What is Happiness?

Adriana Happiness, Mental Health, Positive Attitude October 15, 2024October 16, 2024be happy, happiness, happy

Happiness means different things to different people. Happiness to some means success. To others it has more to do with looks, height or achievements in life.

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being, often defined as “living a good life”. Happiness can also be described as being at peace with oneself… being at one with who we are.

How to be happy

When you are feeling unhappy you have one of two choices .. to stay in that frame of mind or to change your thoughts and your thinking. We all have the capacity to choose to feel differently or to stay in that negative, self destructing state. Remember, no-one can make you feel unhappy. It is your choice to be this way and to stay there. We have choices in every situation. We all have choices.

Our thoughts are what define us, our thinking, both good and bad. In one day our thoughts can vary depending on what we have to do or what we don’t get done, who does or doesn’t talk to us. How we start the day often determines our mood for the day.

We need to look at the reasons why people become unhappy. It is because they allow people, situations, events and things to influence their thinking. To change your thinking can be confronting and challenging. We have a new opportunity every day to wake up and look afresh at life through new thinking. To change your frame of mind, use some self talk. Tell yourself you are a changed person and others will not change or influence your thinking because you have decided to be happy.

The Power of Positivity

Positivity is a powerful strength in any given situation. Smile more, be friendly and be interesting to be around. Ignore comments that are not positive. Look happy, smile and stay happy.

Have a happy attitude to life. You will be surprised how much your demeanor will change others’ behaviour. Whenever a situation arises, realize that you have a choice and become the person you want to be. It is possible to change your situation and if necessary, to change your friends.

Chris Sheldon
Diploma Graduate, Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC)

We need three elements in our lives to make us happy.

Managing Personal Debt

Adriana Debt, Happiness, Success, Wealth August 26, 2024August 27, 2024Debt

by Chris Sheldon

Do you have your credit card under control?

Having a Credit card can often lead to racking up huge amounts of debt, well beyond your capacity to repay within the month required by most credit cards.

The holiday season, Christmas time, can be a particularly dangerous time for over-spending. “After pay”, credit cards, tap and go, all are fraught with problems for all of us. Using these easy-pay systems feels so easy and we think we can pay these items off at the end of the month. But the end of the month comes around quickly and we have forgotten about all the other items we also have bought, with absolutely no thought to keeping track of our spending.

Retail stores make it so easy for us to part with our money. We can pay the furniture or TV item off in two years’ time, but that time also comes around very quickly and huge fees can start applying, with no chance of paying it off quickly because in the meantime we have bought several large items, also on the pay-later scheme.

It’s such a trap for us all. Retailers just want our money whether we can afford it or not. We often know at the time of purchase that we won’t be able to pay these items off, but the desire for the product outweighs affordability. We just don’t realise how quickly debt can grow and often these items are things we don’t really need or could put off until we have the cash.

Many of us have been down this path of over-spending and built up credit card debt that has gotten out of control. If you cannot pay back your credit card debt each month, then you have a problem. If you are spending more than you earn, your debt will escalate.

The Solution to over-spending

The answer is simply to BUDGET. We all must learn the skill of budgeting properly, writing a list of the things we spend on each month.

The first step is to open an account for a DEBIT CARD.

We live in an age where things are changing very quickly and we want everything now. We don’t want to wait… we want all things bright and beautiful that we see every day. We want the brand-new car, and a lovely house to show off to our friends, along with the latest new furniture, of course. This can look very impressive to others but deep down we know that being up to your neck in debt can cause stress, leading to some long-term health issues. Our neighbours, friends and family may also be suffering from a similar debt crisis. Living well beyond our means is a major problem. From the outside, it looks like we earn a great wage and manage our debts. Some of us might be paying off the debt each month, but it is a huge issue for most people. Banks or finance companies lend money so easily and retail stores have sales all the time and we are tempted to buy the latest and greatest. We live with an ”I WANT IT NOW” age.

Why Budget?

The top 4 things that most people want when they retire are …

+ To be debt free, their house fully paid off and to have a nice car
+ To be comfortably retired with enough money to enjoy a great lifestyle, being able to make lots of choices for themselves
+ To be able to travel frequently in their own country or overseas.
+ To be able to help their children financially.

This all sounds so familiar and to many so very unachievable, but by changing our ingrained spending habits, it can become achievable.

For a lot of us, most of our money each week is going out as soon as we get it, having to pay for all these items …

The loans for the cars,
Credit card repayments for the things we can’t afford right now
A 25 to 30-year loan for the new home, paying interest to the bank at a
much higher rate than we are earning on our savings account.

Over spending creates so many issues. We struggle to live in balance, causing much unnecessary worry and anxiety for ourselves.

Borrowing more is not the answer, as the cycle starts all over again.

Leakage and wastage

We need to look at where exactly is the leakage or wastage happening. The money that is going on STUFF we really don’t need or can do without. The one item that give us no pleasure and we don’t feel happy about is CREDIT CARD INTEREST. And this is one of the biggest causes of leakage. If you are still paying for the holiday you have not long taken, you obviously could not afford it in the first place. If you keep putting items on the credit card and you never pay it off, just keep paying the monthly fee, your debt compounds.

Sound familiar? If so, you need to take a good look at the monthly interest that you pay on each credit card or any other items you are paying off. To seriously address this leakage or wastage, you may need to take out a loan for paying off all the items you have listed and reduce your credit card limit and only use your credit for emergencies or services charges only. Then, take out a debit card where you put in each week an amount you can afford for food, petrol and essentials each week, to get your spending back in check.

Tip: look around your house and yard and see what items you could sell that you are tired of that could bring in money to help reduce debt.

Credit card debt consolidation

To be continued [OTHER AREAS OF WASTAGE]

Gut Health

Adriana Diet, Happiness, Health, Mental Health, Nutrition May 1, 2024May 2, 2024health, weight control, wellbeing

How is your gut feeling?

Our inner microbiome (gut) affects our total wellbeing, from hunger pangs to chronic illnesses, stress and sadness.

It is now well known that gut health is crucial to our overall wellbeing. It is also connected to everything that happens in our bodies. The trillions of bacteria that live in our gut affect our health, our mood and our weight. In a way these microbes work together to form what can be regarded as an extra internal organ and play a huge role in our health.

“Your gut is the centre of your being – it digests and assimilates nutrients from the food you eat”, says wellness expert Robyn Youkilis

Health and Happiness

Most of your immune system actually resides in your gut and the gut plays an important role in your mood. Robyn had discovered in her practice as a health coach, that healing the gut resolved many of her clients’ health issues, even the most stubborn.

Poor gut health can lead to digestive issues, such as abdominal pain, bloating, reflux and flatulence and other complaints. including fatigue, joint pain, headaches and even skin problems. Robyn says depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability and poor concentration are now also being linked to the gut’s microbiome. Other more serious illnesses and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even cancer have been linked to an imbalanced microbiome .

Mental connection

The gut has also even been referred to as a “second brain” because it contains millions of neurones which are sensitive to emotion. Our brain and our gut are, in fact, connected by an extensive network of neurones, chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback to and from the brain. These signals carry information about how hungry we are, stress, sadness or even anger. Have you ever felt a sinking feeling in your gut when something happens that you were dreading? That’s the brain – gut connection in action. The emotion is triggering a reaction in your gut.

The connection can be a two-way street as tummy troubles will impact on our mood and happiness. Serotonin is responsible for good mood and it is estimated that 90% of your serotonin is made in your digestive track and reduction of this important chemical is reliant on healthy gut bacteria.

Weight Control

Research suggests that gut bacteria can alter the way that our bodies store fat as well as our response to hormones, making us feel hungry or full. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not what you eat, or the number of calories you consume, that’s important, but how your body is using what you eat. You might be eating nutritious whole foods most of the time, but still feel foggy, uninspired and generally less than your sparkling best. This is probably because your gut is not in good shape… not properly absorbing all the vitamins and nutrients from your food.

This means that your cells don’t have the fuel they need to carry out their role in absorbing and assimilating nutrients from your food.

Sources of gut-friendly nutrients…

Sauerkraut (fermented food)

Spinach

Lettuce

Silver beet

Collards

Mustard greens

Kimchi

Healthline

Read more about maintaining good health

A Mothers Day Reflection

Adriana Family, Happiness, Mothers Day April 15, 2023June 22, 2023mothers day

Each year, we celebrate Mother’s Day, a day set aside to celebrate the women in our lives who have special meaning to us… the women who have played a significant role in our upbringing, who have loved us dearly, guided us and with whom we feel a very special connection. These women may be our own dear mother, a grandmother, an aunt or big sister motherly figure, or a carer, all of whom have guided us and helped us to grow.

Mother’s Day is also a special day to acknowledge all women who have experienced different or difficult circumstances in life… those who no longer have their mothers, those who have lost their children through different circumstances and are not able to hold or cradle them in their arms. We also think of women who dearly desire motherhood but are unable to have children yet. Mother’s Day can, for so many, be a very sad reminder of a loved mother who is no longer with them.

It’s a day to remember with gratitude all the times these women have been a source of strength and guidance and have been there for support when we have needed it… providing us with values to live by and resilience to bounce back when things get difficult.

Motherhood can be difficult and challenging at times. There can be lots to laugh about and lots of tears and sorrow. We need to be grateful to all mothers everywhere who have come to the aid of others with encouragement, empowerment and strength of character and who have influenced other women, throughout history.

Mother’s Day is a great day to embrace all mothers everywhere, and to encourage all women to be the very best that they can be.

Dream BIG

Adriana Happiness, Success, Wealth February 5, 2023July 7, 2023Dream Big

You need to dream BIG to achieve BIG.

Most people spend their time, energy and resources.in life doing anything but their hearts’ desire. A lot of people talk about what they are going to do one day but never really focus on their dreams and what they really want.

Some people waste their time and their lives on frivolous things, trying to get from A to B to C but they often don’t have a purpose or a long-term outcome… where they would like to be in the future.

Some work towards bringing them about.

Why dream big…

Vision and Motivation:

Dreaming big helps you create a compelling vision for your life or career. It gives you a sense of purpose and direction, motivating you to work towards achieving your goals. When you have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, it becomes easier to stay focused, overcome obstacles, and persist through challenges.

Stretching Your Limits:

When you dream big, you set ambitious goals that push you outside of your comfort zone. This encourages personal and professional growth, as you need to acquire new skills, expand your knowledge, and develop a mindset of continuous improvement. By reaching for the stars, you’re more likely to achieve significant accomplishments that can propel you forward.

Creating Opportunities:

Dreaming big opens your mind to possibilities and opportunities that you may not have considered otherwise. It allows you to think beyond current limitations and explore innovative solutions to problems. By having audacious dreams, you’re more likely to discover new paths, forge unconventional connections, and seize opportunities that can lead to success.

Overcoming Failure:

Dreaming big prepares you to face failure and setbacks along the way. In the pursuit of ambitious goals, it’s common to encounter obstacles and experience setbacks. However, dreaming big helps you develop resilience and a positive mindset that allows you to learn from failures, adapt, and keep moving forward. It enables you to see failures as valuable learning experiences rather than roadblocks.

Inspiring Others:

When you dream big and actively pursue your goals, you become an inspiration to others. Your passion, drive, and determination can influence and motivate those around you. By setting an example and sharing your journey, you can inspire others to dream big, believe in their potential, and strive for success themselves.

While dreaming big is essential, it’s important to complement it with strategic planning, consistent action, and adaptability. Dreams alone won’t guarantee success—you need to back them up with concrete steps, perseverance, and a willingness to adjust your approach when necessary.

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
Christopher Reeve