Fake It; Positively

A forced smile is the best start to a change in mood;
Positive energy doesn’t take much momentum––and will always lead to a brighter day.

Remember

If you’re looking for a reason to be upset––you’ll find one.
If you want to spend the day in a bad mood, that is a choice.
With less energy than it takes to be negative; you can take a deep breath, release that moment, and smile.
We always have the choice; why let five minutes of frustration evolve into a full day of negativity?

Smile

A smile is contagious;
Spread happiness today!

Note To Self

Energy, positive or negative, is transferred to and from everyone we meet;

A smile makes a greater impact and invites darkness to lighten up.

Smile

The ability to rise above the stress and remember that nothing ever comes from negative energy.

Smiling is a free drug!

NYC Smile

A frown goes a long way;
A smile goes even further.
Negative energy spreads on the streets of New York;
But one smile lights up Times Square!

Six Word Essay on Cranky People

Your attitude is unattractive, smiling helps.

Six Word Essay on Going To My Orthodontist.

My retainer makes me feel young!

Adult Puberty!

I haven't decided which is worse:

The actual embarrassment of talking to people with a lisp and a mouth full of metal.

Or 

The actual sores on my tongue from having the retainer in my mouth all day!

#StraightTeeth #WorthIt?! 

Daily Reminder:

It is not enough to say, "I have Faith" and then sit back and wait-
Action is required on my part every second, every minute, every hour, of every day.
Fight when I need to fight. Listen when I need to hear. Speak when I need to be heard.  Release when I can't change the situation. Smile through it all.

Daily Reminder

When you are surrounded by positive people, it's hard not to smile.
When you are engulfed with negative people, it's impossible to see positive.
I'm choose to live positively optimistic and work to accomplish as much as possible with blind Faith, hope and happiness-
Instead of giving into fear and complaining about everything I don't have.

Better Luck Next Week... A Motivational Reminder:

I don't really believe in luck,
Mostly I just use the word as a point of reference.
I spent most of this week in a groggy, mopey, uninspired state of mind-
The kind of mental and emotional place that will get me nowhere fast!
I think we're all entitled to at least one or two moments like this a year;
But that is it.
I am a healthy, talented, hard working, intelligent and fun person,
I have absolutely no reason to let one day of my life pass without finding a happy moment!
So, release, relax and roll on!
Okay, the pep talk's over...

Forced Happiness

It's a goal of mine to remain happy-
Grateful for the blessing (and there are a lot of them) that I have in my life.
Nevertheless, I have those days when I wake up, and the weight of the world is on my shoulders.
Dealing with the loss of my grandma has been tough.
I know life goes on, and I've thrown myself into my job and creative projects to ease the pain-
But this morning I woke up and I just can't shake it off...
It's in these moments that I default to something I refer to as:
Force Happiness.
I'm not happy in any way,
But I lie to my self, and tell myself that if I pretend to be happy I will trick my mind into believing it.
I'm not sure that its working, but it's better than walking around in a state of depression.

Grace Under Fire!

The funny thing I continue to relearn about life is that no matter how confident, happy and balanced you are... there are going to be times where you're kicked down, stomped on, given double black-eyes, internal bleeding, spit on, flipped over and violated and then asked to get up and shine!

It's no wonder as we age, we lose our passion, drive, idealism and self-assured confidence!

It's become my challenge, on a daily basis... to fight the tough fight!

One of my favorite quotes comes from a zen teaching:

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

But to fall down and get back up is only half the battle. Albeit, it's an important part of success-To have the energy and stamina to get up and fight. But you have to maintain the confidence in yourself for which you are fighting to achieve. That can be very tough, when you hear all of your faults from the people who are trying to hold you down, or even make you better for that matter...

What I'm slowly coming to understand is that no matter how positive, driven and focused we are; we will all fall.

The challenge then becomes how to fall with grace, maintain the blows, and then stand up taller than the time before, with even more grace, wisdom, and fuel to steam ahead.

To believe in yourself when everything is going the way you wish is easy to do, and a great feeling. To believe in yourself when very few others do, takes a great deal of faith and trust.

I'm not entirely sure where the confidence and security to "rise above" the barrage of fire aimed at you comes from... but I'm noticing, that it's a lot easier to move forward if you bandage the wounds with a big smile, and remember that those first to attack, are the ones who feel most threatened.