Do more of what makes you HAPPY :)

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.  Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.

Feeling as though you are living an authentic life is an important part of happiness.  If you believe in yourself and your values, your choices reflect this and you feel happier and in control.  If you move towards doing things in your life that fill you up and make you beam sunlight from the depths of your stomach then you'll feel like your on the right path and you'll feel more in control of you life.  It can be easy to overlook the fact that the only person in control of your life is you.

You are responsible for your life and letting go of things that are out of your control, whilst accepting responsibility for the things you can change.  You can always change the way you look and react to a situation that you may find yourself in and it can be liberating to finally let go and see things from a different light.  You are not your past, you are not your future, you are your present and that's the moment you need to live in.

So today I'm doing everything that feels right for me in this present moment.  Today right now I'm doing something that makes me want to jump up and down and dance like no ones watching, and that is writing this post and putting it out into the world wide web for everyone and no-one, but mainly because I want to tell you that you have control over your own happiness.

I woke up so early this morning and I was excited.  Not for any particular reason, it's just a normal Saturday, but I just couldn't wait to get the day started! I couldn't wait to get up and do some exercise and have my green smoothy, I can't wait to catch up with friends and also to spend some time with myself, today has endless possibilities and if I want to make something happen, today could be the day that I make the change.  Who knows!  But that's the beauty of it.  Always be present and live in the moment and do things that feel right to you and you'll be on the right track.

What are you doing today to make yourself excited and happy?  Why not a create a list of all the things that light you up and make you happy.  Don't be afraid to share in the comments below.

Nic
xx

PS.  Don't forget to sign up to my newsletter, I'll be sending out a weekly publication delivered straight to you inbox each Thursday including delicious recipes, wellness tips and much more.  Just hit the subscribe button at the top of the page.

Wake up with an attitude of gratitude

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful - Buddha

Each day I write three things that I'm grateful for.  I do this as soon as I wake up, it takes about 2 minutes and it sets my day off on the right path.  I can tell you that since I've started doing this I have been so much more content and much happier. 

Gratitude enhances happiness and this is the key to gratitude affecting all areas of your life.  If you focus on the positive, you are training your mind to think positively, and thinking positive means thinking happy.  Research suggests that writing all that you are grateful for just a few minutes a day can increase individual wellbeing by over 10% - such a simple habit for an amazing result.

Expressing gratitude can improve all areas of you life.  It can improve your relationships, both personal and professional, because people who are kind and considerate are more likeable; and it can improve your health, because happy people exercise more, releasing more endorphins.

Gratitude turns bad things into good things; are you having trouble at work? Be grateful that you have work.  Be grateful that you have challenges and that life isn't boring.  Be grateful that you can learn from these challenges.  It also is a great reminder of what is really important.  It's hard to complain about the little things when you give thanks that you and your children are alive and healthy.  It's hard to get stressed out over paying bills when you are grateful there is a roof over your head.

Here is a little exercise to get you started.  Put pen to paper and think of three things that you are grateful for today.  You might decide to recognise the little things or express thanks for the people in your life.  Try to do this every day for the next 5 days and take note on how it makes you feel.

Here is an example of what I'm grateful for today:

1. I am grateful to be active and alive.

2. I'm grateful to have an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables to nourish me daily.

3. I'm grateful for my man, who brightens my day, even if he is 1800km away.

Hope you have a fantastic day.  Thanks for stopping by.

Nicole x