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Do you have a favourite song?

Is there a song that you remember from your childhood that brought you joy? Was it something soothing you heard at night to help you fall asleep? Or something you heard on the radio that made your body need to dance? Perhaps a song from a movie that still makes you smile? Since this month’s blog series is about the joy habit of pleasure, today’s topic is about how what we hear can influence how we feel. Sound in the form of music is one of our most primal senses for conjuring memories from significant chapters in our lives. I often hear people say, “Oh I remember that song and exactly who I was with and what I was doing as if it were yesterday.” Or...
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What beauty do you behold?

What sights bring you pleasure? Is it a simple pleasure like noticing the first daffodil opening to announce the spring? The pastel colours of a tropical sunset? Or the smile on a baby’s face? Perhaps it’s the beauty you see on the walls of an art gallery. Or the various shades of green in the forest. How about the images of future desires that you see when you close your eyes? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, what do you behold? One of the fastest ways to remember your joy is to enliven your five senses so that you can choose those things that bring you the most pleasure. And once you are clear about those things, you can begin to notice and actually attract more of them into your reality.
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Follow Your Nose

What’s your favourite smell? What is it that you like about it? Does it conjure up a memory for you? If so, that’s your olfactory system at work. Did you know that smell (your olfactory system) is the only one of your senses that can have a direct effect on the limbic region of your brain – that part that controls your behavioural and emotional response to something? No wonder you either gravitate towards or are repelled by certain aromas – sometimes not even consciously knowing the reason why. This month’s blog series is all about the joy habit of pleasure from Chapter 38 of my book Being Joy™ where I explain the importance of taking a break each day from your responsibilities and enliven one of your five senses. And this week is all about your sense of smell and its impact on your behaviour.
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Time to breathe and smile

Have you been feeling hopeless and helpless lately, feeling exhausted by the drip drip drip of the pandemic? I’ve found that one of the best ways to shift my energy away from negative thoughts and worry is by leaning back, taking a breath, and smiling. It lightens my heart so that I can let more of the joy in. Not complicated, but sometimes we just need to remind ourselves to breathe. All month I’ve been posting about why being lighthearted is such an important mental health first aid technique and how it can help you to be more adaptable, resilient, and optimistic when faced with either a mini or major crisis. And that by being lighthearted, you are also helping to heal the world by sharing your light and joy energy with others who are struggling in the darkness.
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What are you doing February 21?

Oh to be as carefree as a puppy or small child. No worries. Exploring everything. How blessed is the light-heartedness of the wee ones. They truly live in the moment. So why do we let that die in us when we “grow up”? Why have we become so serious that we have a hard time justifying time off just to play and have fun? Where did our “light heart” go? With the Family Day holiday just a few days away for most Provinces in Canada, instead of trying to cram errands into a free day off from work, I challenge you to make it a special occasion for you and your family. A day of fun, without a regimented itinerary. A day where the adults can be child-like and care-free. A day of being lighthearted.
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Here’s some mental health first aid

Have you laughed yet today? If not, time to get your laugh on. Here’s why. The adage, laughter is the best medicine has never been put to the test more than it has now. And I’ve found that the people who have weathered the pandemic storm the best over the past two years, have been more lighthearted and optimistic than those who have been trying to swim against the current. That’s just exhausting. Adopting a lighthearted disposition to life doesn’t mean that you don’t care about things. It just means that once you train that adaptative and resiliency muscle, you’re better able to react in a calm and hopeful manner, bringing light and levity to the situation. To mean, laughter is one of the best mental health first aid solutions during uncertain times.
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Do you laugh or cry when you make a boo-boo?

When was the last time you made a mistake, dropped something, or forgot where you put your keys and instead of admonishing yourself, you laughed? I try to do it as much as possible, and lately I’ve had lots of practice! I learned many years ago that instead of treating every mini accident as a crisis worthy of anger, that if instead I saw it as an opportunity to lighten up and laugh it off, that my mood improved, and I was able to bounce back from the incident much quicker. I know, it can be tempting to get fixated on the issue and put on the victim hat when things don’t go your way, but all that does is make things worse. The reality is that life is messy. It brings us plenty of obstacles and over the past two years, an abundance of twists and turns, making it nearly impossible to predict what’s going to happen next. For many, the anxiety is too much, and they turn to substances or other unhealthy coping measures. But if we could all just learn to let go and lighten up a bit, our worries would also feel lighter. Just like Richard Carlson suggests in his best-selling book – “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff. “
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Do you realize how powerful your thoughts are?

Have you ever thought about the saying “eat your words”? It means to admit when you’ve been wrong about something you’ve said.  I’ve always found it such an interesting colloquialism. But since your words are merely an expression of your thoughts, how about we create a new saying that goes - “eat your thoughts.”  This new idiom might help to serve as a gentle reminder to catch your thoughts before you regret uttering them out loud. Since this is the last blog about the joy habit - Be Thoughtful, from Chapter 33 of my book Being Joy™, I’ve decided to share several great passages about the power of thought from some of my favourite writers and teachers.
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Who are the people in your life?

Have you ever wondered why the people in your life are in your life?  It’s not an accident you know.  The fact is that you’ve attracted them.  Yes, your thoughts are what create your entire reality including the people you share time with.  The topic of my weekly blog series this month is based on the joy habit Be Thoughtful from Chapter 33 of my book Being Joy™ where I write about how your inner and outer dialogue attract everything that shows up in your life, including your relationships.  And the relationships we have with others can be one of the most challenging part of being a human being. You see, we humans are social creatures.  From an early age most of us are taught how to share, cooperate, and basically get along.  And as we mature, we become more aware of our own identities and gravitate towards others who share similar interests and values. 
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What are you thinking today?

Words originate from your thoughts.  And thoughts are based on your beliefs which are merely your own interpretation of past experiences and the current influences in your life. If you’re not happy with the state of your current experience, perhaps you need to be mindful of the words you are speaking out loud and to yourself.  Are they based on feelings of unworthiness or scarcity?  It’s usually one of the two. In today's blog I will ask you to examine the origins of your inner dialogue and assess whether or not your thoughts serve or disempower you.  If they’re thoughts that prevent you from living a joyful life, then perhaps it’s time to shift your perspective. 
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