Did you know that building on your strengths will improve your happiness?

Research shows that character strengths can be used to address life’s challenges and achieve positive outcomes with both personal and professional goals.

Dr. Christopher Peterson (one of the co-founders of Positive Psychology with Marty Seligman) said “Positive Psychology is about helping people move “north of neutral” and enhancing the positive aspects of their lives”. 

Knowing your character strengths will help you boost your self-confidence, reduce stress, improve relationships, help you solve problems and be happier. 

So it's TIME… for YOU find out what is right …with YOU!

Go to viacharacter.org and take the quick, free survey to find out your character strengths. 

Those positive parts of your personality impact how you think, feel and behave and are the keys to you being your best self. 

Then post your strengths on our Facebook page so...

Learn how others have overcome failure…

You’ll be amazed by how many people who are now household names failed very publicly over and over before achieving success.  If you need a boost and a positive reminder of what you’re capable of, tune in and watch this Happy Huddle!

PS.  Join a like-minded group weekly to learn how to be happier by the minute!

Join here for FREE!

You want good energy and you know what clutter is bad energy. So you want to move it because you want to make space for good energy to come in and out there.

A financial cost to clutter. How many times do you find something or you don't find something or you find it late and it's past-due bill, or you have to read your first register for something and now there's a late fee because you couldn't find it.

It is really likely that if you're unorganized in your home, you're probably unorganized in your finances.

My husband does financial coaching for really, really cheap cost he just does it for fun. And so if you want somebody who can help you with your finances and you don't want to spend a lot of money because you don't think you have a lot of money, but by the way, that's all energy and thought process.

He's going to help you create more abundance in your life. But just a little shout out from my husband because it is so important. Be organized with your finances. If your finances...

I think it's time to stop being paranoid about racing the most perfect children and start becoming Conscious Parents. It is not a discipline strategy... it is a philosophy. It's much more of being present, knowing your child and knowing who your child is.

You want your child to be resilient, loved, kind, lives his passion, knows himself, financially secure, joyful, independent, honest, communicate well, a problem solver, responsible, capable, tenacious, can handle challenges and failures. Those things won’t happen if you do their homework for them and they don’t necessarily happen only in the best schools.

Here are some quick tips about being a Conscious Parent (by Dr. Shefali Tsabary)

Let go of superiority.

Be present.

Connect before you correct.

Match expectations to their developmental level.

Allow them to mess up and don't shame them.

Patience during misbehavior.

Honor their feelings.

Work on your monkey mind.

Ask, "What is it about me that caused this...

There’s a new set of 3Rs for our kids: respect, responsibility, and resilience to better prepare them for life in the real world.

Once developed, these skills let kids take charge, and let parents step back, to the benefit of all. Casting hover mothers and helicopter parents aside, Vicki Hoefle encourages a different, counter-intuitive yet much more effective approach: for parents to sit on their hands, stay on the sidelines, even if duct tape is required, so that the kids step up.

Duct Tape Parenting gives parents a new perspective on what it means to be effective, engaged parents and to enable kids to develop confidence through solving their own problems. This is not a book about the parenting strategy of the day what the author calls Post-It-Note Parenting but rather a relationship-based guide to span all ages and stages of development.

Witty, straight-shooting Hoefle addresses frustrated parents everywhere who are ready to raise confident, capable children to go...

And the final part- # 4 of the ABCs of Happiness is D. 

D) all of the above

There are over 90 thousand books about Happiness on Amazon right now and I have just broken most of that information down into 3 easy steps. Trust me, I don't watch any TV, listen to any radio, read any fiction or read any blogs. 

You’d be proud.  All I do- outside of my family and work my day job- is study positive psychology so I can help deliver it to you.

And what I know- more than the data- is that you have to actually DO the data. 

So D is DO IT.

Oh yah-D is the difference between those that are and those that just want to be happier. And I know because I have been both. And happier is better. But You have to do A, B and C.

It takes practice. It’s exhausting. But- … you’ll be happier for it. 

Let me know if you need help.

Now you know. What will you do?

See you in a minute,

The 3rd super easy tip to being happier - which I promise is totally worthy of slowing your roll through a marathon of swiping is C. 

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS - Yes friends if you don't know it by now, gratitude IS the holy grail of happiness. Not just a muffled “thanks” as someone opens the door for you- but sincere, deep, mindful appreciation for all the blessings you have in your life - from shoes to food to people to work to safely traveling around today. 

The research is overwhelming but you have to do more than post, pin, share or hashtag it. You have to live it. You have to feel it. You have to make an effort to notice your blessings as often as you can throughout the day (not year).

Don’t have the time to journal in a book or an app? Just simply think of as many as you can-  in as much detail as possible-  as soon as you wake up and right before you go to bed.

No excuses.

It works.

Now you know, what will you do?

Don’t forget to...

The second tip- oh wait, if you first the one- back up 1 and “see A” because- even though they don't need to be in order, you do need to know them all. 

Back to B : BE KIND to yourself and people around you. Not hard. It’s so crazy that this has to even be said - but we also know (from my other videos about happiness research) we have a tendency towards the negative because of evolution. But let’s not waste time on excuses (cuz I only have 1 minute here). There’s no blame or judgment. Let’s just all try this, please.

Be Kind! Today (aaand by today, I mean every day) and you will definitely improve your happiness and the happiness of those around you.

Part C- the holy grail of happiness- is coming next.

Now you know, what will you do?

Don’t forget to FORWARD to a friend, family member, co-worker, hairdresser, random person in address book who you don't remember…everyone wants to be happier.
THANK YOU!!!

See you in a minute,

I know-  you are busy - and that there are a million other posts vying for your attention right now…. cute cat videos, share-worthy quotes in beautiful calligraphy, what your sister just made for dinner and friends with bumblebee antennas on their heads— but, swiper stop swiping for just one minute. 

Because I also know you want to be happier.  

So here are the basics that take a mere few minutes a day- that are proven to increase your happiness- broken down into A, B, C and D for extra credit.

A is  AWARENESS:

Simply just become aware of your negativity: internally and externally. How’s it working for you? If it isn’t -then change it. Lots of ways to do it. I offer some on other free videos and resources at happierbytheminute.com but there are 100s of other ways. Google them.

Stay tuned for B…It’s so simple and effective.

Now you know what will you do?

Don’t forget to FORWARD to a friend, family member,...

Do you know how to practice self-compassion?

Research shows that the more we practice being kind and compassionate with ourselves, the more we’ll increase the habit of self-compassion.  And that my friends will increase your ability to be happier. Here are some tips from Dr. Kristin Neff, leading expert on self-compassion on how to practice it.

Ask yourself “how would you treat a friend who was going through this situation”
Talk yourself through it with acceptance. “This hurts. Pain is part of life and I am not alone with this feeling. #the struggle IS real
Repeat one or all of the following phrases 

May I be kind to myself.
May I give myself the compassion that I need
May I learn to accept myself as I am
May I forgive myself
May I be strong
May I be patient
3. Keep a journal to process the difficult events of your day through a lens of self-compassion. It can enhance both mental and physical well-being.

For more exercises that will help you practice...