8 Strategies for Developing a Happy Attitude

Want to be a happier person? More satisfied with your life? Able to focus on and enjoy the simpler pleasures?

You can teach yourself how to have a happy state of mind. Here are 9 habits to develop that can lead to a happier way of thinking.


1. Practice random acts of kindness. Doing something for another person can change your thinking from a focus on your own problems to making a difference in someone else’s life. It can also help put your life in a larger perspective as you recognize another‘s struggle.

2. Begin a gratitude journal. Begin a gratitude journal at the end of each day. As you think back over the day, focusing on the things that you are most grateful for in your life can change patterns of thinking from negative to positive.

3. Express gratitude. Talk out loud to others about your gratitude. Notice the results.

4. Nurture friendships and social connections. We “get by with a little help from our friends”. A great deal of research has shown the connection between connecting with others and lifting depression as well as overall good health. Find ways to be connected to others.

5. Identify negative thought patterns and change them as soon as you notice that they are there. Don’t let negative patterns of thinking take root and grow weeds. Stop them as soon as you notice that they are present. Find a replacement thought and then get busy and do something differently.

6. Learn to live in the present. You cannot change yesterday. You cannot truly predict tomorrow. Don’t lose the joys of today. Most problems have a way of working themselves out one way or another.

7. Treat yourself to simple pleasures. You deserve it. Pick some flowers and put them in a vase. Take a nap. Read a “fluff” book.

8. Take care of your physical health. Eat well, get enough sleep, exercise, pay attention to alcohol, caffeine and sugar consumption.

Tip of the Week

Some times you just need to ask for a little help from your friends.

Before Asking for a Divorce

Before asking for a divorce, ask yourself this question.

Question # 5. Have I thought about what I would say to the children about the end of the marriage, now if they are young, and later when they are adults? What would I like them to know about this decision? Will they see me as having “given up”? What do I want them to think about me, or about us, and the end of the marriage?

Consider writing down your answers to these 5 questions. Put them away for a week and then bring them out again. As you re-read them, consider to thoughtfully examine your thoughts about divorce before making such a

25 Tips for Romance

Here are some tips to help bring romance back into your relationship.

1. Romance can be rekindled by recreating your first date. Try to remember where you went, what you did, what you wore, what you ate, what you talked about. Re-create the date as closely as you can.
2. Put candy kisses in your sweetheart’s pockets, car, at the kitchen table, and leave a picture with a heart next to them.
3. Surprise is a wonderful way to bring back romance. Think of something that your partner really wants or would like to do … and get it or plan it.
4. Find something playful to do … swing on a swing set, play miniature golf, have a pillow fight, bring home the ingredients for “some mores” …
5. A simple tip for romance is to leave love notes in unexpected places.

Click here to read the rest of the tips for romance.

Tip of the Week

What counts in making a happy marriage is not how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.
Leo Tolstoy