1. Create Positive Thoughts: Since you are already on your computer let’s use it for something good. To start, right before you got to bed, google a word that inspires positive feelings and spend about 5 – 10 minutes scrolling through the many images that resulted in your search. Let those be the final thoughts and images you have before you go to sleep. Allow the images to settle in your subconscious overnight and you will wake up feeling calmer and a little more positive. The results vary from person to person. When I first started I woke up the next day feeling optimistic and positive so I did the exercise the next day and so forth. It got to the point where my roommate asked me what I was doing, because a couple days before I was really low and then all of a sudden my attitude, words and behaviours were action oriented and positive. Here are a few good words to get you started; Positivity, Happiness, Self-love etc. (go ahead and use words that resonate with you)

2. Affirmations: If there is one exercise that I would say is an absolute MUST in this whole list, it would be the affirmations. Affirmations are a series of statements that are created to rewire the way that one speaks to themselves. This is the most challenging exercise because for some reason we only hear the negative comments of others believing them over the positive ones. We are our biggest critics so why can’t we be our biggest cheerleaders as well? Here are two sites that I use for my positive affirmations: healyourlife.com/dailyaffirmations & www.drstandley.com/guidance_happiness.shtml

 “Today, I abandon my old habits and take up new, more positive ones.”

3. Visualize your future with a vision board: Feeling low? Daydream about the better life, really see it, what would your perfect life look like? Don’t worry about the problems only focus on the “What if”. In this exercise ANYTHING is possible. Grab a magazine and start tearing out pictures, quotes, articles that are a reflection of your perfect life and glue the images on a large piece of construction paper. You can have a Vision board for one specific vision or for all areas of your life, this is your life, you design it to be what you want. Be as accurate as possible, right down to the color of your favourite make and model of the car. I did this exercise before I started my own business and I put me working on a computer at home, surrounded by brand name logos and shopping bags, a year later I had started my own business and my office was in the one of the largest shopping malls in the city above the section where the high end stores were, coincidentally the same ones as on my vision board.** I know you computer savvy people will want to use Pinterest, go for it, but preferably print out the pictures you like and make a physical board. You want to put it in a place where you will see it every day. **

4. Make friends with people that inspire you: There is always that one person at your parties or get togethers that seems to have what you want or their stories inspire you to try something new. Find those people and tell them that they inspired you and how. Chances are you have done the same for them. This exercise creates the circle of gratitude and the more you show gratitude more of it shows up in your life. You can do this exercise with an acquaintance too, after telling them they have inspired you, ask them out for a coffee and ask to hear their story.

5. Gratitude Log: Being grateful is extremely powerful, the more you show appreciation for something the more it shows up in your life. This is the easiest of all the steps but the hardest for people to adopt. For some reason our natural instinct is to complain about everything that has or is going wrong in our lives, to focus on what we do not have instead of what we do. Don’t wait for something big to happen in your life to find gratitude, start today. There is always ONE thing to be grateful for, it could be your favorite song playing on the radio at the right moment, your pet, something someone said to you. There was a gratitude movement this summer and it challenged people to post 5 things they were grateful for on Facebook for 30 days. I will make it easier, find a friend to do this exercise with and both of you must text, email or call each other daily the 5 things you are grateful for over a period of 2 weeks.

6. Go for a walk: Feeling stuck, lost or restless? Get up and go for a walk. It is best to go into a park or somewhere where there is lots of nature. Walking helps clear your head and gets your heart rate up, no matter what, you will feel better and ready to do what you need to do.
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8. Create your “happy” playlist: Music is the cure for everything! To start go through your music library and create a playlist of all the songs that lift your spirits. It can be the words or the beat. Whatever you find helps change your mood. My playlist is called Courage and the first song I added was “Just Stand up” a collaboration of multiple female singers for the Just Stand up to Cancer Concert. There is no formula for this playlist, it has to come from within you, and the songs that you pick have to resonate and inspire you. Mine has songs in several languages, different messages, beats and styles. Some are just to get me dancing, which naturally changes my mood.
9. Learn something new every day: Challenge yourself, keep your brain active and engaged. It is as simple as learning what your favorite flower is, a new fashion trend, watching the latest Youtube video, a new recipe, a hair do or a downloading a new app. Anything, because when you have that sense of accomplishment you feel better about yourself and that resonates in all aspects of your life.
10. Document your accomplishments: Celebrate what you have done instead of crying over the never ending to do list. This exercise can be as easy as getting out of bed an hour earlier than yesterday, picking the kids up from school. The idea behind this is to recognize what you are accomplishing and it will build your self-esteem, mood and energy to the point where you will naturally add the bigger things to the list. Also, it helps you realize how much you do get accomplished in a day vs what you need to get done tomorrow. Live in the moment and celebrate your successes.
11. You time: Take 10 – 30 minutes a day to do one activity that you absolutely love, one activity that takes you into your own world and makes you smile. It can be reading a book, getting your nails done, a bubble bath or painting. Break away from everyone else and your day, to do a little “you time”, you will be surprised at how that re- energizes you and lifts your spirits.
12. Develop something you love: – you can tie this in with your “you time”, or the “learn something new every day”, it is important to set goals and develop a new skill, a project you can look back on and feel that sense of accomplishment.

The point of this exercise is to learn how to lift yourself up, because we all know there are more than enough critics out there that think they know what is best for you. Remember, they are talking from their own experiences and limitations. The majority of these people are too afraid to live the life they want and are living the life they think they should be living out of fear of what others think. Ask yourself, is that what you want your life story to be? I know I don’t.

“Your life, your choices, your mistakes”

At least you can say you tried

Vandana Bharti, President

The Katz Meow Marketing

250 Yonge St. Suite 2201

                                                       Toronto, ON Agile Offices

“Finding new and innovative ways to engage consumers