Do You Have Harmony in your Life?

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Photo by Horia Varlan

   In life, we have many theme songs. Some days the theme song is harmonious, vibrant and upbeat and other days, not so much. Life itself in many ways is like a piece of music. Often it begins with an intense introduction, each verse builds upon the next until we find ourselves at the "glory years" of our song a.k.a. the chorus. We then continue, winding down toward the conclusion perhaps crossing a beautiful bridge along the way. When we reach the end of our piece, often parts of our past journey echo back to us as we gradually fade away.

  Just as in music, we must strive to maintain harmonious balance in our lives. In music when there is disharmony it produces a harsh, often annoying sound and we can immediately tell that something just isn't right. When we have disharmony in our lives it's basically the same - things are harsh, conflicting, we are faced with strife and can absolutely sense that something is off. It's difficult to maintain harmonic balance but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Before we can experience harmony in our interactions with the world, we first must achieve a level of personal harmony. All that we do in the realm of self-help is bringing us to that state of personal balance. The more we are able to take control of our thoughts, suppress the negative and engage in more positive thinking, the sooner harmony will replace discord and we will find our happy balance.

What helps you achieve harmony in your life?

4 Ways to Be Happier and Live Better

     With all the problems in the world sometimes it's really difficult to focus on happiness. When you turn on the news or read it online there's almost always some horrible tragedy, crime, violence, or otherwise unpleasant story being reported. Yes, I know that's life and in the real world things get ugly, messy and life isn't all sunshine and rainbows but seriously, I often feel the need to just disconnect and get away from all of the drama. Some people may say that I'm not being realistic and I just need to learn to "deal" but I can't stay focused on positivity when I'm surrounded by such negativity. Surely I'm not the only person who feels this way so I want to share a few things that I do to escape from harsh reality being shoved down my throat.  

1. Take a walk. Getting out into the fresh air and just being alone helps. It's even better if you can spend time in a more secluded area as opposed to a city. There's something about getting back to nature that offers a calming feeling.

2. Stop watching television for a few days. Don't watch the news. Also, make sure your Internet homepage isn't a news site. Don't listen to the radio either unless it's a station that doesn't ever report ugly news. I understand this is difficult and many people would have trouble not staying up to date on current events but when those current events cause me a lot of stress and anxiety, I'd prefer to just ditch it altogether. If it makes you feel better you can ask a friend or family member to alert you if something you really NEED to know occurs - school closing, severe weather, economic collapse, zombie apocalypse... you get the idea.

3. Take a shower. Cry while you're in there if you have to. If something I've just heard has seriously upset me, sometimes I just feel the need to entirely cleanse myself of the whole thing. I couldn't possibly be the only person who does this. There are times when I just can't hold back the tears and besides, I've always felt much better after a good cry anyway.

4. Seek out inspirational messages and look for the good news. There are a couple websites that I like and they report nothing but uplifting, good news. A little time reading The Good News Network and Happy News can make a huge difference in the way I feel about the world. 

   Most importantly, we need to understand that no matter how horrible things seem we need to avoid letting ourselves get so absorbed into it. While it's impossible (and impractical) to entirely separate ourselves from the world we live in, sometimes a little break from reality is exactly what we need to remain optimistic, stay focused on living a happy life, and restore our faith in humanity.

Remember those commercials where the stressed lady cries out "Calgon, take me away!"? What's your "Calgon"? What do you do when you need a break from reality?

What Is Personal Development?

Photo by Arnel Dollosa

   I’m sure most of you have a good idea what personal development is. The answer is both simple and complex. Anything and everything that is done to improve who you are as a human being is personal development. There are many different areas of personal development and some are making improvements to your education, health, relationships, and self-esteem. Some things that most people would agree on when it comes to personal development are the need to set goals, defining exactly what it is that you want before you’re able to achieve it, not being afraid to work consistently to obtain what you want, as well as finding sources of motivation and inspiration to keep you headed in the right direction. 

   Personally, I like to think of personal development as a human investment. Think about something – Why are so many people willing to pay out thousands of dollars for items such as cars, houses, boats, clothing, etc. but these same people are hesitant to pay for self-help books or seminars in personal growth? What’s worse is that many times these things can be had for free from the library or online but people will say they don’t have the free time. An investment in YOU is the best investment you will ever make. It took me a while to figure that out for myself. Every book I read, every bit of knowledge I gain from reading or hearing about someone else’s experience, and every cent and minute I spend becoming more fulfilled, more educated, more in tune with who I am, the stronger I become as a person. I understand time is a huge issue and that’s one investment that people feel they don’t have the luxury of making. BUT it’s usually the people who are so pressed for time who benefit most from personal development. Even if it’s as simple as taking a few minutes a day to sit and think in complete silence that’s better than nothing at all. If you don’t have time to invest in yourself you can’t possibly live every part of your life to the fullest. What’s holding you back?

Don't Fear the Future!

Don’t be afraid of the future because you’re scared you’ll repeat your past...

Let’s face it, we’ve all made mistakes, we all have regrets whether we admit it or not. Each one of us knows what it feels like to fail at something. I just have to say (as I keep reminding myself) GET OVER IT! Don’t let fear of past mistakes hold you back from what could be a fabulous future. Life is a journey – sometimes the road is rough and other times it’s smooth sailing but we won’t know until we get out there and explore. Maybe you’re afraid because someone has hurt you in the past, maybe a lot of people have hurt you. That doesn’t mean everyone in your future will hurt you too. Perhaps you’ve done some things you wish you could take back. You can’t take anything back – there are no do-overs but what you can do is stop beating yourself up over it. What’s done is done.  Forgive, ask for forgiveness, most importantly – FORGIVE YOURSELF. It’s only when we are able to let go of our past that we can move successfully into our future.