Home

Making a great first impression isn’t always easy, but it’s well worth attempting as much as you possibly can. To help you make it happen more often, here are three simple rules you should always follow. While they are not the only great advice on making a good first impression, they are the things that will have the biggest impact – whether you get them right or wrong. I suggest you get them right.

Rule #1 – Dress To Impress  

Pay attention to what you’re wearing. This may seem very superficial, but that’s what first impressions are all about. They are a first, quick judgment based on things like appearance. Overdress just a little if it’s an important first meeting like going to a job interview or meeting the future in-laws…

Practicing gratitude has a significant impact on your life, health, and mental and emotional well-being. But it doesn’t end there. It will also impact those around you and the world at large when you start to turn your gratitude outwards and share it far and wide. 

Roman writer and philosopher Cicero called gratitude the parent of all virtue. In other words, if we practice gratitude, we’re also getting better at things like kindness, generosity, orderliness, courage, honesty, and respect, to name a few. What does this mean in practical terms? If we practice gratitude, we can’t help but become a better person. 

Now let’s take this a step further. What if, instead of feeling grateful for the things in your life, you take it out into the world at large? What could happen? What force of good could you create? There is no way of knowing how many lives you could…

Practicing gratitude and focusing on positivity is easier said than done, especially if you struggle with anxiety and depression. If you ever find yourself spiraling into the bottomless pit of depression, then get help if you need it.  There’s nothing wrong with talking to a counselor or getting therapy. It’s the smart thing to do.

There’s a lot you can do to get yourself unstuck from all that negativity. Start by acknowledging your feelings and putting them into words. How exactly do you feel? Is it anger or annoyance? Frustration or disappointment? Try to be specific. Dig deep. Yes, it can be painful, and some people prefer to avoid thinking about these feelings, but the first step to getting yourself unstuck is determining exactly where you are emotionally. 

Once you’ve identified the feeling, you can start to work on discovering what caused them. Sometimes…

We take a lot of good things for granted in our everyday life. Examples of this are a roof over our heads, a steady paycheck, a loving partner, the ability to go out for a run on the weekends. The specifics vary, but one of the significant advantages of modern lives is the many awesome things we can count on. We're not used to falling short, so when something happens, and our life starts to fall apart, it's easy to fall into thinking patterns that focus on lack and despair. 

Sometimes the bad things are a result of choices we made. Sometimes they are outside of our control. In either case, it is up to us to decide how we react to each crisis. One piece of advice that is important to remember no matter what adversity you face is to make sure you don't forget about how blessed you are. Gratitude can turn…

I’m going to let you in on a little secret I learned years ago that has served me well. What you focus on comes to pass. When you practice gratitude, you train your mind to be more positive, which has some interesting physical implications. Practicing gratitude and positive thinking directly affects your brain chemistry. That’s right, by focusing on gratitude and happiness; you control the release of certain chemicals and neurotransmitters that influence how you feel both physically and mentally. Let’s take a look at how that works. 

More Feel-Good Hormones  

Focusing on happiness and gratitude leads to the release of two “feel good” hormones - dopamine and serotonin. These two neurotransmitters are responsible for those warm fuzzy feelings.…

The more you read and learn about the power of gratitude on both body and mind, the more amazed you will be about how much it can do for you. Let’s take a look at how forgiveness can free us from the things that are holding us back. More importantly, let’s dive a little deeper into the mind-body connection of practicing (or not practicing) forgiveness. We’ll wrap things up with a surprising notion that you can’t afford to miss. 

Think back on the last time you held a grudge. What did that feel like? Did you have a pit in your stomach? Did you have trouble sleeping? Were you distracted from other, more important things? What did you lose because you chose to stay angry at the other person? Holding a grudge isn’t beneficial for you. Not only that, but the person you’re holding a grudge against probably…