Claiming your joy Archives - Color Your Life Happy

How Will You Celebrate ‘Color Your Life Happy Day’ on August 9th?

My mom Mildred Morris was totally surprised when we picked her up in a limo headed to a Mother’s Day brunch one year.

Many of us begin the year making resolutions, but within a few weeks we have forgotten our promises.

If you stuck to your resolutions, it’s probably because you

kept your goals small and achievable
asked friends to help you stay on track by holding you accountable
changed your environment to support your new behavior.

Regardless of how you fared in this annual practice, here’s an opportunity to start anew, but with just one resolution.

On August 9th join me in celebrating “Color Your Life Happy Day”, a day to participate in something you enjoy, some activity that will make you happy and others too. Then make a decision to make it a habit to continue finding joy, pleasure, a way to help others for the rest of the year.

Happiness is not a destination, but the things we do along the way as we live our lives. At the end of their lives, many wish they had slowed down, worked less and spent more time enjoying family, friends and fun activities. Don’t let this be you.

Regrets are a waste. Do the things that bring you joy and happiness everyday.

This special celebration was inspired by the memory of my mother, Mildred S. Morris, who would have turned 104 years old this year on August 9, 2014 (she passed at age 92 in 2002.) She spent her life making people happy with her music. She played piano and organ from childhood through her mid 80’s for many churches, organizations and events. Everyone who ever heard her play was touched by her lively and fervent style.

I invite you to join me in celebrating Color Your Life Happy Day on August 9th. Then between August 10th-15th send me a photo or video of how you celebrated to my email at [email protected]

You may choose to enjoy a simple pleasure such as taking time off to read a neglected book. You may join the courageous who use this day to get control of the clutter that has been making them very unhappy.

So get busy thinking of how you will celebrate “Color Your Life Happy Day.” Then on August 9th take a picture showing how you celebrated. Remember, it doesn’t have to be grand or spectacular by anyone else’s standards. It just has to be something that makes you happy. Email it to me at [email protected] with your name, activity, and city/state/country. I will post entries on my blog, Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/coloryourlifehappy and my Pinterest page.

I’m looking forward to the wonderful array of celebrations.

In the meantime, motivate yourself daily with our Everyday Happiness motivational cards at

Filed Under: Claiming your joy, Happiness

Master the Genie Within You to Live the Life You Want

By Flora Leave a Comment

Are you looking for more peace, fun and joy and less stress and disappointment?

Welcome to the Club.

We are all looking for ways to live happier lives, but too often are looking in the wrong places.

There is no argument that activities like eating delicious food, shopping and spending time with friends
all bring pleasure. Such external pleasures however, will be short-lived if we haven’t taken one important action.

Travelling to distant places is exciting, entertaining and enriching. The longest and deepest trip,
however, that will transform our lives is the trip we take within.

Researchers have discovered that the happiest people in the world are not the wealthiest, but rather
the people who do fulfilling work, express gratitude, choose positive thoughts and emotions, and
have developed ways to reduce stress and find joy from within.

A just-released book, Master the Genie Within: Uncover, Embrace and Celebrate the Real You, will help you take
that journey within.

In the book, therapist Gladys Anderson helps you recognize and access the power of your personal genie within to rid yourself
of limiting beliefs and the masks you wear that hide who you really are. By claiming your own power, Anderson shows how you
can handle the adversities that come your way and by engaging in activities that call upon your strengths can live the life you want.

It is now available on Amazon in paperback or you can read it on your Kindle,
smartphones, PC’s and Mac’s! You can download a free Kindle reader from Amazon.

Enjoy the following excerpt from Master the Genie Within: Uncover, Embrace and Celebrate the Real You

Give Up the Superwoman Role

Give up trying to be the perfect partner, the perfect employee, the perfect hostess, the perfect parent, the perfect daughter, or the
perfect friend. It is not possible.

But so what if you never throw a party like Martha Stewart, the home decorating guru, organize your workspace like a professional
organizer, or empty your inbox?

What you can do is accept the situation as it is. There is such a thing as “good enough,” and when you’ve done your best, it’s good
enough. Relinquish the notion that you can do all, and be all things to everyone in your life.

You are NOT Superwoman. Remember, Superwoman has superhuman strength and can fly and she is not real.

Real women need to set boundaries on their time, their “chores,” their lives. If you let others control your time and resources, you
open the floodgates to stress, anxiety, and frustration. Instead of being nice and accommodating, you’re really teaching other
people that they have the power to determine how, when, and what you spend your time doing. The role of Superwoman is a clever way
of wearing the mask of perfection.

If you’ve been feeling that there is more to your life than you are currently living, then listen to that inner yearning.

Do you feel yourself being blocked from living the life you want? Do you sense that you are hiding the real you or suffering from the
burden of trying to be perfect? Share with us in the Comments.

Filed Under: bouncing back from adversity, Claiming your joy, coping with hardships, dealing with stress, Happiness, Setting boundaries Tagged With: building self-esteem, creating happiness, evergreen, setting boundaries

Going Through v.s. Going Around

By Flora 1 Comment

vicandjazzy2 In her blog yesterday, Being Joy-Being Enough, blogger Joy Tanksley so generously shared about her day. It started off upbeat but took a downward turn when she let a negative comment about her introductory video dampen her spirits and almost ruin her day.

I set out to encourage Joy by leaving a short comment, but as I wrote, an article spilled out. From Joy’s experience I got reaffirmation of the importance of going through painful feelings rather than trying to go around them, so I’m sharing the full comment I left on her blog.

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Hi Joy,

I applaud you for sharing your feelings with us because we all struggle with dips in mood and confidence when we receive outside criticism. The saddest part is that it works to unearth our self-criticism often harking back to past memories such as you mention about your cheerleader days.

When we share your story it helps us get in better touch with ours.

You were so wise to have stayed with your painful feelings by crying, reflecting and analyzing. We are often too quick to stuff our pain and cover it over with temporary feel-good. Look at how it empowered you and now your readers for you to have “gone through” rather than “gone around”.

I love your spirit and energy, and especially am happy that you decided to bypass perfection and take positive action instead. The best part about blogging is the opportunity it gives us to share our magnificence with the world without having to convince an executive board or creative team that we are worthy. Many people are waiting to hear the uplifting message that you and other life coaches share. You are helping to heal and empower the world in a way that’s never been possible in history until now.

The harsh criticism from this troubled stranger hurt at first because you’re human, but look at the lesson that you learned from it that you now share with us who need to hear it also. Anyone and anything that tries to convince us that we are not ok, that we’re not enough is lying. We each came to the world to share a special gift. Like each lily in the field we are different, but beautiful and powerful in our own way.

I’m guilty of starting my day on a high sometimes, and then letting someone’s off comment or my own self-criticism dampen my spirits and send me spiraling into ugly guilt or shame. Because I grew up with such strong insistence from my parents and elders that I be a “big girl” and “toughen things out”, it’s not easy for me to cry. When I do, however, I benefit tremendously. I think of tears as windshield washer that clears the windows of our soul, enabling us to see what was blocked by layers of muck.

Of course your video is perfect for connecting with your clients, not everyone in the world, but your rightful and perfect-for-you clients.

Keep dancing and being joyful and helping us do the same. It is your mission. Thank you for accepting it.

Blessings,

Flora

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I hope you now agree that going through painful feelings when they crop up (and they will,) is better than trying to go around them. After all, when we go through there is a clearing on the other side full of hope, joy and renewed energy.

Filed Under: Claiming your joy, handling adversity, Happiness, helping others, self-discovery, self-worth Tagged With: self-acceptance, self-worth

How to Cultivate Happiness: Get Rid of the Weeds in Your Life

By Flora 1 Comment

Working dog by meg price on flickr

Weeds are a type of plant that appear in even the best of gardens. A whole industry of tools, techniques and herbicides has been created to get rid of them. Why are the grass and plants we call weeds so unwelcomed?

Weeds are the dreaded enemy of beautiful gardens because they compete with your garden for water and nutrients. Likewise, the weeds in your life must go because they sap your energy and block the intake of positive thoughts and action toward your goals.

What are some of these weeds?

1. Some weeds were born into your life through no fault of your own. They are better known as family. Some family members are wonderfully nurturing and a joy to have in your life. Others are toxic, negative, choking the life out of your goals and positive action. You know the ones I mean. They are the ones who leave a heavy cloud of doubt, depression and sorrow even after they are no longer physically present.

2. Some weeds you brought into your life. These are better known as friends, spouses and children. While we all would love to be able to share our dreams and goals with these people closest to us, it’s not always the wisest thing to do. Be selective about sharing your dreams with those who don’t have your best interest at heart. Even though they may have good intentions, watching you go after your passion makes them afraid for your safety and ashamed of their own lack of action. If you let them project their fears and insecurities on you, your progress toward the life that makes you happy will be slowed if not stopped.

3. Some weeds come into your life based on circumstances and situations. These are better known as neighbors, coworkers, and members of clubs and associations. When you were hired by your company or when you joined a given church or club, folks were already there. Some of these people will share your interests and become close friends and partners. Others may feel threatened by your positive actions and work to sabotage you.

How do you remove these weeds from your life?

Minimizing contact is the first step to reduce exposure to the life-sapping efforts of people out to diminish your worth and devalue your goals. When on a job, for example, you choose carefully the people with whom you will have lunch or take breaks.

There are some, of course, from whom you must sever ties as soon as you are aware of the damage they are causing. When you are in any relationship where you sustain physical, emotional or psychological violence, your life and well being depend on removing yourself as soon as possible to safety.

Preventing future weeds from entering and taking over your beautiful and thriving life is the next step. Now that you can recognize them, you can act quickly to keep them from getting a foothold in your life.

Finally, be on guard against inviting and entertaining your own internal weeds in the form of negative thinking and self-destructive habits.

As you practice more positive thoughts, follow your passion and pursue your goals be prepared for the efforts of the weeds to return. It’s their nature to go where they can get nourishment. Now that you are set on cultivating happiness, you must absolutely deny their presence in your life.

But don’t worry about them, they are a hardy and determined breed. They will soon find new, unsuspecting hosts nearby.