Color Your Life Happy

In his article  “The Last Thought Principle,” Steve Simms compares the mind during sleep to a parked car.

Unlike the parked car that stops running until we turn it on again, however, the mind keeps running in our sleep. To ensure that we wake up refreshed, in a good mood and happy, he advises parking our mind in positive.

I don’t think enough of us give credit to the value of sleep, and the importance of what we plant in our minds just before sleep. How do we park our minds in positive before going to sleep?

Steve suggests consciously thinking positive and happy thoughts will enable you to wake up in a positive mood.

Here are some other tips to help you get the positive sleep you need.

1. Get the right amount of sleep.
   Experts say the average person needs between six and nine hours. To find out more about your own sleep needs, take one of the quizzes at the National Sleep Foundation.
2. Make a sleep schedule and stick to it.
   You can’t catch up on lost sleep, or save up for the future.
3. Avoid caffeine and spicy foods before bedtime.
   They interfere with sleep.
4. Exercise in the afternoon to foster a good night’s sleep.
   
5. Skip watching television as the last thing you do before sleep.
   Instead, read a pleasant book, meditate, pray or think of all the things you have to be grateful for as you ease into sleep.

When Clint Eastwood said “Make my day” through gritted teeth, he was itching for a reason to end the guy’s day.

David Wagner, founder of the Daymaker Movement, has the opposite intent in mind. The Daymaker Movement encourages us to make someone’s day by doing random and planned acts of kindness in our immediate world.

The short video below will give you a glimpse at the incident that started David on this journey. Visit David’s website to see how you can help make the day of those around you.

The Internet is loaded with wonderful articles, stories and tips for improving your life. I’ve gathered a few links to give you a shortcut to the inspiration from other authors and bloggers.

Times Change–A Short Story on Looking to the Future 
Cameron explores how we look at music and other things differently in retrospect.

20 Questions You Need to Ask Your Surgeon Before You or Your Loved Ones Have Surgery 
Millions of Americans have surgery every year and most of it is elective. You will not only want to read this, but also pass it to your friends and loved ones.

Stop Using the Rewind Button and Visualize What You Want
When you start making changes in your life whether for good or bad, your subconscious will kick into survival mode. Find out what to do.

Who Wants to be Rich?
What do you think is at the top of the list of what most people want?

Ghandi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World
Guess what you have to change first in order to change the world

14 Reasons to Become More Conscious
Going beyond spiritual issues, these tips are about enhancing your daily life.

4 Reasons You Should Meditate and How to Get Started
Once you grasp how meditation positively affects your life, you won’t have trouble getting started.

How Your Income Grows as Your Personal Development Grows
Discover how income and personal development are related.

 Why Your Loved Ones Want You to Fail
You’ll be surprised at some of these reasons.

Six Steps to Become Assertive and Nice
Yes, you can do both at once.

Jonathan Field’s Best of the Web Roundup
For more inspiration and entertainment, check out the 20+ links Jonathan has rounded up

We count our worth in many ways.

How do you count yours?

Invest 3 minutes to watch this movie to see if you’re counting your life by numbers.  Then tell a friend to watch it too.

We seem to be deluged with self-help books, shows, seminars, blogs and websites these days. For all the talk about helping yourself through positive thinking and repeating positive affirmations, there are folks who report they have improved their lives without these things.

The problem many have with positive thinking is it requires repeating things to ourselves that we don’t believe yet.  But there are other problems with positive thinking:

• It’s not a quick-fix. No matter how many times you say “I’m wealthy,” you won’t suddenly become wealthy without taking actions that lead to wealth.

• It can blind you to reality. Newcomers to the concept of positive thinking believe it means ignore the dark, dirty and ugly parts of ourselves.  If we do that we live in a place called denial, that leads to deeper problems.

• It can not prevent bad things from happening. You may think positively all day, but if you spill coffee onto your computer keyboard, your computer is going to die or at least suffer a severe illness.

Steve Pavlina, in his personal development blog, said “Too much positive thinking can lead to self-delusion.”

Colleen Kruse in her article, “The Problem with Positive Thinking,” says the problem is that the emphasis is on thought and not action.

Barbara Sher, author of Live the Life You Love, Refuse to Choose, and other titles, confesses that repeating positive affirmations doesn’t work for her.

(A few of her books are pictured above)

I was fortunate enough to meet Barbara when she hosted a retreat in Italy last year. She believes that we get what we want by finding others who will help us reach our goals.

To hear how Barbara’s techniques have worked for others,  I encourage you to listen to her radio show on BlogTalkRadio. There you will hear many stories about people who surprised themselves by succeeding with their goals.

In addition to getting her other books, grab Barbara’s book, Wishcraft , for free online.

I’m not going to discourage you from repeating positive affirmations because they have worked for many people.  I do encourage you, however, to explore the many other approaches to achieving happiness and success.