++++++++++++++++++++++ Positive Thoughts for Today ++++++++++++++++++++++ LOVE/RELATIONSHIPS: The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for. -Maureen Dowd LEADERSHIP/SUCCESS: Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. -Peter Drucker MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION: Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. ++++++++++++++++++++++ Positive News Weekly Story ++++++++++++++++++++++ Happiness Cures Stress We have all heard that 'laughter is the best medicine', 'smiling is contagious', and that 'happiness heals stress'...but does happiness really have such a big influence on our productivity, wellbeing and stress levels? In a word...Yes! A new study suggests that 'People who are happier in their daily lives have healthier levels of key body chemicals than those who muster few positive feelings. This means happier people may have healthier hearts and cardiovascular systems, possibly cutting their risk of diseases like diabetes' [1] What's more, research has also found that when you are feeling happy, your cortisol levels are lower (high cortisol levels are often associated with high stress levels) and your blood levels of fibrinogen (This molecule makes blood "sticky" and is vital in the clotting process, but high concentrations can signal future coronary heart disease problems) is also lower. [1] Staff who are consistently unhappy are hindering their own productivity, reducing their working stamina, and creating stress for themselves. Is your workforce happy? Think about your own work, what percentage of your working day do you feel 'happy'? I am not talking about jumping around bursting with joy as if you won the lottery, but I simply mean how much of your day do you enjoy compared to 'get through' or 'put up with'? Julian Kalmar, from the 'Happiness Formula' [2], found that over a billion (1,000,000,000) people in this world aren't as happy as they could be? That staggering number has nothing to do with living in a third-world country either. Here's the reason... Do you remember your parents teaching you the methods for creating happiness? What about all those hours your teachers spent teaching you the precise actions needed to become happy? Doesn't sound familiar, does it? The irony of education is that it was meant to give you tools for living well, yet no one taught us happiness skills. We spent years in school studying subjects we ended up never using, yet not one minute was spent learning the methods for creating happiness. The very skill we could use every day of our lives isn't even taught! What an incredible oversight! On average, we spend about one-third of our lives at work. De-prioritising feeling happy at work and focusing solely on getting the work done will leave people feeling resentful, changing jobs, burnout out, or worse - they will stay, but only be half as productive as they could be. So, how do you bring more happiness to work? Here is my take on one method... Every Saturday I take my 2 year old (Zack) and 4 year old (Raphael) boys shopping at a busy fruit market. My boys both wanted to touch all the different fruit and help put things into the trolley (even the stuff we didn't need) and I was trying to fulfil my shopping list. With a bag in one hand, I try to direct Raphael, with my other hand, to grab a few tomatoes, whilst trying to stop Zack (who is in the trolley) from standing on the watermelon. At that moment, as Zack is trying to make fruit punch, an elderly man walks up to me and decides to tell me all about his morning. He doesn't seem to notice that I am trying to co-ordinate two boys and shopping. He tells me that he has been married for over 60 years and that his wife, who is 92, is waiting for him to return so he can cook her breakfast...and then he went on to tell me how much he loves his wifeand that they have 5 great grandchildren...and on he went. I was so busy trying to coordinate my shopping and kids that I almost missed what this man was saying to me...I almost didn't missed this fleeting moment to connect with this man. So I gathered the kids, and put my agenda on hold for a few minutes, and just listened to him. It really made his day that someone stopped and listened. You could see the happiness in his face as his detailed the day ahead of him and the glory years behind him. I haven't seen him around for a few weeks now. How many moments have you missed to experience some happiness, connect with someone, share a laugh, or talk about a win you've had? ACTION STEPS: 1. Catch those moments with the colleagues, clients and customers each day. Happiness can come in small unexpected opportunities. Jeremy Samuel, from www.thelaughingcompany.com, believes that "A quiet revolution has been taking place over the past few decades. Serious psychologists are now talking about the power of "positive psychology" to help people build happier, more authentic lives. Best selling books are emerging on the power of intention and our ability to create the life we desire. Some enlightened companies have even begun to train their executives and staff in using humour" We need to 'loosen up' a little more and bring more natural joy and happiness into our work by not taking ourselves so seriously. Be open to finding pockets of joy by allowing ourselves to indulge in fun activities. Life is not just serious work. There needs to be more. Loosen up and find pockets of joy in other aspects on your life. 2. Small Wins - Big Success Everyone likes to win, and feel the joy of succeeding at something. Chunk down your day's activities into smaller 'tasks' that you can feel some sense of accomplishment with. Reward yourself, and your team, for their small wins - not just the big ones. More happiness comes when you get a sense that you are achieving and moving forward in your life. By: Michael Licenblat B.Sc.(Psych)- He is a Resilience Expert who helps people in business bounce back fast from pressure, stress and burnout in their work and life. He is a professional speaker, coach and author of three books. Marilyn L. Ali

Hi Marilyn :) thanks for sharing great to read as usual. Have a great day, take care :)

Hi Marilyn, That was a great article. More people should read it and take note. Last summer I had my granddaughter out grocery shopping. It was a very hectic day and things had just been going anywhere but my schedule. I had an appointment for a meeting and was in a little bit of a hurry to get home. As we got out of the car, my granddaughter tried to help with the groceries, before I knew what happened, there was a whole bag of apples, oranges and assorted produce rolling around on the lawn. I took one look at her face, and started to laugh. I gave her a big hug and told her this is perfect, we are all set for a picnic. And we sat right down on the lawn and ate apples and oranges. My husband came out and heard what had happened and sat right down with us. We were very happy. Your Friend Deborah

Hi Marilyn, Thanks for sharing these great thought provoking writings. I particularly like the last one about "Small Wins". It is so true that we try to bite off more than we can chew. Have a good day.

Hi Marilyn. What a great article by Michael! I particularly enjoyed the story about shopping..lol I find myself in that very situation on many occasions.. I use the action steps Mike lists in my everyday life and at my "dayjob" for the very "selfish" purpose of making my day a happy one, and as a result I often brighten the day of someone else. I try to live by this motto: Random acts of kindness, senseless acts of beauty.