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Forget Criticism – Choose Positivity and Joy!

There is a lot of criticism in the world, but we are our own worst critics. It's easy following the negative path and going down the harmful road. But it's even easier choosing positive choices. My greatest value to the world is leading other peers that have been in my situation or worse and letting them know that "this is our story, this is what we've been through, but we can contribute so much more." We let others put us down so much, but we can make choices to prove them wrong. Life is what you make it. Yes, we…

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Harvesting Happiness: Happiness and Beauty Start With You!

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. Accept yourself for who you are! In a world where value is placed on how you look and what you wear, it can be difficult to try and “fit in”. Here’s something to think about and seriously ask yourself, did you know that your beauty and happiness start with you? Think about nature and all the varieties of plants and trees as well as flowers. They come in colors, shapes and sizes. It is the same with humans. So ask yourself, How could we judge nature and say that one flower looks more beautiful than another?…

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Growing through Writing

By Trisha Sugarek. Last year I updated my website and discovered blogging. Now, you may ask, what has that to do with self-growth, self-love, or well being?? Writing a blog about what I love most in my life: writing. In doing so I have grown as a writer and as a person seeking self truth. In some strange way (and even though I am writing fiction), my writing keeps me honest... about life and about myself. I believe that if just one person starts writing, because of my blog, I have succeeded. I will probably never know if anyone was…

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Bouncing with Style: Forgiveness

Nearly everyone has been hurt by something someone said, did or didn't do. It's just a fact of life. It's just the way it is. The sooner we understand that and the sooner we understand that it's not always about us, the faster we can deal with it and move on with our lives. When my husband left me with two small children while my mother was dying of breast cancer, the word forgiveness did not enter my vocabulary. I was so busy managing the day-to-day chaos of sickness, a premature baby and an ornery toddler that I didn’t have…

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What’s Your Tiger?

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. If you've ever been chased by a saber toothed tiger, running madly for your life, you've probably experienced fear. If you've ever been summoned to your boss' office to be reprimanded, you probably think you've experienced fear then too. However, I think that life-threatening situations, like being chased by a tiger who wants to eat you, are legitimate things to fear. Situations that are not life-threatening can sometimes seem scary, but I’d like to invite you to see them as nothing more than something that causes discomfort. For anyone who’s ever gone bungee jumping, paragliding or…

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Harvesting Happiness: Two Quick Tips to Happiness

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. Choose A State of Happiness. Remember that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our social standing as a member of society or how much money we make or have. As long as we have the basic necessities in life, things are pretty good. It also depends on what are focus in life happens to be. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? We need to get back to living in the moment and experiencing everything, just like we did when we were young. Make time to treat yourself like you would a…

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10 Quotes to Chase Away the Winter Blues and Make You Think of Spring

By Erin Steiner. William James once said, "In the dim background of our mind, we know what we ought to be doing but somehow we cannot start." That's sort of how the end of winter feels. You can sense the change coming, but it isn't here yet and it is intensely frustrating. Here are some more quotes to help you remember that spring will come and, with it, a release from the cold, gray, extra-layers-of-sweaters existence you’ve been plodding through for the last few months. “Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn…

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Bouncing with Style: Taking a Risk

By Sandra Beck. I pushed my stroller into the law office dragging a grape juice-stained three year old boy as his little brother pounded on the tray complete with all those little plastic jangling things that were supposed to keep him busy. Clearly they irritated him as he let out a wail and now they also irritated me. An impossibly groomed receptionist looked alarmed at the rag tag crew that just rolled into her fancy office. This was a law firm specializing in divorce. This can’t be the first time someone flung cheerios under the fancy leather couches. They should…

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Surprise Inspiration

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved surprises. Many times I start my day by asking the Universe to surprise and delight me that day... and to make it so outrageous, that I'll know that my request was answered. It always works for me but rarely in the way that I think it will. Knowing that I was going to hike through the snow in Glacier National Park today, I put in my request this morning, for something that would make me smile. I had expectations of a beautiful rainbow amidst the snow, of…

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Today’s Brilliance from Michaela Carrozzo

My inspiration to everyone young or old is to NEVER STOP!! If you have a dream, go for it! Everyone has a dream. They key to success is to never use the word fail. Start out with a vision. It's good to put down on paper what you plan on achieving in life. To see your dream come true you must visualize it, almost believing as if it has already happened. Keep your eyes open for any opportunities that come your way. If you live like you have achieved your dream, you'll be able to seize that opportunity when it…

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Harvesting Happiness: Will Beauty Make You Happy?

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. The simple, honest answer is no. You may experience a sense of happiness or temporary happiness but it won’t last. Connected closely with beauty are five things that you think will make you happy, but in the end really won’t. In no particular order, they are: Fame. Studies show nothing is more stressful for a human than when their goals are tied to the approval of others. Particularly when those "others" are an enormous crowd of fickle strangers holding you up to an unrealistic ideal built by publicists, thick makeup and heavily Photoshopped magazine covers. Wealth.…

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What Are You Hearing, Seeing, Feeling ?

By Carly Alyssa Thorne. Life is amazing. We all have our OWN unique filter - perception. What might be true to one person may not be so for another.  So here is the thing.... In life sometimes our journey isn't always easy, and we have choices on how we are choosing to perceive the situation and not only that, how we are choosing to either react and/or act. Look at this picture. There is so much to see, yet everyone may be drawn to certain aspects of the picture: the water, the sunset, the angles or the different compartments, if…

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Find Your Passion Through Writing

By Gary Goldstein. Although I had been writing off and on since college, it wasn't until I published my first book, Jew in Jail, in 2004 that I really felt like I had accomplished something. The fact that I penned it while behind bars was increasingly instrumental in helping me regain my self-esteem and self-confidence, which had sunk to an all-time low when I was first arrested back in 1998. These days, I go around delivering motivational and inspirational speeches on recovery from addiction at drug treatment programs, hospital detoxes, jails, schools, or anywhere people are either still sick and…

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Bouncing with Style: Have You Seen My Self Esteem?

By Sandra Beck. When people hear my story of heroically leaving a cheating husband while my mother dies of cancer with two small babies while building a solid business and creating two popular radio shows, it sounds really glamorous. Even to me and I lived it, but I’m here to tell you the truth. It was pretty ugly. My husband moved out and he had been living in a spare bedroom for a year, so you would think it wouldn’t be a shock to my system, but it was. I cried every day for 43 straight days. I noted it…

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Finding Inspiration in Shingles

By B. Lynn Goodwin. For a week, I had aches and pains in my left thigh, glute, and rib cage. When my body started itching and burning, I scratched until I had red marks across my skin. I ached, and my thigh and midriff burned. When the pain flared, I screamed, a blurt of a sound that I produced without warning. Eventually I called Kaiser’s advice nurse. I told her I was taking my fibromyalgia meds as prescribed, and she referred me to a doctor who suggested increasing those meds. I did so, and in less than 24 hours, a…

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Today’s Brilliance from Charis Freiman-Mendel

One of my Mom's friends was once talking to me about which career I am interested in, when I finish school. I always remember her words of wisdom: "It's not 'work' if you love what you do." Have the courage to follow your passion. Great things can happen and you will be happier for it! Students don't have to wait to finish school to follow her advice. I wrote a cookbook during two years in home school, because it allowed me to combine my love of cooking with my need to study for the standardized test I had to take…

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Harvesting Happiness: 6 Keys to Love

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. Here are six keys to achieving more love and happiness in your life. Know the phrase "If you can't say anything nice, don’t say anything at all"? Compliment people on their strengths and where they are succeeding in life. There are plenty of people who are telling someone that they have faults, but how many people are telling them something positive? Be optimistic. The realistic 0optimist is the person who knows that there will be trials to face, but that in the end we will somehow make it through. Remember how to be funny, even silly.…

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Run to “YES”!

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. One of the things that I love most about Sir Richard Branson is that he's know for saying YES to most things. In fact, his board affectionately calls him Dr. Yes. But sometimes saying “Yes” isn’t easy, as it makes us step outside our comfort zone. About a week ago I received an invitation from my daughter to run a half-marathon late this year. I am not, nor have I ever been a runner. I doubt that I could run a mile right now if I tried to. I'll be 55 years old this October. I…

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