie hadn’t even touched my feet yet. And then the massage began. Ahhhh. I hadn’t realized I could become even more relaxed than I was. It was heaven; pure heaven.

This was the first time in 11 years that I’d had a professional massage. Why did it take me so long to do it again? The previous (hot stone!) massage had been a gift from my sister as part of a spa weekend. I loved it. Why not treat myself at least once a year or so?

As I gave that some thought, I thought there might be several factors that contributed:

  • cost
  • time
  • self-worth

While a weekly massage probably wasn’t in the budget (or was it?), I realized that I easily spend the cost of a massage each month on things far less satisfying or necessary. So while I tried to use cost as an excuse, it really wasn’t true.

Lack of time was probably only a little bit more true than the cost excuse. Certainly if getting a massage was a priority, then I could find an hour or so in my schedule once a month to fit it in.

And now we come to the self-worth issue. Here’s where the buck stopped. Apparently I thought I was only worth a massage once every decade; scheduling that kind of treat for myself was only for a super special occasion. And in my mind, when I really took the time to analyze my feelings about this, I saw a connection between very powerful and successful people and those who got frequent (say, every month or so) massages. Certainly they had money and time, but most importantly they were worth it. My conclusion was that when I saw myself as powerful and successful, THEN I too would be worth getting monthly massages.

Well, that notion seems a bit ridiculous. Furthermore, what if the “reward” for getting more frequent massages (or any other “treat” of that nature) was BECOMING powerful and successful? What if I had things in the wrong order the whole time?

This notion did not seem as ridiculous, although it may to you. I know from changing my morning routine these last few months into a very focused first hour early in the morning, I’m able to get a lot more done throughout my day. The first part of that routine is meditating – entering a very relaxed state. I felt even more relaxed at my foot massage. What if each month I had that additional deep relaxation through massage? Could my productivity increase even more? More productivity means more is accomplished which means I’m helping people change their lives to be happier and more successful which, in turn, makes me happier and feel more successful.

I’m scheduling a hot stone massage for mid-August!

How to Stop Procrastinating: Finished is Better Than Perfect

Hung Up on Perfect

I start a lot of projects; I don’t always finish them all. Sometimes I get bored or I “figure out” the project before it is completed and the project looses its appeal or I get distracted. Often I get hung up on perfect.

In my mind, I’m not a “perfectionist.” I don’t feel the need to be perfect or have everything be perfect. I do, however, often feel I could complete a project better if… I had more time, more money, more resources, more…. something. Lately I’ve been taking this problem – because it is a problem – head on. It’s time to stop procrastinating.

Let me just interject here that “project” has a fairly loose definition. It can be anything as mundane as cleaning out a closet to something way more interesting, like writing a book. Size and scope of the project seem to have little bearing on my ability to complete it!

Tactics to Stop Procrastinating:

1. Don’t get distracted: Keep the original goal in the forefront.

Why did I take on the project to begin with? Cleaning out my clothes closet is not on the “fun project” list, but I know I need to get rid of stuff that’s not being used. The “do it better” me wants to completely re-do the closet: new shelving, new hangers, new containers, and everything will look like it could be on the cover of a DIY magazine on organizing. “Realistic” me knows that just going through and pulling out the clothes I no longer wear (ever) and the things I no longer use (why did I buy that wide-brimmed hat?) will make a world of difference.

Unfortunately, “realistic” me walks into that closet and “do it better” me butts in within minutes. The trick is to keep “do it better” me in check. There is always more that can be done. And truthfully, until the closet is decluttered, you can’t know what the “right” closet organizers are. Furthermore, if any other unfinished projects emerge from the closet (that box of photos that should be scrapbooked, for instance), “do it better” morphs into “that’s more fun, do that instead” me.

No! Stand firm! Goal for this project is: get rid of stuff. If I keep reminding myself of that, then “do it better” me can sit in a corner and pout while “realistic” me tackles the goal.

2. Plan ahead to make the process smoother.

This is one with which I’m getting better. Nothing is more discouraging than being all pumped up about a project only to dig in and find you are missing something. It can be disastrous if that something is critical; or potentially enlightening if you figure out a way not to need that missing something. Either way though, it is frustrating and time consuming, both of which take away from “getting it done.” So take a moment to think about what you need in order to complete the project before you delve into the project itself.

3. Set time boundaries.

What is the amount of time that is appropriate for the project? For writing a blog post, I like to set aside a couple of hours. It should probably take less than that, but I feel that’s a reasonable amount of time. If the post seems to be taking much longer, than it either needs to be broken down into multiple posts (perhaps I have a lot to say?!), or it’s not ready yet (the words just aren’t flowing). I also have a time boundary in the sense that I set a deadline for when I want to post. Without that I am likely to put off publishing a post so I can tweak it a bit further. Nope. Have to get it done today. Which leads me to my fourth point:

Stop procrastinating: finished is better than perfect4. As is, is better than not at all.

Which is, of course, much like saying finished is better than perfect. Only this doesn’t have to apply to finished. My closet is better even if I only get to clean off one shelf. It’s not finished, but it’s better than not cleaning that one shelf at all. Publishing this post today, even if some part of me thinks that four tactics is somehow not as good as five (odd numbers are better, right?) and I’m sure with a little more time I could think of something else to add… Nope. It’s time to hit the “publish” button (as soon as I find an appropriate photo to accompany this post, of course).

[By the way, one can come back a year and a half later and tweak things in the post. Just saying.]

 

Overcoming Sedentary Inertia

In my last blog post, Inertia – Or What My Mother Calls “Lazy,” I discussed framing decisions around two questions:

  • what is the goal?
  • why do you have that goal?

If you can answer those questions, then you are firmly set to work towards achieving the goal. You have to know the answer in order to battle the inevitable force of Inertia, where it is much easier to “stay at rest” (literally or figuratively) than to self-apply a force to get you moving.

Keep the Goal Forefront in Your Mind Always
So imagine that you are going on vacation and you are starting on the drive to get to your vacation destination. If you have children, you know that not 10 minutes into the drive the question arises: “Are we there yet?” You also know that if it’s someplace you are really looking forward to going, your own excitement builds as you get closer. You are thinking about the destination all along the journey to get there.

It should be no different in working towards a goal. The goal is the destination, and if you’ve considered why you have that goal, the reason should be good enough to make you excited about reaching that goal. It’s a good thing to be thinking of that goal the whole time you are working on achieving it. We do need constant reminders about our goal.

I like to start my day with The Miracle Morning Life S.A.V.E.R.S.[affiliate link] I’ve been doing this routine for almost 3 months now, and it has completely changed my focus for the better. I get up in the morning and start my day with meditation/prayer, affirmations, visualization, personal growth reading, and journaling. For exercise, I either go to the gym for about an hour or do about 10-15 minutes of light to medium cardio. Then I’m truly ready to start my day. I have more energy, more focus; I’m happier and I feel amazing! [You can read more about my experience with The Miracle Morning; and learn more about Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning.]

All those things I do, and all those positive results I have are directly affecting my ability to achieve my goals. That doesn’t mean I don’t run into the occasional bump, but I am able to power through it because I know that sleeping in an extra hour is only going to feel good for that hour. Getting up and doing my S.A.V.E.R.S. is going to make me feel good all day. The latter is the more valuable option.

Techniques to Put Your Goal Forefront

  • Create some affirmations. Say them everyday.
  • Create a vision board, or have some visual that represents your goal. Post it everywhere, and keep it on your phone (great as the wallpaper on your computer or phone!) Look at it everyday.
  • Get an accountability partner. You want someone who is encouraging, appreciates your goal and struggles to get there, and is willing to give you positive criticism. (Not yelling at you for eating the jelly doughnut while trying to loose weight, but rather gives you a stern, but encouraging talking to and cheers you for moving forward. Also not one who says, oh well, maybe tomorrow you won’t eat a doughnut!) Check in with him/her often enough to stay on track.
  • Know you will stumble on this journey. Prepare for this, but committing beforehand to stop and take a look at what caused the stumble and why. This is a learning and personal growth opportunity (good things!). Commit to seizing that opportunity rather than looking upon it as a failure or reason to give up.

It’s important to know what your goals are and why you have those goals, but it is equally important to remind yourself daily of those goals.

This post is part of a series:
Part I: Inertia – Or What My Mother Calls “Lazy”
Part II: Overcoming Sedentary Inertia

No Motivation – Or What My Mother Calls “Lazy”

No motivation? It's easier to stay in bed than get up and go to the gym. While that satisfies an immediate desire, it doesn't get you closer to your goal.

No Motivation

Inertia, also known as Newton’s First Law of Motion, “is a power of resisting by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavours to preserve its present state, whether it be of rest or of moving uniformly forward in a straight line.” More simply put, if it’s not moving it won’t move unless something makes it move. And when you apply that to a person, my mother would call that “lazy.”

This is the law that makes the TV remote so appealing. Want to change the channel? Click! You didn’t have to get out of the chair and walk the less than ten feet to press a button on the actual television. Of course, if you are younger than 40, you probably didn’t even realize that there are buttons on the TV itself. And I’m sure that I’m not alone in suffering through a television program (or two) because the remote was on the other side of the room.

But my point is that without an outside force we’re likely to just sit still. Admit it, you’ve skipped lunch once or twice (or at least put off having lunch for an hour or two or three) because you were “really busy” at the computer. That computer time, of course, was actually spent writing one rather short paragraph for a report and then reading and posting on Facebook.

So what can make someone change their state of no motion?

Why get up early in the morning and head to the gym? It’s much easier (and warmer) to just stay in bed all snuggled under the comforter. To go the gym involves not only getting out of a warm bed, but getting dressed, driving to the gym, it might be crowded, that sweaty talkative guy might be there and I don’t like talking to him, I forgot to download the latest podcast and there’s no WiFi at the gym, and so on. Those are all immediate excuses – excuses that address the now of the matter, but none of those hold up against the big picture.

Why are you going to the gym in the first place? Whether your goal is to lose weight or be more fit or something else, you had an initial reason. Focus on that reason. Let that be your motivation. Pit every excuse against the reason: will staying in bed instead of going to the gym get me to my goal weight? Answer: going to the gym. Will going out in the blizzard to the gym or staying home get me to my goal weight? Staying home is safer, BUT doesn’t excuse you from working out. You can still do some push-ups and crunches at home. Get the point? The easier option is often not the answer. It’s much easier to stay in the warm bed than to get up and go to the gym; it just that it’s not the best solution to your health goal.

The Two Big Questions

This technique of framing decisions based on the long term goal works for any type of goal. The two important points to know are:

  • what is the goal?
  • why do you have that goal?

If you can answer those two questions, then you are set to tackle the goal. But you do have to remind yourself, quite often, about the goal and the why. Our minds (and bodies) are programmed for inertia, but it is possible to rewire our minds to focus more on the big picture and less on the immediate gratification impulses that sabotage reaching our goals.

Keep the Goal Forefront in Your Mind Always

So imagine that you are going on vacation and you are starting on the drive to get to your vacation destination. If you have children, you know that not 10 minutes into the drive the question arises: “Are we there yet?” You also know that if it’s someplace you are really looking forward to going, your own excitement builds as you get closer. You are thinking about the destination all along the journey to get there.

It should be no different in working towards a goal. The goal is the destination, and if you’ve considered why you have that goal, the reason should be good enough to make you excited about reaching that goal. It’s a good thing to be thinking of that goal the whole time you are working on achieving it. We do need constant reminders about our goal.

I like to start my day with The Miracle Morning Life S.A.V.E.R.S.[affiliate link] I’ve been doing this routine for almost 3 months now, and it has completely changed my focus for the better. I get up in the morning and start my day with meditation/prayer, affirmations, visualization, personal growth reading, and journaling. For exercise, I either go to the gym for about an hour or do about 10-15 minutes of light to medium cardio. Then I’m truly ready to start my day. I have more energy, more focus; I’m happier and I feel amazing! [You can read more about my experience with The Miracle Morning; and learn more about Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning.]

All those things I do, and all those positive results I have are directly affecting my ability to achieve my goals. That doesn’t mean I don’t run into the occasional bump, but I am able to power through it because I know that sleeping in an extra hour is only going to feel good for that hour. Getting up and doing my S.A.V.E.R.S. is going to make me feel good all day. The latter is the more valuable option.

Techniques to Put Your Goal Forefront and Keep you Motivated

  • Create some affirmations. Say them everyday.
  • Create a vision board, or have some visual that represents your goal. Post it everywhere, and keep it on your phone (great as the wallpaper on your computer or phone!) Look at it everyday.
  • Get an accountability partner. You want someone who is encouraging, appreciates your goal and struggles to get there, and is willing to give you positive criticism. (Not yelling at you for eating the jelly doughnut while trying to loose weight, but rather gives you a stern, but encouraging talking to and cheers you for moving forward. Also not one who says, oh well, maybe tomorrow you won’t eat a doughnut!) Check in with him/her often enough to stay on track.
  • Know you will stumble on this journey. Prepare for this, but committing beforehand to stop and take a look at what caused the stumble and why. This is a learning and personal growth opportunity (good things!). Commit to seizing that opportunity rather than looking upon it as a failure or reason to give up.

It’s important to know what your goals are and why you have those goals, but it is equally important to remind yourself daily of those goals.

 

What Makes You Happy? 3 Things to Elevate Your Mood

What makes you happy? 3 Things that can put you in a happier mood todayWhat makes you happy?

They say you can’t buy happiness, but what can you do to make yourself happier? There are a myriad of small things that can contribute to our mood; often changing it from down in the dumps to downright jovial. Let’s explore a few of those things:

What makes you happy? Sandra Boyton's Philadelphia Chickens does it for me!
Sandra Boyton’s Philadelphia Chickens

Music

Can you name 3 songs that always make you smile? I’m betting Pharrell’s “Happy” is one of them. (Weird Al’s recently released parody, “Tacky” is also smile-inducing.) For me, Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is on the top of the list. Also on the list: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (bum-bum-bum-BUM) and almost any song from Philadelphia Chickens CD (my children liked this for about a month, but it still makes me laugh). At a loss? Search Pandora or other music service for “Happy” and listen to the songs that come up. You may discover a new tune that elevates your mood.

Movies

What movie makes you laugh out loud? Humor is quite subjective, so what is funny for one person may seem outlandishly idiotic to another. The important thing is to make note of a few movies that make YOU laugh, or at least smile a lot. For me: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, A Fish Called Wanda, and in the right frame of mind, <Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Special Edition). (Are you getting the sense that I came of age in the 1980’s?!)

Memories

Surely you have a memory that puts a smile on your face. I can recall many instances, especially when getting together with my sister, of laughing so hard we could barely breathe. I usually don’t remember what we were specifically laughing about, just that it sent us into such convulsions of laughter – and remembering that feeling of pure tear-inducing laughter brings a smile to my face.

Next time you feel your mood shifting into negative territory, invoke one of the 3 M’s (or all of them!). Plan now the specifics of the music and movies so you can have them ready when needed.

Comment below what your favorite happy movies and music are!

Disclaimer: First three music links are to YouTube videos of the songs. Philadelphia Chicken CD and movie links are Amazon affiliate links to DVD’s of the movies.