If  the USA presidential election has left you feeling numb, nauseated, or discombobulated from post-election stress, you may find recovery for yourself (and your children) among these suggestions. 

Read a great book

Publishers Weekly asked booksellers around the country what books they’re recommending to their customers.

Repeat these 5 affirmations

 Suzanne Bold, cbs12.com

11 More Things You Can Do Now

Diana Pearl, People.com/Politics

Try controlled breathing

Lesley Alderman, NY Times

Imagine the country moving forward

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt shares his vision on a TED Talk

Make rules for family gatherings and cut back on watching news

Ask the Expert

Learn to laugh

Nira Berry, life coach and laughter therapist

and of course I recommend that you

Get a copy of my coloring book for adults for the best way to relieve post-election stress
Color Your Life Happy Coloring Book for Adults

“Imagine as an adult, returning to totally stress free moments joyfully colouring without a care in the world as you did as a child. No need to imagine. This delightful colouring book for adults provides an opportunity to go back to that innocent playful time along that also includes positive suggestions to access those precious moments for the present.” Excerpt from a review

What stress-relieving activities have worked for you? Share in Speak Your Mind below.

Copyright: rawpixel / 123RF Stock Photo

“Grandma, look! I was caught being good!”  my youngest grandson announced with a broad smile showing off an award ribbon years ago when he was in elementary school.

“What was that?” I responded, thinking I had misunderstood him.

But I hadn’t.  He received the ribbon from a teacher on the playground who noticed he picked up trash and put it in a nearby can.

His school had begun a program, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (See PBIS.org), where they taught behaviorial expectations like they would any other core curriculum. There are many facets involved to make such a program successful, but the underlying tenet is respecting yourself and others. Students who met these positive expectations in and out of the classroom were rewarded with badges.

Before you begin to construct your argument against such a program, let’s just agree that shame-based approaches don’t feel good nor have appeared to work well for humans or animals. There is research to back this up, but simply put, when we reward a person for a desired behavior they tend to repeat it.

I wish my elementary teachers (and mother) had known about and used this technique. Thankfully, I managed to grow up to be a positive person in spite of occasional spankings, being sent to the corner, being shamed, and other painful experiences that reinforced my undesirable behavior. Negative reinforcement did not bring about positive results for some of my friends and relatives.

I suspect it would be a better world if we looked for and rewarded desirable, loving, and kind behavior. Focusing on the positive would be the end of news as the media currently presents it, but what would that world be like. 

A number of people have wondered the same thing, and decided to focus on the desirable, the beautiful, and successful in the world. 

Mariette Pan celebrates the good in heart shapes she discovers

Learn more from Mariette’s book, Gratitude Rocks: Manifesting Passion, Purpose, & Prosperity… One Heart at a Time

Louie Schwartzberg celebrates the good in fungi

The fungal-fantastical. Emerging from their axial homes, fungi are beginning to be understood as nutrients to the human consciousness and ecological sustainability. Paul explores mycology and compels support for your own good nature and our fungal allies. This is the first in a collaboration of Louie Schwartzberg of Blacklight films ( http://bit.ly/FantasticFungi ) and Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti ( http://fungi.net ).

Starbucks celebrates the good that ordinary people do to improve their communities

Upstanders is an original collection of short stories, films and podcasts sharing the experiences of Upstanders – ordinary people doing extraordinary things to create positive change in their communities. Produced by Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Upstanders series helps inspire us to be better citizens.

Rick Charlie celebrates the good he found in his life story

He tells it in this interview by Jonathan Fields.  

How do you celebrate the good in your life and the world?
Tell us below in Speak Your Mind

This is one of the inspirational cards from the deck of Everyday Happiness. 

When asked on their deathbeds what they regret, people often mention opportunities they missed out of fear, hesitance, or too much time spent working and earning money. Avoid letting this happen to you.

Even though we get to choose how we react to events and opportunities, too many of us look for what’s wrong in this world, and choose to be unhappy, miserable, and even angry. This is easy to do if we count on the news to set our happiness meter. After all,  we have trained the news media to focus on negative events by giving our attention to these that in turn boost their ratings and profits.

Every month of the year has a day dedicated to celebrating happiness.  August, for example,  is Admit You’re Happy Month. If you haven’t been celebrating your happiness this month, it’s not too late. Make it a habit to choose happiness so you will have no regrets at the end of your life.

If you have the health, freedom, and flexibility denied so many in the world, you have much to be grateful for. Being less than happy doesn’t serve anyone.

Here are ten simple ways to begin making time for your happiness.

1. Take the Happiness Pledge

Each day when I awake and discover I’m still alive,
I know I have another chance to grow, to learn, to thrive.
So as I enter the world anew I will bypass the door marked CRAPPY
And with a smile on my face and a song in my heart,
Walk through the door marked HAPPY.

2. Check out the world’s first 24 hour music video by Pharrell Williams.

3. Let this infographic take you from grumpy to happy in just a few minutes

4. The only secret to happiness is that there is no secret. We must each find out own version http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Happy

5. Schedule activities that make you happy, boost your self-esteem or make you feel empowered. Then keep your appointment with yourself.

6. Engage in activities that relieve stress and help you relax, such as the popular coloring trend.

7. Celebrate someone else’s success.

8. Do a random act of kindness.

9. Silence your smartphone and be here now.

• If you’re in a conversation, really listen to the other person.
• Attending a concert or a movie? Put your full attention on the music and action.

10. For hundreds more ideas and tips on embracing happiness, handling change, and creating the life you want, get a copy of , Color Your Life Happy: Create Your Unique Path and Claim the Joy You Deserve, 2nd edition.

 Click on the video below to get a taste of what to expect. I won’t tell anyone you were tapping your toe along with the music.

Tell us in the comments what you’ll do to avoid having regrets.