Treat Yo' Self!

Many pardons for the strange grammar of this weeks blogging title "Treat Yo' Self", I promise I have not lost my sanity. 

Recently I have been watching a TV show called "Parks and Recreation", which is a comedy about the parks and recreation department in a fictional town in Indiana called Pawnee. To give a brief description, it is similar in style with that of the once popular show: "The Office." 

If you liked "The Office" you might want to give this show a shot.

But enough about the show itself, my blog today is going to focus on an episode in "Parks and Recreation" called, you guessed it, "Treat Yo' Self."

In this episode, two supporting cast members that work in the department celebrate their annual "Treat Yo' Self Day" in which they -- here I'm going to let them explain it for you guys:

So what does this have to do with my blog? Well I think that Tom and Donna, the two characters in the show, have invented a new and genius idea: spending an one entire day out of the whole year to treat yourself to the things you love and make you happy.

Granted, they might have an expensive way of doing it and I want you to know that I'm not encouraging people to spend gobs of money buying clothes and other various objects.

What I like is the whole concept of "Treat Yo' Self."

I think that setting aside one day to be a tad bit selfish and reward yourself with the things you love to do the most, is a healthy idea because it gives one time to enjoy their uniqueness without judgement, as Ben, another character in the show, learns when he joins them on the quest to treat themselves.

I won't ruin the end for you, but it is worth a watch.

I think this is an idea that should be welcomed and further explored and I hope that at some point this year of 2014 that all of you will pick a day to "Treat Yo' Self."

The Happiness Disease

Hello everyone! Are you ready for another awesome blog about happiness? I am...well that's because I'm writing it...yay for blogs!

Okay, I don't know about you guys but I can't stop singing Pharrell Williams' song "Happy."

 It's so catchy and it makes one want to dance around the room and anyone one around you automatically joins in, spreading this happiness across the room like a virus.

Which brings us to the topic of today's blog: happiness is like a disease.

I'm not trying to be dark here, but it is true when you think about it.

For example, when someone smiles at you and wishes you a happy day, it in turn gives you a warm feeling inside and you find yourself smiling and walking around to others greeting them in the same manner. The "happiness disease" then latches on to the next person and then goes from one victim to another after that. 

Happiness spreads like wildfire, when someone that you care about is overwhelmed with joy, you find yourself feeling the same. This is one disease in which the cure has not yet been found...because its awesome having the happiness disease!

Pharrell Williams knows what I'm talking about (I think he's cracked the secret of song making!). It's practically impossible to not be happy while listening to his song and you can't escape it because it plays everywhere you go!

Guys, I think Williams might have created a new plague! The Happy Plague! 

It sure beats the Black Death, wouldn't you agree?

So let's spread the happiness everyone; smile and be kind to others and your happy thoughts might lift up their hearts and they too will continue this happy fest.

It wouldn't hurt if we all danced like Williams as we spread the happy virus. Man, that guy is a great dancer!

Think Different -- Think Positive

Hey everybody, how are you on this fine Sunday? I hope that all of are enjoying your spring break and are getting plenty of rest; I know I am.

This week, the focus of my blog is about choosing good attitudes.

Sometimes we get stuck in a stressful scenario and as a result we become angry or irritated as if the world is out to get us – we let it bring us down.

The sad part about of all of this is that sometimes it really isn’t as big of a deal as we think it is. Something as little as getting a B on a paper, isn’t the end of the world, and yet for some (myself included) it ruins our entire day or week.

So what should we do? – choose a better attitude.

Turn that B into something positive, its constructive criticism only designed to help you become better. B is an awesome letter! The word beautiful starts with B, so there you can tell yourself that that B on your paper stands for beautiful.

When working as a camp counselor, I was given the pleasure of watching an enlightening video exploring this very topic. A man named David Foster Wallace was giving a speech to graduating college students, and what he talks about really changed the way I look at things today.

I’ve uploaded his speech called “This is Water”, and I am apologizing for some mild language in the video beforehand. This is pulled from the actual video and I suggest all of you watch it and you can find it on Youtube.

But here is the audio for Wallace’s speech:

https://soundcloud.com/jane-morrell/discurso-this-is-water-david

Apple Inc. once had this logo “Think Different” and I find it an appropriate phrase for this subject.

I challenge all of you to think different – think positive.

Blinded by the Sun...or by Happiness?

Hey everyone, it’s that time again for my Sunday blog!

I’m very sorry that I didn't post last week. It was a quite the busy weekend.

Well guys, this week I’m going to focus on something very serious.

Happiness is important; this has literally been my blog theme for the past two months.

But, sometimes in our efforts to finding happiness, we in turn become blinded by it.

It’s like being blinded by the sun.

At times we forget to think about others and think only to please ourselves.

And with every action there is a reaction, sometimes good…and sometimes bad. Sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes you get hurt, even if your action initially brought you joy.

It’s like eating this Gingerbread house.

When you see it, you can feel your taste buds start to dance. It’s as if you can hear it calling out “EAT ME, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.” 

You don’t just eat it, you scarf it down, and it tastes so amazing that you can’t help being happy. 

Smiling and laughing, you feel great!

Suddenly, you don’t feel so gleeful anymore; it’s as if you've got a giant rock in your stomach. You feel heavy, sick and gross.

And then, just when you think it couldn't get any worse, the creator of the gingerbread house walks over and sees that you've just eaten his or her masterpiece.

This is when you ask yourself, “Why did I do this to myself?”

At that point, you realize your mistake and how, not only are you in pain, but you also hurt another in the process…by eating their piece of art.

And then you ask yourself, “Why did I do this to him/her?”

But you know why – it’s because satisfying your own wants blinded you to the dangers and effects that would arise when you ate that gingerbread house.

This is one example of letting self happiness blind you. Sometimes is could be something small, like acting goofy with your friends in public and irritating other people.

Sometimes it can be very troublesome, like choosing to watch TV over studying for a test.

And here is where it gets even more complicated:

You could be the most caring person in the world, but on the road to happiness there is bound to be pain -- strangers, friends, family, and even you, will get hurt at some point.

We all have to make tough choices in order to progress in life and to reach happiness: should I go to school or start working? Should I this money or save it? Should I quit now or keep going? Is it better having short-term happiness or long-term happiness?

I’m sure you all have heard the saying, “Life isn't fair,” and it’s true.

But, that doesn't mean that you can’t try to make it as fair as possible. If you find yourself happy beyond this world but it’s at the expense of another, I ask you to try to find a way for both of you to benefit in your situation. It won’t work every time, but at least you tried and no one can look down on you for that.

In summary, don’t let your happiness blind you to what’s really important in your life.

It's The Circle of Stress and It Hurts Us All!

"It's the circle of life and it moves us all!" we all know that song from Disney's the Lion King, and if you haven't, look it up cause its an awesome song, one of Disney's finest.

Anyways, the song talks about "the circle of life", how we live, we die, and how from our death new life begins, in this never-ending cycle; all that good stuff that kids need to know. Well, as inspirational as that is, there is another seemingly another never-ending circle that we tend to find ourselves in: the circle of stress.

The circle of stress is not a good circle to get caught in for it is the no.1 way of keeping one from reaching happiness.

Yet we all find ourselves caught in this cycle at some point in our lives. I'm one of the worst at finding myself stuck in it, and I can tell you it is detrimental towards a person's health. 

But what is stress exactly?

According to www.stress.org, stress, as defined by Hans Seyle in 1936, is "the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change."A simple definition for a not so simple concept. 

Guys, stress can cause so much harm to a single individual, it can even kill:

"There are numerous emotional and physical disorders that have been linked to stress including depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, immune system disturbances that increase susceptibility to infections, a host of viral linked disorders ranging from the common cold and herpes to AIDS and certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In addition stress can have direct effects on the skin (rashes, hives, atopic dermatitis, the gastrointestinal system (GERD, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis) and can contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease." - www.stress.org 

We have to be careful, and not let stress get us down. We have to break out of its circle! This is a hard challenge, I know that I am fighting my way out of it as well.

When one is worried, he or she needs to sit down and take a deep breath and ask: what is the worst outcome that can happen in this situation that I'm stressing out about? Once one figures out the worst and accepts it, the stress lessens and one feels instantly better.

Once one breaks out of the circle of stress, he or she is that much closer to happiness.

Here is a link for those wishing to learn more about stress: http://www.stress.org/

Watching the World Around You

Today was a gorgeous day! It was one of those days were you wanted to run around and lie on the warm grass at the same time. If you haven't already guessed, that's exactly what I did.

And that's what I want to focus on today, not me running around, but enjoying days like today and how it ties back to pursuing happiness. We are going to call it: Watching the World Around You.

It's amazing what you can witness when you just take the time to sit down and watch the goings on around you. 

Whether its "people watching" where you just watch the people around you, or just watching the clouds in the sky, it can be very relaxing and pleasing to the soul.

Getting a little deep here guys so bear with me. We are always rushing now a days thanks to today's technology; we live to be instantly satisfied. 

It's because of this lifestyle that people always feel stressed out and in a sense, never satisfied with themselves or their lives.

We need to have times where we just lie on the ground on a sunny day, and just release the stress that floats around in our minds. If we don't we'll just explode, and I'm not kidding, I've seen it happen before and it's not a pretty sight!

By taking the time to sit and watch the world, you can see some of the most beautiful things created by nature.

Here are some of nature's masterpieces that I've been lucky to have had my phone to take a picture of:

Pop in some music, take a friend(s), or even better, take a friend that can play a guitar and go outside and watch the world around you, there I challenge you! Go do it people!

Keep Calm and Hobby On

Hello again! I hope everyone has enjoyed the past week with all the snow and the days off from school.

I, during all of it, was constantly pouncing around in the snow like a child who drank way to much soda, or like a psychotic cat that started spazzing out, take your pick.

Moving on from that, today I am going to blog about hobbies! Yay! People be excited because I am!

Hobbies are activities that one regularly does for the sake of self fulfillment, or, you guessed it, to make one feel happy. Hobbies include, and are not limited too: reading, fishing, creating art, listening to music, writing, cooking, dancing, singing, scrap-booking, woodworking, taxidermy, KNITTING (for Kayak Girl), to infinity and beyond the hobbies go on and on.

The ones listed above are examples of healthy hobbies. Partying all night and day may be a regular hobby for some and it may bring temporary joy, but it harms more than it helps when it comes to having a happy healthy lifestyle. Make good choices people!

If you have a hobby don't stop, continue on with it and don't let anyone bother you about it. Its your hobby, use it when you need it. Kayak Girl, never stop knitting! 

For those who don't have a hobby, find one! Imagine if "happiness" was a giant Hershey bar (or whatever candy bar you enjoy), a hobby would be getting a piece of that amazing chocolate bar every time you partake in it. Sounds pretty awesome right? Well it is! 

Finding a hobby that always puts a smile on your face is another way of helping you find confidence in yourself and enjoy life a little more. It also helps connect you with others who think and act just like you, and who doesn't want that?

Sometimes in life we bogged down and fall into the dark hole of despair, and it feels like the way out is impossible, having a hobby gives people a ladder to climb out of the hole. Hobbies renew our hopes and dreams (not to sound cliche or anything) and to once more open our hearts to others. I think it should be a requirement of humanity to at least have one hobby.

So, I know many of you have heard the saying "Keep Calm and Carry On" right? Well I have new motto that I challenge all of my readers to follow: keep calm and hobby on. If you want happiness, finding a hobby is the best way to start.

If you have a hobby you want to talk about, please share by commenting below because I love hearing about other peoples hobbies!