☺ You Deserve to Be Happy! ☺

I have some good news for you: You Deserve to Be Happy! Yes, You! 

The bad (and sad) news is that most of us don't actually believe we deserve to be happy.

Our lack of this good feeling of deserving to be happy stops us from living life to it's fullest potential. When we feel like we don't deserve to be happy, we place barriers around ourselves that stop the good things from coming in. It makes us cause our relationships and any possible good things that do manage to sneak through to fall apart rather instantly. We start to look for things to go wrong, seeking them out, drawing them out, making them magically appear out of nowhere. It makes us pick fights and get into disagreements with the people we care about. It makes us feel depressed. It keeps us trapped in this terrible bubble that circles over and over until we can actually learn to love ourselves and accept that we do indeed deserve to be happy. 

The reason that most of us don't believe we deserve to be happy is thanks to our insecurities and our general lack of liking and loving ourselves. Society teaches us that to love ourselves is a show of vanity, of being conceded, and this is a bad attitude that needs to halt. Love starts with yourself, you must must must love yourself in order to be happy and in order to love the people and things around you. So, you don't just deserve to be happy, you also deeply greatly do deserve to be loved.

Happiness and love are really one in the same, and both of them start with You. You can't expect to have an abundance, or much at all, of either of these wonderful things if you can't work on yourself and place yourself into a mentality and openness to let them in. 

I don't care what you have been through in your life, I don't care what shitty circumstances might be going on around you, I don't care how badly another person has made you feel about yourself, because, you know what? You are awesome! Despite anything that has happened or will happen in your life, you are awesome! Yes, you! And the more that you believe that, the more you will love life, love yourself, and welcome goods things into your life. You will become an inspiration to those around you and you can fill others up with that same joy because that energy will become so contagious and spill over onto others.  

[photo courtesy: JessicaRoman]

The feeling of not deserving to be happy also comes from being entirely too hard on ourselves for past mistakes and for things that were quite often out of our control, but that we have taken the blame deeply upon ourselves. 

The past is the past, you can't change anything that happened, and the more you try to deny that the longer you will remain in this state of lovelessness. Things happen. To everyone! Taking on the blame doesn't change anything. Carrying that blame around with you will only serve as the chains to your depression and it makes things worse for the ones you love as well. If you want to help others, if you want to help yourself, then choose to be happy, and you do that by making changes and letting go of the past.    

What you need to realize is that almost everyone has gone through some shitty things in their lives. Everyone has done things that they regret, things that they don't feel so good about, things that they deem as "awful" and "unforgivable." So is that where we should stop? Just sit there and wallow in that negativity and just accept that we've done some shitty things, that "god" or the universe, or some holy power has deemed us unfixeable? Or, is it not better to get back up and try again? If you don't like who you are, change it! You get to choose who you are. You get to choose how you are going to live your life. You get to choose whether or not good things can enter your life or not. 

You deserve happiness. Maybe, sometimes life makes you feel like you don't. Maybe sometimes your headspace makes you feel like a bad person, and therefor undeserving of good things. That mentality is the only thing stopping those good things from coming into your life. If you don't open the door, they can't get in! You have to let them in! The door is your bad attitude, so learn to love yourself and then you'll be able to open the door again. Happiness IS within your reach. 

Okay, so maybe it's not as easy as waving a magic wand and going, "Tadaaaa! I love myself! I deserve happiness! Woot woot!" Because, maybe, you just can't let go of that nagging awful mentality that you simply don't deserve good things and that you're not a good person. I've been there, so I know the feeling. Here's the thing; I used to hate myself, I mean utterly despise myself. I was a suicidal, depressed, self-loathing mess for a long portion of my life. You know what changed? I woke up. I started working on myself every single day. I started getting help, reading books, and looking at myself differently. I realized that I could be a person that I was proud of and liked--and loved.  

If you don't feel good about yourself then that's something you must work on everyday. And I mean every day! Every day until life gets easier and you fall in love with your wonderful self (and even after that) you should be doing gratitude practices for yourself. A simple and amazing practice that I still do when life feels rough, and when I may not be feeling so good about myself, is this… get a pen and paper (or I highly recommend having a Happy Diary) and write down a list of all the things you love about yourself. Write down small things, big things, things that you want to be and write them down as if that's who you are already. Write and write until you feel that energy shift within yourself and you genuinely feel better about yourself. Again, you Do get to choose who you are, and if you want to change then this is a good practice to become the greatest version of yourself. Do this practice every morning and every night, or at the very least, once a day. 

You don't have to be miserable forever. You don't have to hate yourself. You have such amazing wonderful unlimited potential inside of yourself and your lack of self love is holding you back from living your life to the fullest and being the amazing person that, deep down inside, you always truly are. It's time to let go of those restricting thoughts and allow that wonderful person inside of yourself to come out and play and smile and be happy.  

So, one more time: You Deserve to Be Happy! 

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{life reflections} ~ when life knocks you down ~

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{life reflections}

 Weekly thoughts and rambles. A glimpse into my mind and world. 

These are entries that I might jot down in my Happy Diary; what happens when we put our fingers to the keyboard and allow our thoughts to flow uninhibited. Reflections from the soul. 

Reflections of life.  

I hope to leave you inspired. 

If you want to share your own reflections of the week please leave a link to your "life reflections" entry in the comments for all to find and see.

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This week has been filled with more tears and anxiety than I've felt in a long while. Boo hoo. Don't worry, I'm not going to write some miserable self-pitying post. I'm not that kind of person. I just wanted to share this with you to let you know that, despite all the positive tips and information I share on this blog, I too am human. Shocker I know. The truth is that I was indeed depressed for a good five years of my life and that takes some time to climb out of. There's a lot of old brain habits that need fixing and relearning. For the most part I am blissfully happy. For the most part I can easily pull myself out of a funk. But sometimes life throws curve balls, and those curve balls can right knock us on our asses and leave us in the dirt. But the funny thing about it is that when we fall down it's because life is trying to show us something. When we fall, it's because there is something we're meant to find down there. I truly believe and know this to be true. Again, you can find the positive in any situation, so why not do so? We wouldn't fall so hard either if there wasn't something still in our minds that we hadn't yet resolved. Sometimes we think we've got it all figured out, or at least mostly; we think we've settled our demons and moved forwards. Sometimes we have. Sometimes it may surprise us to learn that we haven't quite yet. This was my case this week. As it is with most people, there were some issues that I hadn't yet resolved. 

For some reason, perhaps through old habits, I have the suborn tendency to shut myself off, especially from my husband who is closest to me. Don't do this. I will tell you up front to never push people away or block yourself off, because it simply does more damage than good. I know this. I learned this the hard way. I still struggle with it--again, those old brain habits that like to make doing the right thing more difficult sometimes. But talking helps. I know that the Law of Attraction teaches us that the more we talk about our problems then the more we manifest them. While this is true, you also have to learn a balance. If you don't first talk about your problems then they will never get resolved, and if they never get resolved then you will not be able to move forward and use the Law of Attraction to attract positive things anyway. So talk. Talk, talk, talk. Through talking we have realizations--it helps to talk out loud because it gets our thoughts running and can help us realize many helpful things to move forwards. Again, though, learn balance. If you are constantly depressed and need someone to talk to then it is great to have a family member or friend to confide in, but realize that some things are best left to talk to a professional, because otherwise your relationship may become more about the negative than the positive and you don't want that either. I can't say enough about how much a councillor can help you. Seek one out. Talk their ear off. They have words of wisdom for you and they will help you learn about yourself and How to let go of your past. They are wonderful people who can help you, so don't overlook them. If you don't find a councillor you like at the first go of it, then find another one. Find one that you are compatible with and comfortable with. It helps. Trust me, because I've been there and mine helped me make one of the biggest leaps in my recovery. 

So, talk. When you get your thoughts out there you can reach some conclusions. Sit down with yourself as well and write out your thoughts. I always say writing is an amazing practice because it truly allows your thoughts to free flow, and when our thoughts free flow so do the realizations. I know, I'm being a bit repetitive, but bottling things up is counter-productive, don't just sweep your problems under a rug. You may be very good at keeping those problems safely concealed beneath that rug, but eventually the mess will come spilling out into your life and it may not be pretty when it all comes rushing out all at once as these things tend to do. When a problem arises, work through it. Make yourself reach some sort of positive conclusion and outlook that allows you to move forward. Chances are, it may resurface down the road. Again, these things can take time. Be patient, and realize that this too shall pass. At the end of the day, your attitude still counts for everything and you still always have a choice to be happy again. 

[photo credit: mcshredalot]

For myself? There are a few issues I am currently working on, and I plan to work through them every day until I feel better instead of sweeping them back under the rug. I plan to write down a new way of thinking to embed it into my mind until I can come to peace with certain things. Because I know it works and I know that I can heal as I have already done so much of. I plan to push myself into that unreasonable happy state by practicing all the lessons I've learned and generally focussing on that Positive Mental Attitude, reminding myself of Who I Am, and repeating every day that life is beautiful and full of happiness. 

It has also pushed me to finally finish that "Happiness Guide" that I've been working on and the "Happiness Bootcamp" zine, because what better time than to be able to practice it on myself as a guinea pig? ;) 

I wish you all a blissful weekend and all the love and happiness in the world. Remember that we all fall, we can all be vulnerable, but we all within us contain the remarkable ability to heal, to move forwards, and to smile in the face of anything. 

Much Love! 

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{this moment}

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"There are no ordinary moments." ~Way of the Peaceful Warrior

{this moment} - a Friday ritual. A photo (few) capturing moments from the week. Simple, special, extraordinary moments. Moments I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

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[hotsprings/lunch date with my hubby]

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☺ I want to THRIVE not just SURVIVE! ☺

Life is about Happiness. It is about feeling Love for ourselves and everything around us. Sadly, most of us feel a lack of love and are not happy. You shouldn't be spending your life struggling or simply surviving. You should be THRIVING, Living life to the fullest, and experiencing the deepest levels of unreasonable happiness. 

Surviving is simply going through our days in and out in a mundane routine. This orderly fashion in which we stumble through the struggles, tripping over our own feet but continuing forth in a negative or lacklustre sort of mind-set. Our days are filled with pushing through work to get time off, to take weekends to buy material things in attempts to create happiness and to satisfy a bad mood, which means we have to work more and live less. Then we repeat this. Over and over. Our minds wander from the present moment as if it weren't even there, constantly worrying about the future, dwelling on the past, and trying to plan out our lives, placing Living always away on some distant horizon out of reach. 

It's time to wake up and realize that this simply isn't Living. If you're tired of feeling this way, of living this way, then I invite you to change your life, to change your attitude, and to change your destiny.  

ReLove Plan.et focusses a lot of time on our well-being, our state of happiness, of working through problems to live life openly and freely. This issue I want to talk about today is a habit, it's a way of living (or not living) that is so easy to fall into. We become perpetual zombies simply surviving. Sometimes barely. Why settle for this when you could be thriving? I want to motivate you today to Thrive and to get motivated to Be Happy. 

Thrive! 

Thriving is a state of being, and it does take practice. The good thing, however, is that you can start in any moment to Start thriving. Choosing to thrive will immediately set your Real Life into motion and begin the upward climb to this becoming a way of life and not just a daily practice. 

But let's start with daily practice. 

So, how does one thrive? 

The basic way in which to thrive is to catch yourself when you're feeling like a zombie, and to refocus your attention on feelings of joy and happiness and love. Thriving is about changing your attitude and realizing what's already in front of you. The truth is that reality is what you make it. You can choose to see the beauty all around you and Experience That, or you can choose to overlook it and continually see a boring, mundane life and Experience That. Your Choice. 

For the sake of this article, we're going to choose option one. ;) 

First, open your eyes. What do you see? Maybe you're surrounded by nature making this easy. In which case, appreciate all that nature does for you, for the life and beauty it so easily and readily provides. But perhaps you're somewhere less easy, like work. Maybe you're stuck in a tiny cubicle with man-made walls and computers and no windows. But maybe you have a photo of family or friends at your desk? If so, focus love and joy and appreciation onto that. Maybe you don't have a photo there or good relationships, for that matter, in your life. That's still okay, you can work with that. Make a paper airplane and throw it across the room. See if someone reciprocates. See, aren't we having fun already? Not so boring now is it? Maybe you're not allowed to have fun at work… well then you always have your handy imagination which brings me to the next step… 

Positive Affirmations. 

I wrote a full article on Positive Affirmations that I invite you to read. But, again for this article's sake… Positive Affirmations are words or phrases to repeat to yourself daily of what you want your life to be like and Who You Want to Be. This can be anything from motivating yourself to be happy, to being successful, or anything your heart desires. It doesn't have to be something that is technically "real" yet, but can be things you're working towards, but say them as if they Are Reality Now. Things like: "I am a Happy Person," "I love my life," "My life is Fun and full of Adventure!" Obviously, these Affirmations are to be Positive or we're missing the point. 

(Check out these Powerful Affirmations.) 

So, say you're stuck in that cubicle, what a perfect time to take a moment to repeat those affirmations in your head! The power of affirmations is amazing and can instantly lift you. The trick is to really Feel what you are saying, with conviction and joy. The more you say it, the more you'll believe it, and therefor the more it will be true. 

Enjoy Work/ Work Less

Thriving is more than your work. Life is beyond your work. This you Must understand. If you do not enjoy your work, however, do something about it. You Must do this. Must Must. You most likely spend far too much time at your job to waste that time Not Enjoying Life! So find ways to enjoy it. Make a new work friend. Make your work place full of joy and inspiration by sticking up motivational and inspiring photos that will give you joy. Repeat those Positive Affirmations. Take breaks to walk outside. Find joy in it! 

If you absolutely can't, then I suggest you find new work. Follow your passions and believe in yourself. Again, you spend entirely too much time at your job to not enjoy it. But you should start by finding joys in your work or you will most likely be unable to do so in any other job you find. Even if it's simply appreciating what that job does for you and your family, and that you even have a job and money coming in. Be Appreciative. Gratitude goes a long way. 

I also recommend you work less and fit in more time for play. Spend less money on material garbage you don't need so you have more time to actually Live and do the things you Enjoy. If you try to tell me (or yourself) that you can't work less because you Need the money, then I will tell you now that "Can't" is the first word you need to scrap from your language and start believing in yourself and life. Because anything is possible. Anything. 

Beyond Work

Let's go beyond work. Because life shouldn't be all about work.

Chances are the zombie in you follows you long after your hours are clocked in at your job. *Huff* life is so boring. So we continue our boring mundane routine. 

Guess what? It's up to you to make it fun. 

Maybe there are things that you Need to get done, like groceries. Make it fun! Prance around the grocery store like a happy unicorn. Yes, I said Unicorn. Meet a stranger. Discover new food. Take a friend and make it an adventure. Find ways to make it fun. And Decide that it's going to be fun. It may sound silly, but simply Deciding something is going to be fun before you even do it places you in a different mind set and opens you up to the possibilities of magical wonderful things happening. 

How about house chores? Boohoo, don't we all have house chores to do? Have fun with it! Crank up your favourite tunes and dance around and sing as you go about your chores. Or maybe you can repeat your affirmations again? On top of that, remember that cleaning is Cleansing, not only your home but for you as well. So don't forget to take out the trash. ;)

You Decide

The truth of life is this: Life is what You Make It! You You You! Your attitude shapes everything around you. If you don't enjoy your life, if you're constantly running on empty zombie mode then it's up to you to change that. Surround yourself with bliss and positivity and inspiration. Give yourself motivation and inspiration Every-Single-Day! Choose to get excited! Choose to THRIVE! Choose Choose Choose. The power is within you, that reality already exists, you just have to choose to start living it. 

Get yourself inspired and excited. That's what this blog is here for, to give you tips every motivational monday and give you bigger boosts with articles like this throughout the week. I encourage you to read inspiring books and blogs (there are many many out there) to keep up that motivation and to change your mindset. 

Just remember that you deserve and Can Thrive. No more just surviving. Time to Thrive Thrive Thrive! Because Life is about LIVING! 

If you enjoyed this article and feel motivated to change then hang tight, my "Happiness Guide" and "Happy BootCamp" zines are coming soon as well. ;) 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

{life reflections}

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{life reflections}

 Weekly thoughts and rambles. A glimpse into my mind and world. 

These are entries that I might jot down in my Happy Diary; what happens when we put our fingers to the keyboard and allow our thoughts to flow uninhibited. Reflections from the soul. 

Reflections of life.  

I hope to leave you inspired. 

If you want to share your own reflections of the week please leave a link to your "life reflections" entry in the comments for all to find and see.

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The sun is shining, the weather is warming up, and I've had a rather social week. Life feels good. 

It's interesting though, the ups and downs, the struggles, the rush of emotions, and the releases and surprises. Life is unpredictable, that is for sure. But it's a good thing. 

I'm trying to remind myself (and others) that life is a constant wave, but, no matter where you are, you can benefit from your position. Life puts you where you need to be in order to learn something, to increase your personal growth. It's just that we don't always see that, and when we fail to see that we tend to fall into negative habits and emotions and miss the lessons altogether. Then the spiral can happen which we get stuck in until we finally stand up and say "no!" But we can't walk away from what life is trying to teach us until we learn the lesson, otherwise we may feel as if we're getting ahead only to end up back in that same situation or place in life over and over again. It repeats until we can learn what we were meant to learn. Sometimes the lessons are concealed, sometimes they're subtle, and sometimes we really have to dig deep to get there, but the lesson is always there, one way or another. Or multiple ways. We can learn so much from a single experience or a single ordeal in our lives. Again, we just have to choose to see this. Life is all about attitude, or at least the state and condition of your Self within that life is all about attitude. It's a lesson that I still practice, that still takes work, and that can still be improved upon, but it is one solid message I remind myself of and carry with me at all times. It's the light switch that tells me everything is going to be alright, that I have a Choice in the way my life is going to be (in the future and, more importantly, in this very moment). It's all about my own attitude. I can choose to be Happy or I can choose to be sad. My choice. No one else's. Not life's circumstances or troubles can change that, attitude is up to me alone. And our lives then reflect whatever attitude we choose to pick up. That is why attitude is so important, why staying positive is so important, why reminding yourself to see the lessons and to smile in the face of troubles is so important. Why "I can't" or "that's impossible" are not words that should be in your vocabulary. Attitude will shape your life. 

I get it though, it's easy to get discouraged, especially if you feel stuck in one spot, in one lesson that you just can't get past. But discouragement and feeling frustrated are not beneficial emotions. It's important to remember that life is beautiful at all times when our eyes are open to it, and it's also important to remember that nothing is permanent. We can't get too attached to feeling down, but it's just as important not to get too attached to feeling too high either. Happiness is a state of being. We may experience extreme highs, but if we get attached to that high then we feel disappointed at the downward swings. Hold everything with passing release. Go with the flow. Everything in life changes, nothing is permanent. And there's beauty and comfort in that, again, if we so choose to see it. 

What am I trying to say? Life is beautiful! Your Attitude will make it so. Don't get discouraged ever ever. Stay Positive. And remember that life is a journey not a destination, so learn to enjoy the ride, to go with the flow, and to laugh and smile all day long. 

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☺ Photo-A-Day 30 Day Challenge! ☺

Tomorrow is the first day of february, and while I know there aren't 30 days in February I still thought this would be a fun idea to get rolling. I've seen a few of these before, and have admittedly "stolen" ideas from various ones that I liked and replaced others with things I felt were more upbeat or fitting or pushing on our creativity and imaginations. 

So! I introduce to you ReLove Planet.'s "Photo-A-Day" Challenge! :) 

I'll be taking part of course, and you can check out my photos in my instagram (username: reloveplanet) if you so desire. I would also love to see your photos, if you want to tag me or use the hashtags: #relovephotoaday

I challenge you to get creative with this, try new perspectives and ideas, try to see the world in the most positive light. That is really the point of me initiating this challenge, to open up your mind and get you looking at the positive or inspirational. I want your life to be full of beauty and new outlooks, so what better way to get you looking for beauty than with photography? Think outside the box, be as creative or uncreative as you like. There is no right or wrong! Have fun with it and get inspired and smiling! 

Can't wait to see your photos! :) 

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☺ Life Reminders ☺

Sometimes simple words are nice reminders to keep us on track and remind us to appreciate the beauty around us. So here are a few simple words today. :) 

[photo credit: Something Monumental]

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