“Remember to pay attention to the ways in which other people tell you, ‘I love you.’  You might be surprised how often you see it.”

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Jennifer Snelling

Corita Kent said, “Life is a succession of moments – to live each one is to succeed.”  Happy, sad, angry moments … each seem to fill the day as we meet with good news, bad news, and simple frustrations.

There’s an old piece of advice that says you should smile when you’re sad, and the simple act of smiling will automatically turn your day around.  Another philosophy known in many circles of society is that you can make yourself happy by making others happy.

Here are some simple and effective ideas for maintaining happiness in your life by giving happiness to others: Read More »

“Gratitude is not only an attitude. Gratitude is also a choice.”

Editor’s Note: Make the Days Count is republishing its top 10 articles for the benefit of new readers.  This article was first run on November 17, 2008. Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Marie Monroe

Let’s begin with an acknowledgment of the human brain – that powerful bio-computer that does all those wonderful things so well.  It is in there that I want to say gratitude works its magic.

How?  I’ll have to leave that to those who understand neurochemistry, but I can make some guesses with my intuitive understanding and a few facts about how the brain works at other times.   

As I considered gratitude, I found myself thinking about other things, things we deem pathological even. Things that occur in the brain like seizures and bipolar disorder.  An odd and circuitous route to the subject of gratitude, but one that makes some sense to me. Let me explain.  In seizure disorders, a phenomenon called “kindling” can occur in which the brain ‘learns’ to have seizures more quickly and more efficiently.  A similar thing can happen to the brain in bipolar disorder.  The brain ‘learns’ to have manic episodes more quickly and more efficiently as well.  Not such a good thing if you suffer from these maladies, but an interesting schema for other events in the brain.  Perhaps we can kindle all sorts of other things. Perhaps this is one of the basic ways in which the brain learns anything? Read More »

“If we stop and shift our thinking for

a moment, we can build a platform to stand on in this sometimes crazy world.”

Editor’s Note: Make the Days Count is republishing its top 10 articles for the benefit of new readers.  This article was first run on November 21, 2008. Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

Stop.  Take a moment wherever you are and listen.  Close your eyes.  Let yourself be quiet.  What can you hear?  What have you been missing amidst all the daily hustle and bustle that weʼve all fallen into?  Now, take a deep breath.  Draw it in like a cool drink of water.  Let it out slowly with intentional delight.  The next breath is yours as well.

I want to ask you something.  You will need a pen and some paper.  I want to know . . . Read More »

Editor’s Note: Make the Days Count is republishing its top 10 articles for the benefit of new readers.  This article was first run on November 15, 2008.  Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

The alarm goes off.  Quickly, you slam the snooze just praying for five more minutes.  And, you get them but feel even worse after the alarm rings again. You get up, already feeling the dread seeping in.  It’s not waking up that’s the problem, it’s facing whatever it is that makes you feel “just not right.”

So, what is it?  Your relationships?  The pain in your body?  The boss that dries up your heart the moment you walk in the door?  Is it the daycare that you just don’t feel right about or those five pounds you were going to lose?  Maybe, it’s your finances?  Whatever it is, you just wish the feeling would go away. You try everything to make it disappear. You explain away your fears, making excuses for things that just “aren’t right.”  Or, you just ignore them. Read More »

Editor’s Note: Make the Days Count is republishing its top 10 articles for the benefit of new readers.  This article was first run on November 22, 2008.

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

“I am worthy and deserving of a good life.”

“I am responsible for my life.”

“I am responsible for my own spiritual growth.”

Each of these are affirmative statements, or affirmations.  Affirmations can be about health, love, respect, God … anything that you want to affirm within yourself.  They send powerful messages deep into our minds.  Written purposefully and said regularly, these statements penetrate levels of our psyche that typically seem to be out of reach, operating beyond our conscious control. Read More »