Goodfinding Videos

Here’s a great video about kids on a baseball team placing compassion and love about competition in a very surprising way. Do yourself a favor and watch it now! Notice what happens in your heart when you see the true sportsmanship at work, and the best of the human spirit coming to the fore. If you’ve got about 16 minutes to enjoy a short film, check out this fun and funny feel-good video called, “Validation.” I like it so much that I put it on my home page for web visitors to enjoy. It points out how we all need and don’t get enough validation from the world around us. To be validated simply means to have someone acknowledge that you have value, and a place in the world. One of my favorite recording artists is Keb Mo, who actually has the heart and soul to write and sing lyrics like, “When you’re feelin’ like dust on an empty shelf, you’ve got to love yourself,” which you’ll find on this CD. Also watch this video in which he is joined by Bonnie Raitt in singing the amazing song, “Just Like You.” Even thought Keb Mo’s main genre is blues, you’ll find a lot of great feel-good music coming from this man!

Love The One You’re With

Well, you’ve probably noticed that wherever you go, there you are. You know how familiar is the saying, “You’re always your own worst enemy.” Think about how less familiar is the statement, “You’re always your own best friend.” Now I ask you, which is a better idea? Doesn’t it make more sense to take your best friend everywhere you go than your “worst enemy?” If you really want to love the one you’re with, you need to start with the one who is there all of the time! I know this is easier said than done, which is why I’m writing about it. Here are some things you can do to love yourself more:

• Do the “Head To Toe Appreciation” process on a regular basis (scroll down on the above page to see the article)
  
• Write a letter of admiration and respect to yourself as if you were your own best friend or a family member who has always loved you unconditionally
• Take a moment and look at all of the things you do everyday to improve yourself and your life, and all of the things you do that make the world better for others

The concept of the Inner Child came about partly because it’s easier for many of us to love a child than an adult. Check out these affirmations or this Nurturing Your Inner Child audio CD or download. Quietly, secretly, deep inside you know you are a good person with a good heart. Don’t tell anyone, but remember it all of the time.

The Science Of Happiness

I’m reading a great book entitled, Happiness: Unlocking The Mysteries Of Psychological Wealth, and I highly recommend it! The authors, Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener encourage us to embrace happiness “for its functions rather than its pleasantries.” Not the least of the functions of happiness is that challenges look easier when you are happy. You might see “getting happy” as a way of filling your tank for the next task at hand as you would fill your vehicle with fuel. In some of the research cited, the authors report that people estimating the height of a hill guessed it smaller if they were listening to Mozart (upbeat) than they did if they were listening to Mahler (despondent). The book is also very balanced, talking about the downside of “too much happiness” and the positive value of negative emotions. True to its title, however, the message of the entire book comes through strongly in the title of Part II, “Happy People Function Better.” This is what Goodfinding is all about, and it is very much in line with Financial Health Emotional Wealth!

The Art Of Savoring

Savoring is simply prolonging the goodness. You want the good in your life to grow, and what you pay attention to grows! Savoring is a matter of paying deep and long attention to the subtle nuances of each good thing in your life. Right now, you have millions of bodily functions that are working to keep you healthy, billions of brain cells working to make everything better, friends and family who love you exactly as you are, and conveniences that make your life interesting and fun. Savor each of these. Expand into that good feeling that comes from appreciating (adding value to) what is good, right and working right now. If you’re a parent, or just want to feel good, watch this one-minute movie that does an excellent job of communicating the value of savoring.

When you savor the good, you are connecting with the very best of who you are as a person, increasing brain activity, improving immune function and easing the stress on your heart (watch this video to learn more). And the whole world just got a little better, because you took a few seconds to savor the good in yourself and your world. Now you will return to the problem solving and task completion with a little inspiration, relaxation and perhaps enthusiasm that wasn’t there before. And thank that little problem-solver and trouble-finder for the years of dedicated service. That part of your mind is only trying to make your life better, and it’s not supposed to be the boss. That’s your job. So, as the inner leader of your own attention and focus, look at the big picture and find the good, and get inspired about the next best thing to do.