Muhammad Ali tells us, “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

Case in point, check out this video of Dergin Tokmak.  The German-born man has been dealing with polio since he was 1 year old.  He lost control of his left leg and some of his right leg.  But, that hasn’t stopped Dergin from doing what many might see as “Impossible!”

Watch and be amazed:

It doesn’t matter if it’s a dollar or a dime, there’s that initial – “I have just hit the jackpot” kind of feeling, Isn’t it?    You are ready to do your Happy Dance!  Well, that’s exactly how I felt when I finally realized – actually, remembered – that we have a choice.

That’s the real “secret.”  We have a choice.  We have a choice whether we’re going to we see life as negative or positive.  We have a choice whether we live with despair or hope; with courage or fear; with disappointment or determination.   We have a choice to be happy.  Yes.  It is our choice whether we live like a grouch and complain all of the time, or whether we appreciate and experience all of the wonderful things in the world.

Yes, it is simple.  But no, it isn’t always easy.  We just have to remember that there are at least 2 ways of looking at everything.  And when we look on the positive side, we have that much more mental power.  We are not letting the negative situation bring us down and totally consume us.

Regardless of your circumstances, know that if and when you look and discover the bright side, the better side, things will at least appear that much better.  And that hope is the help we often need to get through those circumstances.

#BE HAPPY – Lauren

For other Happiness Tips and more, visit:  www.EverythingHappiness.com

There is no reason for us to feel defined or confined by the type of person we have always been.  Just because we may have always been a certain way, or acted that way, doesn’t mean we have to be that way forever.  If you’ve never been very organized, or very outgoing, it doesn’t mean that you are destined or doomed to never changing.  With a happiness mind-set, we are more likely to experiment with different ways to change and improve.

Envision yourself as the author of a book about your life and create the character you want to be:  outgoing; studious; athletic; stylish; humorous; hard-working; thoughtful.  You decide.  We have the power to reinvent ourselves whenever we want.

We often see this with celebrities who might change their look or even make career changes to adapt to changing times or simply to try something new.  Why not put your energy where you can make the greatest difference?  Change yourself.  It makes life that much more fun!

For more Happiness Tips go to:  www.EverythingHappiness.com

              Growing up, we were always told to eat our spinach; that it would make us big and strong.  And, some of us might have grumbled and growled at the thought.  But, little did we realize at the time that the spinach could ultimately help make us Happy.

Nutritionists say that the magnesium found in spinach and some other food items, helps regulate stress hormones which can become depleted when the body experiences chronic stress.  Low levels of magnesium may cause headaches and fatigue, two common symptoms of stress.

Eating foods rich in magnesium, such as spinach, salmon, black beans and navy beans, can help replenish lost magnesium and ease the side effects of stress.    Hmmm.  How about a delicious piece of salmon with black beans and spinach on the side?  Yum!!!

“Daffodils”

I wander’d lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

 Continuous as the stars that shine

 And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch’d in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

 The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.

10 Great, Fun, Happy Things to Do to Keep from Going Crazy When Rough Weather Has You Stuck in the House.

1. Pull out a recipe you’ve always wanted to try.
2. Dust off one of those books in your personal library that you’ve put off reading.
3. Surf the web and discover new websites.
4. Organize your photo album.
5. Clean a junk drawer.
6. Curl up for a TV Marathon.
7. Call a long-lost friend.
8. Delete all of those unnecessary emails.
9. Go online shopping.
10. Go back to bed.

For more Happy Tips visit:  www.LaurenHudson.com

THE MAGIC

You must search

Or you won’t find it

But it’s right before your eyes

The vision

Of a dream

That can come true.

It’s the riddle with an answer

What you want but might not know

It’s the magic on the other side

Of  you.

© lch

Have you ever watched “The Middle?”  The writing is amazing.  It’s all dead pan situation comedy that aims for at least a laugh a minute.  Each cast member bites away at whatever exterior shield to funny that might have been built up in your life over the last few days / weeks / years.  Give it a chance – watch at least a full episode and you will get to know the core of each character – off of which the laughter is based.  Kind of like Frasier or Living Single.

Schedule more funny into your life – and I promise you…….it will really leave you even better.

For more Happiness tips, tricks, and techniques visit:  www.LaurenHudson.com

And, there’s so much to celebrate, isn’t there?