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How Can I Remember I’m Valued?

"What can I do to value myself in those times when I don't feel like I am valuable and/or valued?" ~ Quinn, Baltimore, MD First, remember to be kind to yourself and know that it is part of our humanness to feel sadness, frustration, and, at times, less than. You are not wrong for what you feel. During the times you don’t feel valuable and/or valued, shift your awareness onto all that you have and all that you are. Give thanks for the opportunity to learn and grow from the challenges you face. Find gratitude in the existence of being,…

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How Can I Calm My Mind in Meditation?

"I struggle with meditation, my mind is always going.  How can I get to that place where I have no thoughts?" ~ Martin, Tulsa, OK   Forget about stopping your mind and all those racing thoughts.  For me, my meditation practice serves the magical purpose of celebrating my life.  It is the opportunity for me to get fully present with the 60 trillion+ cells twinkling inside of me and simply be with my breath. Instead of trying to shut your thoughts off, distract or entertain your mind in a positive way by giving it a technique to focus on. For…

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5 Incredible Success Tips From a 12-Year Old

Although I'm young, I've learned a lot in life. There are some key lessons I would share with other young people. The first and most important is that no matter how young you are, you can change the world. Some of history's greatest accomplishments were achieved by young people. And especially in the early 21st century, when youth enjoy a level of rights and freedoms that were unheard of just a few decades ago, they are evermore empowered to make change. Never let anyone tell you that being young is a barrier. Second, I would tell youth that when it comes to…

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Trying Helps, But Doing is What Matters + 5 Tips to “Do” Happiness

We've all heard it a million times: "Actions speak louder than words." Action is dynamic. It moves and morphs with life. And yet at times we fall back onto "trying" to make something happen as opposed to proactively doing something about the trying. Have you been using a lot of “couldas”,” wouldas”, “shouldas”, maybes, tries and mights lately? It’s time to ditch the conditional-speak. Thinking in this frame of mind puts us in a bind. Why try when you could simply do? Why would when you can? By allowing our lives to be framed in maybes, we’re giving away all…

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Sponsored: Love is a Power Tool + Other Fun Tips for Happier Parenting

Love can single-handedly mend a broken day, establish an exciting new relationship, or reinforce a happy, internal bond with ourselves. Love is an omnipotent tool that has the uncanny ability to improve any sticky situation we find ourselves in. Love is a power tool we should all have in our happiness toolboxes. But just like that power drill or band saw, it also comes with some safety protocol. When you use your love power tool, you take on the responsibility of treating the world with kindness, compassion and respect. Use your love power tool responsibly, forging, fixing and strengthening relationships…

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Learning, Playing, Growing

Why is that, once we grow up, we think we have to stop playing? Actually, once we grow up, it is  even more important we continually find ways to bring the fun back into our lives. It is through playing that we are stimulating our senses - all of our senses, our entire multi-sensory being. The old saying "use it or lose it" is quite true. If you watch children, they learn by doing, but they also learn through playing. The same applies whether we are young or old. Our brains need that stimulus -- or  it gets dull and less…

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Sponsored: Strategies for the Very Serious Business of Happiness

Often, we think of our professional lives as defining of our success as a human being. This is apparent at any social gathering where what we do as a career becomes the center of conversation. Indeed, what we "do" as a profession is important to our economic sustainability. However, the real question, the one that speaks to the heart of the matter of our sustainable wellbeing is: how happy are we in what we do regardless of what our “business” might be? In my coaching practice, workshops and on Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio, I emphasize the need to show up for…

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New Beginnings

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. For me, lessons are learned more quickly and remain with me longer, when they are tangible. Recently we purchased a property with a beautiful old historic home. But everything isn't always what it looks like on the outside. Over the last month, as we dug deeper into the condition of the house, we sadly realized that it would actually cost us much more to renovate the existing structure just to make it livable, than it would to demolish and rebuild a new one. After much discussion and a great amount of contemplation, we made the difficult decision to…

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Sponsored: Inhabiting Life + Tips for A Transformational Experience

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about this quote from poet Christian Wilman: "Let us remember... that in the end, we go to poetry for one reason, so that we might more fully inhabit our lives and the world in which we live them, and that if we more fully inhabit these things, we might be less apt to destroy both." Christian isn’t just talking about poems and prose here. What he’s trying to say is that art, creativity and things that inspire thought help us engage with our lives so that we treat our existence with more care, respect…

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