Not-So Daily Happiness Tip #13: Hero Inspiration

Take time out today to honor someone selfless, great, or both by reading about them and taking a piece of them with you wherever you go.  You and others will be better--and happier--for it.

Not-So Daily Happiness Tip #12: A Positive Spin

Take a time-out and be positive on something you rather not be today.  Seeing the bad side, being negative may be easier, but you attract what you seek and put out.  So the question is, what would you rather attract?

Not-So Daily Happiness Tip #11: Freethought Day

Use this day to resurrect an old idea that was just too out there.  You liked it to begin with, then you talked yourself out of it.  What can you do with this thought today?  How can you free this thought?  (Want more information on this unofficial holiday?  Check out this page.)

Not-So Daily Happiness Tip #10: World Mental Health Day

Use this day to work on your health--your mental health, that is.  Check out mental health sections at sites like Science Daily or Yahoo News for the latest on mental health and for inspiration on ways to improve yours.  But don't just get inspired and informed, do!  Pick something from your favorite mental health news site and try it out today.  (For more information on this unofficial holiday, check out this link.)

Daily Happiness Tip #9: The Simple Life

So often in our lives, we are overworked and overscheduled.  Instead of multitasking, why not simplify some activities and do the activity for the activity's sake.  This way you unwind after the day's mental and emotional workout.  You can read an article to just read, not to learn.  You can play a game to just play the game, not to win or lose or advance in technique.  You can walk to just walk, not to lose calories.  Simplify your activities from time to time to regain some simple pleasures in your life.

Daily Happiness Tip #8: Stop and Sniff

Scents are linked to emotion and memory.  They can soothe or excite.  This dogs know well, often stopping in the middle of a walk to investigate a tantalizing smell.  So next time, follow your doggy's lead and stop and sniff--your candles, your spike rack, or whatever scent hits the spot.

Daily Happiness Tip #7: Thank You Cards

Did someone go out of their way to do something special for you recently?  Don't just say "Thank you"; show it through a card.  Not only will you feel better in doing so, you'll make them feel special--just the way they made you feel in the first place.  (Hint:  E-cards--i.e. online cards--are great for this.)

Daily Happiness Tip #6: Calendar Accomplishments

Calendars are great for schedule-keeping, but that is not generally a happiness-inducing activity.  Accomplishment is.  On your calendar write not just want you plan to do, but something you accomplished that day.  This way your past accomplishments inspire you toward greater ones in the future.

Daily Happiness Tip #5: Hand-Fed Happiness

A pet brings joy and stress-relief into its owner's life.  Why not reciprocate through a simple pampering activity that will make both of you happy:  hand-feed your pet.  This can be pieces of hard food from your pet's regular diet or treats; doesn't matter what precisely, but your pet will love the attention and shower its own attention on you in return.  A win-win situation.

Daily Happiness Tip #4: Be Spontaneous

Life seems to be ruled by schedules -- work tasks, household chores, family demands, and so on.  Today, break out of your schedule, even for five minutes, and do something you want to do but didn't plan on.  For a bonus?  Include the nearest family member or friend in your spontaneity.

Daily Happiness Tip #3: Renew a Friendship

In Tip #2, I suggested chatting up someone new.  Here is a twist.  Renew an old relationship.  Take the time and call someone who has fallen off the radar.  Call the friend you barely see or the relative you only speak to at family events and emergencies.  The groundwork has all ready been laid.  It just needs a little work to spark up the relationship anew.

Daily Happiness Tip #2: Chat Up Someone New

Talking helps.  But talking with new people gives you new perspectives, new ideas, and new conversation.  Try chatting up someone new--a stranger in line with you, a classmate, someone sitting next to you at the hairdresser's--to inject some fresh conversation and insights into your life.

Daily Happiness Tip #1: Ditch the Negatives

A recent study shows that hearing words that describe pain activated the areas of the brain that process pain.  So, using negative words make you feel more negative, and in process, you end up hurting yourself more.  Spare yourself the pain:  ditch the negatives and pick the positive instead.

Source:  WebMD Health News - Words Really Do Hurt - by Jennifer Warner