-For starters, they help filter the air by removing harmful toxins and pollutants.   They remove carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.  They also help stabilize humidity levels.
-Plants can help brighten up a room.  They have a calming effect and make the environment more comfortable. 
-Plants are alive.  Caring and nurturing them will have a positive effect.  It also brings a little more structure to your life.

If you don’t have any plants in your home.  Go get some and try it out for yourself. 

The anxiety I am feeling is overwhelming to the point that I have butterflies in my stomach, tension in my temples, and literal shaking. I am fighting the natural tendency to get paralyzed in this moment. I It would be easy to let these things cripple me into self wallowing, inaction, and depression. I am simply not going to allow that happen.
As I started my work day, on top of the emotions I was already feeling, I was furious coming fresh off of the new work contract dispute.

Here are some tips for people in a similar situation:

• Recognize your emotions. They are real. They are powerful. And it’s completely okay to feel them. Be extra aware of your emotions. It is easy to become irritable and snap and lash out at others who do not deserve it. I have been very conscious of my state today as to not cause any new unnecessary problems.
• Write about your feelings. Think about what you are feeling. Writing has a calming effect and can help you organize your thoughts on how to resolve the issues you face. It helps put everything in perspective.
• Take relentless action. I immediately got to work researching my new problem and working on some things for the short sale.
• It is temporary. If you keep focused and do everything you have to do, most problems will eventually get taken care of.
• Look out for little things that can help brighten up your mood. As I entered work today, I was greeted with exuberance from my students and one coworker in particular who gave me the most genuine bright smile.
• Do a little something nice for someone else. For me, I had been thinking of buying a nice vinyl record for a friend and so I took this as an opportunity to make it happen. It took about 5 minutes to place the order, and I immediately felt a little better. And I’m sure it will brighten up my friend’s day when he unexpectedly receives his gift.
• Exercise. Exercise always has a positive effect on happiness, but it can be particularly important in moments like this. I like to take fast long walks. They help calm any jitters and give me time to consciously reflect on my problems and what I have to do about them.
• Get ample sleep. Problems and anxiety can keep you up at night, but it is important not to neglect getting enough sleep. You’ll feel better and be in a better state to take action if you are as rested as possible.

This morning I had a student, Ji-Won, greet me with what I described in my head at the time as a “pure unadulterated joy” that was so contagious that it really put me in a great frame of mind for the rest of  my day.

Suddenly, I was left puzzled.  What is that difference between children and adults where kids seem to experience more extreme levels of joy?  My thoughts curiously pondered that word “unADULTerated”.  How fitting that my brain naturally came up with that word.  I looked up the definition:

Unadulterated:  not mingled or diluted with extraneous matter, pure.

Perhaps that is part of the answer.

As adults we are often ill-equipped to handle the harsh realities of life.  As we wade through our many experiences, we accumulate baggage, build up noise, harbor regrets and resentments, develop anxieties, and more.

Now whether children are truly happier than adults is another question I plan to tackle in another post.  In their world, they deal with problems we have long forgotten.

In this site, I will take a deeper look into what makes us happy and offer advice on how to become happier.  So what makes me qualified?  I’m not a psychologist nor a self proclaimed guru.  I’m not some prolific blogger or diligent writer, but I am super CURIOUS about everything.  I’m just a person who is genuinely happy and constantly looking to improve myself.  I think that’s enough.  That said; expect about one post per week around here.

I’ll leave you with a couple of my fundamental beliefs about happiness:

1. YOU are ultimately responsible for your own happiness.
2. Happiness comes from controlling the things in your life you can control and keeping the things you can’t in perspective.

Thanks for visiting and check back soon!