Self-Help Happiness Blog

This is not a new theme, the importance of sleep for happiness.  A well rested person thinks more clearly and is much less likely to react sharply at the slightest provocation.  A sleep-deprived person feels more stress and is less effective in everything he does.  There is a superb article with tips for getting a better night’s sleep.

Among the sensible tips:

• Avoid a nightcap - alcohol impairs sleep
• Don’t bring a TV to bed - for goodness sakes, is there no escaping that thing?!
• Go to bed earlier
• Don’t argue just before bed - stress makes for less “productive” sleeping

Good night. 

I am a big fan making the jump.  Too many people stay in the “comfort zone” of a job they hate, wishing they could just get out.  Well, surprise - they can!

I left a job that I liked, but which had some very compelling aspects that I did not like.  As the public spokesperson for CAA Ontario, I needed to be available nearly 24-7 for the media, which among other things meant staying in my 800 square-foot downtown Toronto condo.  That’s not a lot of space for me, my wife, my office and our new baby.

So we made a lifestyle choice to move to the country, which meant quitting that job and making it on our own.  Neither my wife nor I had an ounce of entrepreneurial blood in our veins, but we made that jump.  I called many people I had worked with while in Toronto, and several of them were in awe, saying, “I wish I could leave my job.”

You can.  You just have to decide you want it enough. 

Here is a great blog post on the top 10 excuses why people stay in jobs they don’t like: 

http://positivesharing.com/2008/04/top-10-bad-excuses-for-staying-in-a-bad-job/

What do you think of those slick posters and coffee mugs with motivational messages on them? Good tools? Too commercial?

What about spirit bottles, filled with nothing but air and a small paper with a simple sentiment, such as “love deeply” or “hang in there”? They are less slick, more down-to-earth and less inspiring perhaps. There is a debate on this over at this self confidence blog.

I have a better suggestion. The best motivational message is the one you write to yourself. I am not saying you can’t buy motivation - every sports team, every movie set, every major company knows you can. But outsourcing your motivational messages is not as effective as writing yourself a personal note and placing it where it is most relevant. Depending on the note, that might be in your car, beside your bathroom mirror or even in your toolshed.

No need to spend $20 on a slick motivational message laser targeted to just you and 100,000 people who are obviously exact replicas of you. Write your own messages and place them where they count.

I came across this over at Live Life Abundantly, so I thought I would share it with you.

He who knows not,

and knows not that he knows not,

is a fool;

shun him.

He who knows not,

and knows that he knows not,

is a child,

teach him.

He who knows,

and knows not that he knows,

is asleep;

wake him.

He who knows,

and knows that he knows,

is wise;

follow him.

~Persian Proverb~