How to Be Happy - 7 Secrets For a Happy Life

We all want to be happy, but something always gets in the way. There is never enough time... or money. Somebody is always failing to do what they are "supposed" to do... or not do. Our boss, our spouse, our kids, our parents, our friends, government, big business, whoever... "They" aren't doing it right. "They" failed us. We are angry, and we have a right to be angry. But is that righteous anger making us happy?

Happiness is not something anyone else can give us... or take away from us. Happiness is what we make of our lives... or don't. Whatever our circumstances, we can create a joyful life... or a miserable life. It is up to us.

7 Secrets for a Happy Life

1. Self-Respect: If I don't love and respect myself, who will? It all starts right here with ME. If I think that I'm a pretty good person, it doesn't much matter what anyone else thinks. And the irony is that once I like myself, most everyone else will like me too. People enjoy being around people who speak well of themselves - not in an arrogant boastful way, but with honest self-appreciation.

2. Forgive Everyone for Everything: Angry and happy don't mix. Flush out the angry, and the happy has a place to put down roots. Until we forgive everyone for everything, we hold on to anger and resentment.

Once we forgive, we can become happy. Forgiving is not a gift to someone else - Forgiving is our gift to ourselves - a great gift - the gift of happiness.

3. Be Grateful for All of Life: Each of us has been infinitely blessed - beginning with the gift of life. Whatever may appear to be missing or broken on any particular day, our glass is not half full, it is 99.9% full. More practically, when we feel ungrateful, we become unhappy.

When we choose to feel and express our gratitude, the act of feeling and speaking our thanks creates a happiness within us. The more we express our gratitude, the more we have for which to be grateful. Today and every day, take time to celebrate life - whether an hour's meditation in a quiet natural space, or a brief moment's conscious pause to breathe deeply and celebrate gratitude for life.

4. Choose Happiness: Everything in life is a choice. There is never anything we ever "need" to do. Every action and thought is a choice and has consequences - pleasant or unpleasant.

Whether you go to work today, change jobs, smile at the bank teller, order fried fish, yell at your kids, complain about life, hold a daily celebration of gratitude for life - they are all choices. Happiness is a choice. Stay alert and make conscious choices for happiness.

5. Begin at the End: You can never reach your destination if you don't have a destination. Decide what accomplishments you want recorded on your tombstone. Take a whole quiet day to consider your life. Be very clear that your happiness does NOT depend on reaching your goal.

In fact, it's the reverse. Your happiness depends on accepting whatever life throws at you while you walk the path toward your goal. What is important for your happiness is having a goal, and working toward it.

6. Start Today: Whatever you want in life, start today. Not tomorrow - today. Let it be a small beginning - a tiny beginning. Your happiness depends on starting today - every day.

7. Life is NOT "Supposed to be Fair": Know that there is no single way that life is "supposed" to be. Demanding that life meet our expectations is a sure fire recipe for a miserable existence. Life is a game with no rules. Life just happens to us regardless of our best intentions.

Our only path to happiness lies in being open to receiving whatever life throws at us - with Gratitude. Have NO Expectations of life.

Jonathan Lockwood Huie has been dubbed "The Philosopher of Happiness" by those closest to him, in recognition of his his on-going commitment to seeing Joy in all of life. Jonathan's intention is to share his insights for Joyful Living with the widest possible audience.

How Did I Get This Way?

I wanted to break a cycle of abuse, selfishness, controlling behavior, pride, and arrogance/authority from my life. Which led me to think a lot about why people do the things they do and what's the right way to go. Those thoughts are what you read as postings now.

When my daughter was born, it became even more important to me to remove all the negative and hurtful behaviors from our life. I wanted better for her. I wanted her to walk in love and light, so to speak.

I'm not anything special. I'm a people - just like everybody. It just really mattered to me to end the cycle of pain and it's been a quest I've continued my whole life.

Where does love begin? Where does pain and hurt begin? Can a person be both loving and hurtful in the same space in their life? What motivates pain? What motivates hurting? How do we stop it? How do we make it right when we can't stop it?

While others around me were complaining about how dark an scary an unsafe the world was getting, I continue my personal quest to remove all that dark and scary from my own personal space.

What I've discovered is the lessons apply to everything. We all have the capacity to act each way. We all have the capacity to choose. We can refuse to accept responsibility for our choice and just say oh that's just me and I can't fix that in my life. Or we can face the ugly in each one of us and spend some time there and make it a priority - I want those gunkies out of here!!!

When my daughter was in high school I divorced and t was just her and I again. By then she was old enough to decide for herself, so i explained what I'd been working on my whole life.

The family I grew up in had some really bad behavior traits. But behaviors are learned and anything learned can be unlearned. I don't know if I can accomplish it in my life, but I want those bad traits to end so I'm working on overcoming them. You have fewer of them than I do. I hope your kids have even fewer in them. If we keep trying then one day our family line won't have any!!! We'd be free to live and love and be generous and kind without fearing and hiding all the time.

She liked the idea and said she wanted to work with me on it. She also agreed to continue the quest with her own kids when they come along.

We drew close have long philosophical discussions around why we react a certain way and where was it learned, how did we learn that? How do we fix that? How will she teach it to her kids? And bit by bit we challenged and changed and grew and overcame.

It's been 7 years since the divorce and our talk. We decided it was time to start the website and coaching company to see if anyone else could benefit from what we've come to know.

You don't have to have pain, selfishness, manipulation, abuse, controlling behavior, bad finances, rudeness, yelling, or any of those kinds of things in your life. And if you do, they don't have to hurt you. You can get through.

That's our legacy. We're giving while we continue growing because generosity should be part of everything, not just at the end of the journey.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Martino

Do You Know What Causes Bad Breath?

If you know about all the causes of bad breath, you can be proactive when practicing good oral hygiene. You can also make sure that you have good habits to keep down halitosis while promoting overall good health.

You Are What You Eat

This may surprise some, but the act of eating is the most common source of bad breath. Thank goodness there are measures you can take to help prevent and to lessen the possibility of getting bad breath, without having to give up eating. Certain foods like onions, spices, garlic, and different drinks like coffee are more likely to cause bad breath than others. Through the process of digestion, these items go into your blood system and are carried to your lungs. This in turn, can affect your breath because of their offensive odors. On the other hand, there are foods that have the reverse effect such as parsley and broccoli, which can actually help to neutralize bad breath.

Chew On This

Regardless of how well you keep tabs on your diet, just the process of chewing will stimulate the production of bacteria which carry odors as the food is being digested. Odor-carrying bacteria can also get caught in the tongue's grooves. Like with everything else, the best defense is a good offense, oral hygiene notwithstanding. Without good oral hygiene, these food particles will stay in your mouth and make matters worse. Besides causing bad breath, bacteria left in your mouth will turn into plaque, which will cause inflammation of the gums and form deep pockets between your gums and teeth called periodontitis, which will attract even more plaque and bacteria. Similarly, for those with partials or dentures which are not cleaned regularly or that do not fit right, can cause the same bad effects.

Other than the off-putting odor, both smoking and tobacco use are likely to lead to gum disease, and are associated with bad breath. Antibiotics and other medications can release chemicals that can come out in your breath as well as contribute to dry mouth, which is a condition where saliva production is reduced. Since salvia helps cleanse your mouth by removing bacteria, reduced saliva output at night is the cause of the dreaded "morning breath."

Chronic Bad Breath May Signal a More Serious Condition

If you have ruled out all of the above and you still have bad breath, it could be a signal of a more serious condition such as infections or wounds brought on by oral surgery, extraction, or another underlying illness. There are times when your sinuses, throat or nose become swollen, or even small stones which can form on the tonsils, all of which can cause a foul smell. Certain breath odors are also associated with problems of the glands, acid reflux, metabolic disorders and even diseases like cancer. Young children can sometimes get a foreign object such as a piece of food or a small toy lodged in the nose, which can result in bad breath.
If you have any doubts, it is always smart to discuss your questions with your local professional, who can usually rule out certain concerns and pinpoint the cause with a quick exam and simple consultation.

Dr. Caven and his team provide a wide range of cosmetic dental services to help your smile be healthy for a lifetime. With incredible advances in materials and techniques, the quality minded dental practice can produce astounding results.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Caven