Be Thankful

People with a strong sense of gratitude, love and appreciation don't necessarily have more than others; they aren't "luckier". They simply recognize and see more beauty in their lives. A 2003 study suggests that people who count their blessings are generally happier and healthier than people who don't. If you ever feel as if anything in your life isn't "enough", try practicing an attitude of thankfulness. You might realize how good you have it after all. courtesy:wikihow.com

Relax. It's hard to cultivate a sense of gratitude when you're angry, frustrated, or anxious. If these are issues that you struggle with, it's important to resolve them, as they're formidable barriers to thankfulness.

Live in the Moment. If you're too busy dwelling on the past or thinking about the future, you won't be able to fully notice how fantastic things are right now. Plus, thinking about the past and future opens the door to comparison, which is the only way you can perceive something as not good enough. What you have now is all that exists, and comparing that to something that doesn't exist anymore (or yet) is an easy way to foster dissatisfaction and torture yourself. Like the old saying goes "Past is History, Future is a Mystery and Today is Gift and hence it is called the Present". Enjoy today, this moment and don't postpone your enjoyment.

Start with your senses. The most basic pleasures in life are usually accessible to us all the time, but they slip out of our consciousness because we get so used to them. Learn to notice the little things, and deliberately appreciate them.

Cherish any kind of lightheartedness in your life. Things like laughter, affection, and playfulness are fleeting. Once a relationship has degraded so that those things don't spontaneously occur anymore, it's very hard to get them back. You might know that from experience. So treat those moments with care (especially with kids, who are at the peak of lightheartedness). Don't be the person who takes life too seriously, who doesn't have time to have fun, or who has no sense of humor.

Take a vacation. There's some truth to the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder". Ideally, you shouldn't have to separate yourself from something (or someone) in order to appreciate it (that can lead to a vicious cycle). But it can be a good way to trigger your sense of gratitude just once in a while.

Keep a gratitude journal. Challenge yourself to write down five new things every day that you're grateful for. It'll be easy in the beginning, but soon you'll discover that you have to increase your awareness to keep on.

Stop Thinking Too Much

Generally, we should think before we speak or act but sometimes we think so much that we fail to speak or act at all and allow that thinking to breed anxiety. This article will offer some advice to help you know when it is time to stop thinking and move on. courtesy:wikihow.com



Know when thinking becomes thinking too much. Thinking is something we need to do to survive, so it is hard sometimes to judge when we are doing too much of it (not unlike eating!). A good rule of thumb: you know you are thinking too much when you start thinking the same thoughts over and over again (ruminating).

Meditate. If you feel like you don't know how to stop thinking, you need to learn what it's like to "let go" of your thoughts, so that it's something you can do deliberately. Imagine that thinking is like breathing; you do it all the time, without even realizing it. But if you need to, you can hold your breath. Meditating will help you learn how to release your thoughts.

Put your thoughts down on paper. Thinking is a mental tool that is ideally used to analyze your options objectively. So on a piece of paper or on a computer, define a problem, write down your options, and list the pros and cons for each option. Seeing your thoughts in front of you like that will also help you stop cycling through them in your head. Once you can't think of anything more to write, your mind has done its job, and it's time to stop thinking.

Follow Your Intuition. If two or more options seem equally appealing, thinking more will not make things clearer. This is where you listen to something deeper.

Ask for advice. You may have exhausted your own thinking power, but someone else might be able to offer a different perspective that makes the decision clearer.

Act. At this point, you've used your mind, you've listened to your gut, and you've gotten a second opinion. Now you must be bold. Odds are, if you think too much, it's because your fears get the best of you, and you don't want to mess up. But there comes a point where you have to "fish or cut bait"!

Live in the Moment. Once you've resolved the thinking process, and taken action, focus your awareness on the here and now. Your mind will be tempted to pore over your decision, making you doubt yourself and worry, but what's done is done!

Stop Worrying and Start Living

Everyone worries to various extents. It could be about something little, like what you think you got on a test, or something big, like getting a major surgery.

Do you worry so much that you worry about worrying too much? In the end, if you just worry about what's going to happen tomorrow, when will you have the time to live today? These simple steps could make you relax.



Live in the moment, most of the time. Worrying is something we do when we think about bad things that might happen in the future. So the less you think about the future, the less you'll worry. Immediately stop the thought as soon as you recognise that you are worrying. The more you worry, the more worried you'll feel. Take out time for yourself. Take a shower and fix yourself up for the next day of school or work. You'll feel better about youself and you'll stop worrying. Still, it's impractical to not think about the future at all, if you have any sort of responsibilities. The next few steps will address that.

Tackle your worries head-on, and swiftly. You can still anticipate problems and plan for them without necessarily worrying. The key is that when the worry enters your head, you immediately address or resolve it somehow, and then let it go. See How to Be Proactive. Let's say you worry a lot about a house fire. Sit down as soon as you can and make a plan to implement all the steps in How to Prevent a House Fire, maybe one or two steps a week.

      If a worry enters your head at an inconvenient time, designate another time to address it. If you start thinking about house fires during your child's school play, for example, you might think to yourself "I'll go home and make a plan at 10p.m. when the kids are in bed. There's no use in thinking about it until then."Another approach is to make a list of all the fears that worry you. Go through them, one by one, and make plans. Then...

Move on. Once you develop a reasonable plan, and commit to following it, there's no need to dwell on the worry anymore. Let it go. The danger in worrying is when a scenario that you dread lingers in your head. Sure, you could always do more, like anticipating every possible outcome and taking every possible step to prevent each unwanted outcome from happening, but you'll spend your life preventing bad things from happening rather than enjoying the good things that have already happened. And you won't even be able to stop all bad things from happening, anyway!

      Maybe you need to learn to be comfortable with risk. If you believe you've done enough to decrease the chances of something happening by, say, 85%, accept that as good enough. There are simply no guarantees in life.

Don't recycle the past. Many of the worries we have about the future are fears that the past will repeat itself. Whether it was heartbreak, or an injury, or a natural disaster, it haunts us and we want to do everything in our power from preventing it from happening again.

Stop trying to save the world. If you feel like it's your job or responsibility to stop bad things from happening (perhaps to your family, your business, or at all) you're placing too much pressure on yourself. There is such a thing as a hero complex, and you might have it. The thing is, you're only human, and to set yourself an unattainable standard will only cause pain and disappointment.

Simple ways to live a life you love

The quickest way to living a life you love is through learning to love the life you live.



You’re waiting for something to change in your life before you can be happy. You might think if only you had a different partner (or one at all), a better job, or kids that did their homework then surely you’d be happy. Surely then you’d wake each morning with the glow of one living a life worth loving. Enough! Here are 5 ways to get started:

* Be present: You must be aware of your current existence and that you have control over your perspective. Whether you’re willing away early morning grouchiness or seeing a messy house as a chance to teach teamwork, your choice of perspective will make all the difference between just living and loving.

* Practice gratefulness: Every day, no excuses. Pretend to be grateful if you must. It’s one of those things that catches up to you quickly as life reciprocates your emotional generosity. Seeing the good in your life will allow you to keep your heart fed while you work to change the more unsavory parts. Try it. Live it. You’ll love it.

* Pursue balance: As a person given to extremes this has always been a tough one for me. I’ll go from taking great care of myself and communicating well to abandonment and silence as I let work consume me. The pursuit of balance requires constant adjustment as your life shifts but every time I really try for the middle I end up happier about my life. And that’s truly the point.

* Nurture friendships: You know the people who for some reason or other welcome you into their lives? Treasure them. Make time to spend with them. It is those relationships that you’ll look back on with satisfaction when you get old and begin to wonder what your life was worth. Many of us spend far too much time thinking about how some material possession will improve our lives. An iMac would be nice. A good friend is worth just about everything though!

* Embrace simplicity: You don’t need to have all your gold-plated ducks in a row in order to love the life you’re living. You don’t need lots of stuff and relationships so driven by drama that you often wish just to be left alone in silence. Instead you might try for a simpler approach and enjoy things because they are useful and not because they are expensive. You might join a friend just to talk and not worry about all the expensive trappings we so often heap on get-together’s. Try for simplicity and if complexity sneaks up on you, so be it. In learning to love the basics you’ll find a wondrous appreciation for the nicer things that come along.