Yeast

I want to tell you about yeast.

Yes, yeast.

Yeast are single-celled organism, a fungus, and more important than you might ever guess.

It is because of yeast that we have bread, beer and wine.

If a single-celled fungus is capable of creating such an important change in its surroundings, what is possible for a complicated organism like you?

X-ray

I saw a clip of Jennifer Lawrence telling the world that seeing her chest on an X-ray showed her that her breasts are uneven.

Jennifer Lawrence has uneven breasts.

I guess we're all just people, aren't we? Imperfect, uneven, flawed people. So what's stopping you?

Wait

Wait a moment.

Before you get mad about something, wait a moment.

Before you react, wait a moment.

Give yourself a chance to let the anger fade before you act on it.

Before you whine, wait a moment.

Before you criticize, wait a moment.

In only a few seconds, the urge may pass and you might see that it wasn't worth the effort you were about to expend on it.

Wait.

Vision

An important key to happiness is in learning to see things from the right perspective.

Learn to view the dishes in the sink as evidence of your abundant food. The hamper full of laundry as proof that you have plenty of warm clothes. When your two-year-old throws a tantrum loud enough to tilt the earth on its axis, deal with it, sure. But also be happy that your child is healthy enough to scream like that.

It's all in how you look at it.

Unwind

What do you do when you get home from work or shopping or taking the kids to school, or whatever else it might be that makes your day busy?

Yeah, I can just see it. You fling your bag into a chair, grab out your cell phone and call someone. Then you talk while you rush around trying to get dinner on the table, to bring a semblance of order to the room you're in, help a child or six with homework and keep the dog from barfing on the carpet.

What would happen if you tried this, instead:

Leave your cell phone alone. Leave the TV off. Sit down for five minutes, just five little minutes, and notice your own breathing.

The dishes, dinner, homework, whining kids, cell phone and dog barf will all still be there in a few minutes. Just give yourself five little minutes to breathe.

Talk

Talk nice. To yourself.

If you wouldn't say something to another person, don't let it be part of your internal lecture series.
Would you walk up to me and say, "Trish, you have really got some thunder thighs going there."?

Of course not. So don't say it to you, either.

See What You Want

You will see what you look for.

Unhappy in your job? Look for things to like in it.
Irritated with your spouse? Watch for the qualities you love about them.
Annoyed with your children? Notice their good points.