What is Feng Shui? How to bring balance and harmony to your life.

Feng Shui (pronounced “fung shway”) is an ancient Chinese art whose name translates from the Chinese as “wind and water.” Wind and water are two of the five elements that comprise all of nature. Wind is the earth’s breath, and water is the invigorating lifeblood of everything that exists on our planet. 

When you say Feng Shui art most people think its just about moving your furniture around. But its much more than that. At its core Feng Shui is arranging the basic elements of your life and all the things that you surround you to create the optimal and harmonious flow of vital life energy, just like the flow of water and wind.

Feng Shui has had a huge impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the globe and you can have its benefits work for you! By simply changing the interior of your home, changing the colors of your walls, or relocating the furniture in your bedroom, you can enjoy the positive effects of Feng Shui. 

When you think about the places where you feel the most tension. Is it at work? One of the problems that people face when trying to apply Feng Shui in these environments is that they don't have the control to make drastic changes. What would your boss say if you just started painting your office walls?

But Feng Shui is about more than just moving your desk or filing cabinet. You can bring about good luck and contribute to an environment that fosters positive energy, creativity and mindfulness with Feng Shui paintings, photographs, sculptures and even jewelry! Tibetan Thangkas (also spelled tangkas, thankas or tankas) bring good luck and positive energy to any office space.  Buddha Thangkas, along with Buddha statues, are commonly used for meditation. Buddha Thangkas are also proven to protect you from evil as well as bring good luck, health, and prosperity!

Remember it’s not just the workplace that benefits from Feng Shui! Any home can be filled with the same feelings of good luck, well-being and positivity as the office. Maximize health and wellness through healing and meditation in the home too. 

An why stop there? Spread around some of that positivity and well being and get Feng Shui paintings, sculptures and jewelry for your loved ones too. Beautiful hand crafted trinkets are a perfect gift for her or for him. Give others the balance, harmony, and spiritual fulfillment they deserve. Because practicing good karma is a cornerstone of Feng Shui. Be generous and give of yourself in order to receive in kind from the universe and others around you. 

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Easy Body Exercies to Increase Mind Power

For thousands of years, physical disciplines like yoga, Tai Chi and Sufi Dancing have been said to increase mental and spiritual powers. If this is true, how might one explain this, and even better, how can we use this fact, practically, to enhance our lives as artists, business people, parents, and partners?

First, we have to strip away the mysticism from the activity. Not that these activities have no esoteric aspect, but rather that we have to approach them on the most down-to-earth level. The higher the tree, the deeper the roots. The taller the building, the deeper the foundations. If you want to soar, be certain that your tether is strong. So we need to start with a simple, physiological explanation (if possible!) and then suggest a way that this ties in to advanced artistic accomplishment, relationship skills, intellectual clarity, and spiritual growth.

Perhaps the single most important in terms of Body-Mind is known as the “Flow State Performance Spiral.” In order to relate this breakthrough thinking in such a short essay, we’ll have to condense considerably:

1) All physical technique is composed of three aspects: breathing, movement, and structure.

2) Each of these aspects is controlled by the other two (breath is created by movement and structure, etc.)

3) Stress “dis-integrates” this structure. In other words, when you are under stress, the physiological signs will manifest in your breathing rate or shallowness, your posture, your muscle tension. This is why lie detectors work!

Before he died, Hans Selye, the creator of the “stress” concept, said that he had misspoken himself, that it is not stress that hurts us, it is strain. Stress is the pressure we are under. But strain is the degree to which that stress warps us out of true.

Stress is not the enemy. In fact, when handled healthfully, it is the primary trigger for growth. So the key is to avoid strain.

Let’s skip around a bit to a truth about artistic and intellectual pursuits: your ability to utilize your intelligence, education, skills or talents will be in direct proportion to your ability to maintain “flow” under stress. Or to put it another way, in life, we are rewarded for how much stress we can handle without folding. Writer’s block, for instance, is nothing but a poor reaction to performance stress.

Combining these ideas, what we have is that mental and emotional balance under stress leads to excellence. Combine this with the fact that learning to cope with physical stress develops skills that are tremendously applicable to the mental arena. The most vulnerable portion of the “Flow State” triad (breath, movement, structure) is breathing. Proper breathing will be degraded by stress before you can detect it in posture or muscle tension. This is one of the reasons breath control is addressed in most religions and spiritual disciplines, whether this is through pranayama (yoga), exercise, hymns, ritual prayers, dance, or sacred postures.

A good yoga teacher, for instance, will place the student in a posture sufficiently extreme to force total concentration. When the student learns to relax and focus, that posture becomes relatively easy, and a more extreme posture is given. The point is to teach the student to monitor their own internal process. Fine martial arts or breathing meditation teachers use similar techniques.

The student learns to recognize the early signs of strain, and to dissipate them. NOTHING in life creates more stress than lack of oxygen, and learning to remain calm in the midst of oxygen debt will teach you to remain calm when the children are screaming, when your boss is on the rampage, when someone cuts you off on the freeway.

Or when you have a writing deadline, or when insecurity and fear hammers at the door of your resolve.

Deliberately practicing a physical discipline to enhance this quality of calmness and centeredness, while simultaneously working toward goals balanced in body, mind, and spirit, exposes you to the currents of life while helping you develop the skills and strategies necessary to excel. This, over time, leads to excellence, even in a purely mental arena.

There are numerous disciplines that will teach proper breathing under stress, and this article has listed a few. If you wish to reach your maximum potential as a mental, spiritual, and emotional being, seek one of these techniques out, and integrate it into your life. It is one of the best investments you could ever make in your future.

Boost Self Confidence with 5 Easy Techniques

There are very few people who could call themselves perfect and be right. Most of us need to build self confidence today, but the majority just either ignore the issues or concentrate on the negatives: stress, worry, jobs, money problems and relationship issues. Concentrating on these areas drains our self confidence rather than improving it.

If you could improve your self confidence you could make more money, look and feel better physically, or just be more relaxed with other people.  Below there are five simple techniques that have been proved to help build self confidence today.

1.  Talk to yourself. It sounds crazy but it works. All of us have a running monologue constantly in our heads, whether we realize it or not.  Everything we see, hear, or touch sparks off an immediate dialog in our thoughts.

For those who lack confidence this monologue is filled with negative messages many of which are the negative side of adverts from television, radio, advertisement boardings, newspapers, and just overhearing other people talk.

These negative thoughts literally suck energy from our minds and bodies and block the flow of positive messages. We need to hear the positive messages as they will build self confidence today and raise our self esteem.  Take control. Use your inner thoughts to talk to yourself in a positive manner, as often as you can.

As an example one of my regular sayings is "I like myself, I like myself, I like myself". I just repeat it for a couple of minutes.  It sounds cheesy, but does build self confidence today – Try it.  I bet that if you go to the mirror right now and repeat out loud "I like myself!" 50 times, it will be impossible to keep from smiling.

2.  Dress as smartly and as classily as you can.  You wont feel at your best if you don't look your best. You will be amazed at just how much more confidence you will have just looking your best.  It just feels good when you are wearing your best clothes, are well groomed, and are surrounded by a clean environment.  So what if it is Saturday, you need to build self confidence today not next week.  Put on your nice clothes, get the car washed, style that hair!  A hairdresser once told me "Everyday is show time!"

3.  Increase your self esteem even more by giving thanks to what you are, how you look, and what you are doing.  Say "thank you" to yourself to everything you see, all whom you meet, and each smile that you receive.

4. Stand or sit correctly:  How you stand sends out a message to the World, and in turn, back to you. This results in improving how you feel about yourself and will build self confidence today and every day.

There is scientific evidence that shows how posture affects our mood. Do not slouch. Slouching produces a down mood. By slouching you are telling the world and yourself it doesn't matter, you don't matter.  Standing tall and upright will actually lift your mood.  Help build up your confidence by pulling back those shoulders, stop that slouch, and walk proud.

5.  Smile. Just smile and things seem better somehow. Practice smiling regularly and get your facial muscles used to the physical act of smiling.

Go to the mirror and smile – make yourself. Not a grimace, but a proper smile. If you don't think you can try this:

1)Open your eyes as wide as you can – (try and get your eyebrows right up to you hair line)
2)Slightly open your mouth
3)Pull the corners of your mouth back towards your ears (If your not sure pull them back with your fingers so you know what it feels like then try again without your fingers).
4)Repeat 50 times. Get your facial muscles used to smiling and you will smile more and encourage smiles from others. This will make you feel happier and with that you'll build self confidence today.

Being Happy is Easier than You Think!

If you aren't happy, why aren't you?

Chances are it is because you want something which you do not have, objects or conditions. This is probably not a good enough reason and a review of your situation and perceptions may be in order.

You may have seen video of children in very poor countries laughing and playing, unconcerned that they should have more to be happy about. They are happy because they are playing, because they have their friends and family, and some food to eat that day. Everyone has the right to be happy, and if they can be in their situation, shouldn't you?

"Happiness consists more in small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life." - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)

Happiness is inside us, in our minds, in our thinking. It is not external material things or experiences, but the enjoyment of our thoughts and feelings. This is good because our thoughts, and therefore our happiness, are up to us.

Start by reviewing the things that you have to be happy about and dwell on these. Don't overlook the little or basic things that you take for granted.

Make a habit of substituting unhappy thoughts with happy thoughts. Whenever an unfavorable picture enters your mind, eject it and replace it with a pleasant one. We all have some nice experiences to recollect and there are usually little pleasures around us most of the time. You can even imagine enjoyable experiences, and it will have a similar positive effect.

"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."  - Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Establish good principles and conduct yourself according to these principles. Love, or at least be tolerant of, your fellow humans. Don't strive too hard for that which, in the end, will not make you happier.

Easy Relaxation Techniques to help you Unwind from Stress

When looking for relaxation techniques you will find there are many forms. Here are a selection of four techniques you can choose from and use when practicing relaxation.

Relaxation techniques and methods

For a deeper state of relaxation you might want to use a combination of these relaxation techniques.

Relaxation techniques: Meditation
Meditation is a mental exercise. You choose an object or a visual image and focus on it. A popular method is focusing on the breathing. A lot of people prefer the lotus position when doing this exercise. By keeping the spine straight, energies are allowed to flow better.

This helps to develop something called mindfulness. Random thoughts are reduced when mindfulness is being developed. You can be more productive with fewer random thoughts because you can focus on one thing at a time.

Relaxation techniques: Progressive relaxation
Muscles are use with the progressive relaxation technique. This technique is use to help identify the difference between tensed and relaxed muscles. When you can recognise tensed muscles you can consciously relax them.

It is best to lay down when practicing this technique. You should focus on one muscle at a time. Tense the muscle for about 10 seconds. Then consciously relax it. Pause for a moment before moving on to the next muscle. Moving from each muscle from the top of the body through to the toes. After the exercise, each muscle should be totally relaxed. You may want to lay still for a while and enjoy the relaxing feeling.

Relaxation techniques: Breathing
There is a logical reason why breathing exercises helps you to relax. If you are tense you may have noticed you are breathing with your chest. Maybe fast and shallow.

This exercise helps you to get into the habit of breathing using your belly. You can notice the difference if you place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Inhale deeply and allow your belly to expand. The hand on your belly should move more.

To do the exercise sit in a comfortable chair. Your back should be straight. Both feet should be flat on the floor.

Inhale deeply through your nose and hold for as long as it feels comfortable. Exhale through your mouth which should be only slightly open. A pause before repeating the process has a better calming result with this exercise.

Relaxation techniques: Imagery
Another powerful technique is visualisation where you use your imagination. Guided imagery is a term often used for this technique. The practitioner imagines being in a calm and pleasant place. It doesn't have to be a place you have been to. Just as long as it is nice to imagine. The objective is to imagine being in a place where you are surrounded with things that makes you happy.

Used on there own, any one of these techniques can be quite relaxing. Used together you will find that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

If you wish to use a combination of these exercises, start with the progressive muscle exercise to relax you. Use the breathing exercise to maintain the relaxed state. And then use meditation or the imagery exercise to focus your mind and help reduce random thoughts.

Living in the Moment for Maximum Happiness

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” --Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) American writer, author, naturalist

How do you actually spend your days? Are you focused and committed to everything you do? If you are, that’s wonderful! But if that’s not you, does this ring a bell? Are you spending a lot of your day thinking about what has happened to you up to this moment? Or are you waiting for something to happen, for the right opportunity to come along, to get some more time, make some more money, meet the right person? Are you dreaming of what might happen next week, next month, next year? STOP!

Each day you are given is a gift. It is time to value every moment. We all have 24 hours a day. No more. No less. The clock is ticking and there will be no second chance. You cannot get time back once it has gone. What do you choose to do with your 24 hours? Are you letting life just happen? Decide to take control. Stop rushing. Savour every moment as it happens. Take note of everything around you. Be in the moment as it happens. Listen to the sounds, observe other people, see the buds on the trees and shrubs, the spring flowers peeping out through the snow. Don’t miss what is happening now in your world.

Act as though this day was your last. What message would you like to leave? Treat everyone you meet with care, kindness and understanding. Communicate clearly. Make every encounter with another person important. Give them respect, admiration and courtesy and you will attract the same. Do what you are doing to the best of your ability. Make only commitments you can deliver. Trust yourself to say and do the right thing. Choose to be excellent in all that you do. Be more, do more, demand and expect more from yourself. Focus on what needs to be done now, on results. Prioritize your time – don’t waste it. See every challenge or problem is a chance to grow.

Live your life on purpose, not by accident. The past – it’s over with and should be nothing but a fading memory. The future – it simply hasn’t happened yet and things you do today, now, are likely to have an impact on that future. Don’t compare your present situation to anything else – accept it for what it is and make the most of it – or decide to take action now if it is not the present you want. Acknowledge that nothing will improve unless you do something about it. Be happy. Don’t wait for events or other people to make you happy. Have some fun! Start enjoying your life – now, today. Start doing things you enjoy or try something different. Keep your sense of humour, your sense of fun. Think ‘This is my day of opportunity!’ – every day! Seize and enjoy every moment. Every morning is a fresh beginning. What are you waiting for?

The Key to Happiness - Not what you might think

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. --Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965) 

We are busier than we have ever been, working long hours and feeling under more and more pressure. How do you spend your days? For many people work and pleasure are seen as separate, with work being a chore that has to be done to pay the bills. It doesn’t always have to be like that. Although we don’t have to love everything we do, we do need to gain some enjoyment from most of what we do. Take a moment to see if it is time to start afresh and do something you love, something that adds the pleasure factor back into your working life? 

Think about what matters to you and why you do the things you do. For each person that means something different. What aspects of a job are important to you? List them. Think about your dream job. Does it motivate and inspire you? If not, think again. It has to mean something to you; otherwise you will not be prepared to put in the effort to achieve what you want. Ask: ‘What am I prepared to give up to make this happen?’ ‘What would I love to try?’ ‘What options do I have?’ ‘What are my talents, skills and qualities?’ ‘How can I utilise them in my ideal job?’ How can you take an idea and turn it into reality? Get creative and think through how you could make money doing what you enjoy.

Starting anew requires courage, confidence and commitment. Hold on to your sense of purpose. Believe in yourself. Ignore the critics, for there are bound to be some, and face your fears (there will many of those too!). Ask for help from those people who can assist you and get supporters to keep you motivated. Research things that interest you and, if necessary, go back to basics and learn new skills. Develop a clear vision of where you’d like to be in 10 years’ time – and why. Write it down. Be specific. This will provide you with something to focus on. Think creatively. This may not happen all of a sudden, but if you work at it gradually, day by day, it can happen. 

And if starting something new is not for you, how can you love the job you already have? You can’t always control your situation, but you can always choose how you react to it. Your attitude colours how you face every day and has an influence on the people around you. Choose to be positive. Are there areas of your job that you can improve on? Who can you discuss this with? Is a change to a new role in the same company an option? Examine the possibilities. Your job does not define you, but how you do it does. 

And why bother? Doing what you love gives you a good reason to get up every morning. Your life will be challenging, certainly, exciting, definitely. Doing things you enjoy which give you personal fulfilment and satisfaction has been shown to contribute to good health and longevity. Don’t wait for perfect circumstances to start. Begin now!

A Guide to Inner Wisdom - Make your Life Better

As we look at the pain in the world around us, we see many things we deeply desire to heal and change.    Many of those things seem beyond our ability to influence and change.

There is one thing we can change – our relationship to ourselves.  We can look deep within, moving closer to the truth of who we are.   In doing so, we move beyond the limitations of our personality and the world around us begins to transform.  Radiant joy and love emerge and are contagious.  

Getting to know your Higher Self is a loving and powerful way to move closer toward healing and self-realization.    The Higher Self knows everything about us and sees the bigger picture.  It knows all of our past lives, our dreams, frustrations, relationships, our different personalities, the lessons we are learning, all possible choices, the past and our potential future.  The Higher Self can be a wonderful guide. Just imagine the possibility of seeing everything more clearly, feeling the joy and security of knowing that your choices are taking you toward your highest good!

As we face challenges and move through difficulties, many times we feel lonely, isolated or misunderstood by others.   By getting your Higher Self involved in daily life, you will be able to feel loved, nurtured, and deeply understood.   Your Higher Self is always there for you, in a way that another human being is not able to be.   It is always ready to give you all the attention you need, always loving, has your highest good in mind – guiding you ever closer to unlimited source.

As we grow and evolve we sometimes find that our personality is not enough to support our expanded, abundant Self.    We sense and know the possibility of true prosperous living, but our old patterns of thinking and doing don’t give us the guidance we need to actualize our spiritual ideals and transform our lives. We need a means of finding our way through the day to day reality of living, in a way that supports our Soul’s expansive desires.  The Higher Self is the voice of the Soul.  Creating a “best friend” relationship with your Higher Self can provide immediate and insightful help for the challenges of everyday living.

With our Higher Self as navigator we can deepen relationships with others through Soul to Soul communication.    Previously unsolvable problems and conflicted relationships can be healed and problems resolved.  The love connection between souls transcends all personality differences.  The Higher Self also sees all opportunities for growth, allowing you to utilize your experiences in a more loving and joyful way.

This deep, expansive communion with the Self is one of the most powerful and direct ways to access the Soul’s ability to help you with all of your choices.  The experience is also exquisitely beautiful and profoundly intimate.   More intimate that any human relationship.  Who could possibly know you better and love you more deeply than the being you came through to be on this earth?  

This intimacy with the Higher Self is what so many are seeking in a “Soul Mate”.  The innate longing for completion, to be with your other half, the one that was created for you at the beginning of time, the one you were meant to be with – forever.  That one is your own Soul.  

Imagine for a moment that you are now able to feel, taste, touch and know that wondrous union right here, right now.  At last, here is the endless love you have been seeking which transcends this human existence.   Look deeply into those ancient eyes and see only the truth of love shining back at you and know that this wise one has been with you always.  Your heart opens as you feel the trust that comes from true commitment.  As your heart opens wider, allow yourself to be embraced by this great being of love and bright light.  Feel the strength, beauty, power and love of this ancient one flow through you.  Your own heart knows the truth; you know who this is… your Soul.  

Feel your heart call to this one.  Invite it to flow into your heart, embracing it.   A deep trust and recognition arises as your Soul’s energy fills your heart.  You know this connection is familiar, from the light, from the source.  Secret memories are now remembered.  Ah, warmth and safety at last.   Listen with your heart….your Soul is now speaking.  Words of encouragement…hope…love…gentle soothing phrases drawing you closer.  See how delighted this wise being is to see you, radiating magnificent colors and bright light.  It has been waiting for you, waiting for this union, waiting to merge with you at last.

How long have you been waiting for this moment?  How many times have you joined in this completion?  The years of separateness drift away as you experience the ecstasy of true love.  Rest in the peace of knowing you have come home at last.

To experience your Self in this way is an amazing gift and a great service to our precious planet.  Everyone can learn to turn within and commune with the Self. The rewards can be astonishing.  With practice, the heart continues to open, the healing process quickens, life becomes more joyful and the world around us begins to change.  Intimacy with the true Self purifies the heart allowing you to experience your own true abundant nature.   Discovering pure joy and true happiness need not be difficult.   It takes a only willing heart and practice.

20 Ways to make People Smile

Do you want to put a smile on someone's face today? Maybe make their day a little better. It won't cost you a single penny or much time to do just that. And because smiling is contagious, it probably won't just be one person you make smile today.

Here are 20 ways to turn that frown upside down.

1.  Send some flowers to your partner at work.
2.  Compliment a friend or work colleague on their appearance.
3.  Donate something to charity.
4.  Take a friend out to lunch.
5.  Let someone know you miss them.
6.  Make a surprise telephone call to your partner at work, just to say hi.
7.  Hold a door open for someone walking behind you.
8.  Hug your partner for no reason.
9.  Leave a joke on a friends answer machine.
10. Send a card to a friend letting them know what a good friend they are.
11. Give up your seat on the train to someone when there aren't any left.
12. Share your umbrella on a rainy day.
13. Ask a friend if they need anything while you're out shopping.
14. When it's raining, plan an indoor picnic with your children.
15. Leave a love letter somewhere where your partner will find it.
16. Send someone an unusual and unexpected gift like chocolate, flowers or sex toys.
17. Tell your child you're proud of them.
18. Tell someone you thought about them the other day.
19. Cook a surprise meal for your partner one night, especially if they normally do the cooking.
20. Tell your partner you love them.

Did you know it takes only 17 muscles to smile, but 43 to frown. Why waste all that energy frowning when you could just smile.

Here are 5 more facts about smiling.

1. Women smile more than men.
2. Smiling releases endorphins that make us feel better.
3. We are all born with the ability to smile, it's not something we learn from others.
4. A smile is a universal expression of happiness.
5. A smiling person is thought to be a more pleasant, attractive, sociable, sincere and competent than a non-smiling person.

Just remember, smiling is the easiest and cheapest way of improving your looks.

Seven Simple Secrets to Successful Meditation

People think that meditation is hard and that you need to be a full time monk to be able to meditate properly.

That’s simply not true.

Absolutely anyone can learn how to meditate quickly and easily. You don't have to go through an elaborate ritual to be able to meditate. Put simply, meditation is way to get in touch with your inner self.

Here are some tips to make your meditation even easier:

1. Choose the right teacher. Whether you are learning meditation with an online course or in a local group, pick a teacher you get on with and one who is teaching the kind of methods you get along with.

2. Learn to relax your body. As a typical tensed up westerner, this may be the biggest skill you need to learn. But once you learn how to relax, you'll find meditation so much easier. By the way, don't stress yourself about learning to relax either!

3. Take it easy. No-one is going to give you a SATS test on meditation. It doesn't matter if you take longer to learn meditation that someone else. It’s absolutely fine if you take your time to learn a technique. Everyone has their own speed of learning.

4. Respect yourself and others. Treat yourself and others respectfully. If you find yourself attracting negative people, change the signals you're sending out (meditating regularly will help with this).

5. Get rid of distractions. Turn off your cell phone while you are meditating. Close down that chat window. Turn off the television (that's good advice anyway, whether for meditating or not).

6. If possible, join a meditation group. Meditation is much more fun in a group and you'll find that others are finding the same learning curve as you are. Groups generate their own energy – the sum of the whole truly is greater than the sum of the parts. Joining a group can widen your circle of friends and can be a booster to your confidence. Depending on the group's aim, you may also learn about different meditation techniques as the group progresses.

7. Simply let go. The word "meditation" means trying to let go. Go with the flow. Allow what is happening to happen. Don't fixate on exactly what your meditation experience should or shouldn't be.

The Power of your Smile

I often wonder why people seem reluctant to smile these days. It costs nothing to smile so come on people lets start looking a bit happier. This article is all about this and about having a more positive outlook on life which will bring positive results.

I am somebody who used to always think in a negative way, I have now managed to stop this and my life has improved no end. I now like to be around positive people, as these people tend to be more successful and happier. In my opinion there are too many people who are always moaning and groaning and are seemingly depressed.

Growing up I had many things to be negative about, I had a stutter, I have a bald patch, I was overweight and am also quite short for a male at five foot four. I was one of the ones who walked around in a depressed state and I used to feel sorry for myself. Even when I write about it now, I laugh about how stupid I used to be.

I realized early into my twenties that I needed to change my approach to life. I was quite fortunate in that I had a friend at the company I worked for, who was to prove an inspiration to me. His name was Stuart, and even though this may seem cruel, Stuart did not have a lot going for him. I won't go into details but lets just say even with the problems I felt I had, I was not jealous of him. I became quite good friends with Stuart and we would regularly have lunch together. I would meet him in the canteen at 1pm and would be waiting in my gloomy state of mind, with my gloomy face, for him to arrive. Arrive he certainly did, always with a beaming smile on his face. This always amazed me as I could never understand what he had to be happy about. We would sit down and talk whilst eating our lunch and he never had a negative word to say. When he talked, he talked with passion, about his work and interests. One day it dawned on me, if Stuart (who from what I know of him, seemingly has nothing going for him) can always be positive, happy and smiling, why can't I?

This was the beginning of my new outlook on life. An era of being positive, appreciating what I have got and more than anything else, plenty of smiles. I now am happy with my weight, height, bald patch and am proud to say I have now overcome my stutter.

A Positive Attitude leads to a Positive Life: Be Happy

Regardless of your age, your place in life, your occupation, or the ways you choose to spend time, I can guarentee that your attitude is one of the most significant things that determines your happiness and contentment in life.

Attitude is so powerful because it is one of the few things that every single person has the ability to be in control of regardless of any other factors in life. When life is going well and we have no complaints we can choose what kind of attitude to face each day with. Fortunately, when our lives seem like they couldn't get any worse we can also choose what kind of attitude we will have each day.

Can you think about a time in your life when your attitude made all the difference? Or, maybe think of an example from the life of someone you know. Can you think of a situation when all things looked grim and yet you or someone else's attitude made that situation better just by being positive?

You may be wondering why it is important to keep a good attitude regardless of other factors in your life. Good question. One thing I've learned about life is that it will not always go my way. It is highly unlikely that every single day for the rest of my life will be filled with joy, friendships, and peace. It is possible, but unlikely. It is much more likely that life will throw me things I wasn't expecting. Tragedies, sicknesses, and relationship trials will come my way and it will be my attitude that determines how those events affect me.

Keeping a good attitude in life allows us to remember that even in tough times we have much to be thankful for. Choose to let your attitude reflect this perspective rather than reflecting the fact that you are not getting exactly what you want at a moment in time. Let your attitude reflect all of the ways that your life has been blessed and all of the good things that have happened to you.

We have all heard it said that "attitude is a little thing that can make a big difference." I agree with whoever said those words wholeheartedly, but I'll even take it a step further and simply say that attitude is a big thing. Attitude is perhaps one of the biggest factors that determines the path and results we see in life. When we can look at the worst situations with hope and a right perspective, nothing will be too difficult to bear.