How Your Happiness Delights the World Around You

We’ve all heard the saying, “A smile is contagious.” But, when we’re so immersed in our day-to-day lives, it can be easy to forget the powerful impact our smile can have on not only ourselves, but the world around us. Can you think of a time you saw someone smiling or laughing and it made you do the same thing? Even if it was just a small "corner of the mouth" smile. Contagious! :) There have been times in my life and particularly in the last 2 years, where I literally wanted to tell a person or even a stranger how much their smile meant to me. It sometimes seemed odd that I didn't share their impact but often, I just quietly accepted the gift and noted the impact. Knowing that a lot of people are shy to share the impact, I try to approach my interactions with others like "you just never know what is going on in their life so a good approach is a genuine smile and kindness."

When you are living a truly authentic, grateful life and seek to recognize the privilege of your life, this radiates from within. Your friends, family, coworkers and even strangers on the street can sense you are on a journey of seeking peace within. Your happiness and even your desire for happiness affects them. Here’s how, and why, it works:

Your Happiness Expands Your Thinking and Tolerance Levels

When you are in a positive mind space, you are more likely to practice a greater level of tolerance and acceptance than when you’re thinking negative thoughts. Your mind is more open to new experiences, cultures, people and ways of life. I believe lack of tolerance has a major affect on the global levels of anger, hate and war.

Your Happiness Inspires Others to Live More Happily

When other people see you smiling, laughing and enjoying life, it encourages and inspires them to look at how they can do the same. It's rarely an overnight switch but think of times you have left interactions with a positive person and have felt better about your current situation. If not better, than maybe a shift in perspective will eventually lead to better. We all need people in our lives to inspire us to look at things differently.

Your Genuine Nature Draws People to You

Nothing is more attractive than genuine happiness. Your authentic smile draws people in and your positive, upbeat attitude welcomes new friends, acquaintances and even relationships. In fact, over the years, I've had many clients comment on how being genuine is increasingly important in new and lasting relationships. It's like you can fully relax around someone who is being genuine. Many of us feel vulnerable when we are being genuine but trust me, it's the best place to be and draws like-minded people to you.

Your Happiness Comforts Others

Everyone loves having a friend they can depend on when times get tough. Your ability to seek out the silver lining and bright side of things provides comfort and reassurance to those around you. When you yourself are then going through a rough patch in your own life, those same people will be there to offer the same comfort and reassurance to you. People want to be there and support someone who routinely lifts them up in life.

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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How to Discover Happiness in Your Everyday Life… Starting Today

Happiness. It’s the goal we strive for and how we measure self-achievement. You may believe you’ll be “happy” once you get that raise you’ve been after. Perhaps your happiness rests on buying a new house or trading in your car. It might mean a certain salary, number of friends or the freedom to travel as you please. Or, maybe, it’s in a strong relationship with an amazing partner. Whatever the cause, chances are that you, too, are chasing happiness. The thing about happiness, however, is that it’s the product of making a conscious decision to experience the feeling. No amount of money, no beautiful home and no perfect partner can truly make you happy if you don’t choose to be so. The same can be said for the reverse – I’ve met many fantastic, over-the-moon happy people over the years that are incredibly humble and content to live within small means. It all comes down to choice.

In this post, I’d like to share with you a few ways to make the conscious effort to live more happily. You might be surprised at how much happiness is just sitting there waiting for you in your everyday life. Read on, friend!

5. Take Inventory of Your Surroundings

When you woke up this morning, was it in a reasonably comfortable bed with covers and a pillow? Were you able to choose from a closet of clothes and brush your teeth with clean, drinkable water? These simple, basic things are so often taken for granted when other people are quite literally praying for them. You are incredibly fortunate, probably more than you’ll ever know, and have the unique opportunity to choose how you spend your life.

For 3-5 minutes a day, I urge you to sit on your bed and stay quiet. Take a mental inventory of the many fortunes you’ve experienced throughout the day – from a meal at lunch to a safe and reliable way to get home. Look around you, right in your very own room, and take inventory of your belongings and ability to feel at ease in your own space. I’m betting that you’ll begin to appreciate your surroundings and start to feel happier.

4. Go Exploring… on a Trail or in Your Own Backyard

Nature has the remarkable ability to remind of us our smallness in the world and yet motivate us to see the beauty in nearly everything – including our own lives. Head out to the local trails for a relaxing walk or even just toss on those gardening shoes and head out to your own backyard. Allowing yourself to focus on nature and your surroundings will free up space in your mind for positive, happy thoughts. It’s pretty hard to focus on anything negative when there’s so much beauty and life surrounding you!

To kick it up a notch, slip in a comfy pair of ear buds or grab a portable speaker and listen to your favourite tunes. An upbeat, happy song will help make the most of the experience and have you feeling energized and ready to conquer just about anything in no time.

3. Tidy Your Space

Remember back when you were in high school or university and found it difficult to concentrate in a messy space? How we keep the spaces around us strongly impacts how we feel inside. A messy, cluttered room can leave you feeling anxious and down. A clean, tidy space can have the opposite effect. If you want to re-energize and start feeling upbeat, I recommend doing a little cleaning. Once the clutter’s cleared, you’ll start to feel happier and more accomplished almost instantly.

If your life’s simply too hectic to keep a clean house, consider hiring a cleaning service to come by even once every couple of weeks. The delight and surprise you’ll feel when you come home to a clean house at the end of the day can make all the difference sometimes! Just be sure to carefully review the cleaning rates ahead of time because a big bill will have those happy feelings flying away just as quickly as they arrived.

2. Sleep More

This one’s so simple. Just sleep more! Our bodies are under a ton of stress on a daily basis, both conscious and subconscious. Sometimes, we simply don’t get enough REM sleep and deep, restful Zs to help us fully recharge. When you start the day feeling sleepy and irritable, you can bet it’s not going to improve as the hours wear on. So, why not put in a little effort and try to catch a few more winks?

Hit the hay earlier during the week and allow yourself to hit “snooze” a couple of times come the weekend. The world will keep turning while you enjoy an extra thirty minutes of sleep and you’ll awake feeling more refreshed, and happier, because of it.

1. Talk it Out

Have you ever heard the expression, “Just let it all out?” Sometimes, people just need to vent. This is when it’s great to have someone in your life, like a friend or family member, who you can call up or meet with to talk it out. Was your week especially tough and you really feel as though you need to get a few things off of your chest? Do it! And, if you don’t feel as though you have anyone you can call up right this moment, consider leaving a comment on this post so I can hear your thoughts.

Friend, happiness is waiting for you. In fact, it’s really already here – it’s up to you to see it and allow yourself to feel it. If you have any other tips you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments section! I’d love to hear from you.

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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Canmore and My Healing Places

The morning view I've been craving for months.

Hi Friends,

How were your holidays? I feel like I’m in slow motion, re-adjusting back into my routine. I discovered I am able to live entire days and weeks solely focused on either what I just ate or what I’m going to eat at the next meal. :)

I headed home to Calgary for the holidays this year as I wanted to welcome Christmas back into my life again. Last year was really hard with David being gone and I remember wishing I could skip the whole season altogether. I took things really easy this year and just focused on being with family and out in nature. Shortly after I booked my flight, I booked a condo in Canmore for 4 nights. This would ensure plenty of time in the gorgeous Canadian Rockies which I find so healing. Someone once said to me that when they are in the mountains, they feel so protected, almost like they are getting a hug. I like that.

Thinking back on my trip, there were definitely some highlights:

On New Year’s Eve, my eldest sister and I were determined to get into the outdoor hot tub at the condo we rented. So we donned our toques, grabbed our plastic cups and made our way to the tub surrounded by ice. My parents surprised us by joining us for a bit too! I love, love, love being in a hot tub outdoors looking up at the starry sky. It’s something a good friend of mine and I used to do all the time when we’d go skiing in Fernie.

Going hiking with my nephews up around Grassi Lakes. They are such a reminder that the world is a playground and you can make a game out of anything in any situation.

For NYE dinner, I made a reservation at one of my new favorite restaurants, Tapas in Canmore. Yum, Yum, I discovered this place with some good friends this past summer. It is sooo delicious. It’s so popular that when I made the NYE reservation back in October, I got one of the last spots! We ordered whatever we wanted and brought in the new year with well-satiated bellies.

Getting coffee from Beamers in Canmore. I don’t know what it is about their coffee but it always tastes so good. I make a beeline for their brews anytime I’m in town.

Back in Calgary, I tried to get a healthy start on the new year by going to my friend’s yoga studio called The Yoga Shala. She teaches an early morning self-practice called Mysore and I’ve been meaning to try it for years.  It was such a good decision and I was totally surprised by how good I felt afterwards. I say surprising because it was still so early in the morning once the class was over! We went for breakfast afterwards and it was so good to spend time with such good friends.

Do you have places in the world you like to go that you find ‘healing’? I’d love to hear your thoughts so be sure to leave a comment below.

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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How to Stay Calm and In Control in Any Situation

Everyone handles stress differently. It can be hard to learn how to stay calm. Some people can breeze through a last minute deadline without breaking a sweat. Others get anxious at the mere thought of having to drive to the airport for specific time. No matter what your reaction, understand that it’s entirely natural. Also understand that there are universal coping mechanisms that you can employ to help you stay calm and in control, because losing your cool is never fun. To help you stay calm, cool and collected I’m sharing my top five tips to keeping calm. So, keep calm and read on!

1. Remember to Breathe

When you receive a passive aggressive text message, vague email asking you to keep your manager in the board room, last minute notice that your in-laws are coming to town tonight or when you realize you hit “snooze” a few too many times and are bound to be late – take a second to breathe.

In fact, take sixty seconds to breathe.

Concentrating on your breathe and getting your heart rate back to normal will help you conquer whatever the situation may be with a cooler head and clearer mind. There’s nothing worse than a knee-jerk reaction in a stressful situation!

2. Tell Yourself It’s Temporary

It can be easy to let the situation swallow you whole and lead you down a path of panic. Remind yourself that what you’re feeling is just a temporary reaction to the situation now and that it will pass. Sometimes letting yourself see that there’s an end in sight will bring you back to the present and let you charge forward instead with your day.

3. Take a Walk

Putting your body in motion can be incredibly helpful in combatting a case of “losing my cool”. Take a five-minute walk to the nearest coffee shop (if you go inside, opt for a caffeine free option… you don’t need to hop yourself up further!) or even walk inside of your office building or home. Get yourself moving and you’ll feel the thoughts in your head start to shift just the same.

If you can, take this opportunity to hit the gym or get in a thirty-minute workout. The natural hormones your body produces during and after a workout are mega mood-boosters.

4. Phone a Friend… but Talk About Something Else

If you can, phone a friend or family member who isn’t involved in whatever the stressful situation may be. Let them know that you’re having a tough day and want to chat and get your mind off whatever’s bothering you. Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t spend the phone call dwelling on the issue – it’s only going to fester and make you feel worse.

5. Play Your Favourite Song

If you work at an office, it’s helpful to have a set of headphones handy for stressful days. Hearing your favourite music will help you keep on track and stay calm. Whether it’s just an average day or you’re working your butt off trying to wrap a project up by five o’clock – your favourite tunes will help you through it.

When do you feel yourself starting to lose your calm? How do you cope? I’d love to hear your take on things!

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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How you relate to fear shapes the quality of your life

Christine Hart and Mastin Kipp of The Daily Love

A few weeks ago I attended a workshop with one of my faves, Mastin Kipp of the Daily Love. He’s recently published a book called Growing into Grace and I’m looking forward to diving in this weekend.

When striving to follow your truth, inevitably fear comes up over and over. Am I doing the right thing? What if this doesn’t work? What if I make a fool of myself? Is this too risky? Mastin gave us a brilliant acronym associated with the word FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real.

We know that fear is our brain’s way of keeping us safe so of course, it makes sense that our brains have become masters of even creating evidence to back up their claims. It’s almost like our brain is a well-resourced lawyer ready for a strong debate at any given moment. ☺

So since we know that this is typical behavior of our brain, how can we adjust it? Mastin suggests that:

How you relate to fear shapes the quality of your life

He went on to explain that our relationship to each fear determines the type of fear it is.

Huh?

More specifically:

Excitement is fear with POSITIVE energy Anxiety is fear with NEGATIVE energy

This means that once we acknowledge what our fear is, we can choose if we are going to create excitement OR anxiety around it. I think this is pretty awesome and allows us to get back in the driver’s seat of our brains, rather than being a hopeful passenger.

For example: let’s say you are in a relationship right now with someone that you care deeply about but you’re almost positive they are not the one you are going to spend the rest of your life with. You may default to anxiety, negative based fear and not break up with the person because you fear being alone. The other choice would be to place excitement and positive energy around the fear and see it as the right decision to free yourself up for a more suited relationship. In both cases, you are fully acknowledging the fear but you are choosing what energy you are going to give it.

COACHING EXERCISE FOR YOU

Name two fears you have. They could be about work, relationships, fitness, life purpose, whatever you like. Be real with yourself and identify if positive or negative energy surrounds it. Now look to see if you can switch them to positive energy. Notice how this opens things up. You might be inspired to set some new goals once you see that FEAR as False Evidence Appearing Real.

Let me know what you discover by sharing in the comments below!

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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PS Make sure to follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration and more exciting photos from workshops and events! :)

Do What You Love, It's The Key to Happiness

We hear a lot about how we’re supposed to follow our passions, but what does that really mean? What does it look like to follow your passions? Passion is that feeling of excitement and optimism that we feel when we’re living authentically. How that shows up in our lives is different for each of us though. How come it's more difficult for some of you to really do what you love? Some people are passionate about things like dogs or cats. In much the same way, our passions present themselves in our work, our relationships and how we live every aspect of our lives. It’s not so much about what our passions actually are, but that we follow them.

Joseph Campbell, the renowned mythologist, is often quoted for his famous words saying that in order for us to be truly happy in life, we must ‘Follow Our Bliss’. What is it that truly excites you? When do you feel the most vital and alive?

To follow your passions means to take that leap, even when you don’t know what lies on the other side. It means to be willing to trust that there is some divine plan at play that is inviting your true potential to manifest itself in the world. Passion inherently contains within it, some element of risk.

Many of us take the safe bet in life though. We choose the safe relationship, the steady job with a guaranteed income and the quiet predictable neighbourhood to live in.

There’s nothing wrong with those choices if they allow you to follow your passions, but if you are choosing them only because it’s safe vs what you really want, then you’ve denied yourself the chance to follow your bliss and to authentically step into who are meant to be.

Here’s what I recommend:

Ask yourself what your passion is. If you could do just one thing today, right now, to start following your passion, what would that be? Then switch to imagining that you’re already living your passions. How does that feel to be living that way? Notice making decisions becomes so much easier because you are trying to line up your life with that feeling. All the choices you make every day somehow come more naturally. Everything just flows and there is no resistance.

Give it a try!

That is why we should follow our passions, because following our passions allows us to honor ALL of who we are, not just the beliefs that we have inherited from others.

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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5 Ways Your Body is Telling You It's Stressed

We all know that stress is bad for us, but we don’t always recognize when we’re feeling stressed. Our bodies are like relay towers. They’re constantly taking in information through the environment, the food we eat, and the chemicals and toxins we’re exposed to. Then our bodies translate that raw data and let us know what’s working, and what’s not working, by how we look and feel. Stress comes in many forms though, which adds to the difficulty in identifying when we’re experiencing it. Someone who is under a chronic amount of stress will exhibit more noticeable, outward signs of stress in their bodies, then someone who is experiencing stress as a result of a passing situation. The distinction being chronic versus acute stress is the latter is temporary but quite intense.

Often stress is an underlying chronic condition, contributing to a multitude of symptoms, which also has an acute element to it. For example, you may experience an underlying low level of stress in your life as a result of social anxiety. That low level stress can then be triggered by a social situation that happens each year at the same time. Every year you may find yourself preparing for the acute flare up in your anxiety that increases your stress, and takes a greater toll on you than the rest of the year.

So how do you know that you’re under stress? What can you look for to start preparing yourself before your stress becomes a chronic condition?

Here are 5 ways that your body is telling you it’s stressed.

1. Most people when they are stressed experience sleep disturbances. That doesn’t mean that it you have no trouble sleeping that you’re not also under stress, it just means that’s a good place to start looking for signs that you are. Every body responds to stress differently, some require more sleep and some less. When you’re restless and anxious you tend to have more trouble sleeping. Start to notice if there has been any change in your sleep patterns, either sleeping more or less, having trouble falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep.

2. Notice what your eating habits are. Many people overeat when stressed as a way to disconnect and shut off the stress, or numb out. Others will stop eating as away to gain some sense of control over feeling not in control of the situation causing the stress, and the impact it’s having on them. Either one is possible; the key is to notice what is different than usual for you. Much like changes in your sleep patterns, you’re looking for what’s new or out of the ordinary for you. Your body may also crave different foods as a result of stress.

3. Regardless if you’re eating more or not, stress produces cortisol in the body which tends to make you put on weight around the belly. So even though you might have a loss of appetite as result of stress, you may also be carrying extra weight around the middle.

4. Cortisol also affects your immune system, big time! So when you’re stressed, you’re more likely to get sick. You’re body will have less resistance to fight off infections and will take longer to get over a cold when you are sick. Cuts and bruises will heal more slowly and will also be more susceptible to infections.

5. Stress can also present itself in the body as dull and lifeless skin, hair and eyes. Your usual shine or brightness can be become faded, much like your spirit feels. The body is expressing outwardly what is going on inside.

Commit to paying attention to the language of your body. It’s always speaking to you.

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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How to Feel Happier, Think More Positively & Be a Better Person

There’s a lot of talk these days about why it’s so important to have a positive attitude, how thinking positively can impact both your health and your life. Our environment and the company we keep heavily affect our moods, and therefore our ability to think more positively. Have you ever known someone you just always liked being around, someone that you would describe as having ‘good energy’? Feeling happy radiates a positive energy outwardly that in turn allows oneself to think more positively inwardly. This is why it is so helpful (if not absolutely necessary!) to become aware of what makes YOU feel happier.

Feeling happy is actual work and maintenance for a lot of us. I have always found this a bit ironic but I know that many of you can relate. Our mind just seems to somehow enjoy hanging out in the negative world until asked to leave.

For some of us, feeling happier might mean being outdoors in nature, it may mean being physically active, for others it may mean taking time to be alone or doing something creative. Good music is another great way to shift your mood and makes you feel happier almost instantly.

Think about that person again that you always enjoy being around. Wouldn’t you like to be that person in someone else’s life? Committing to being happier doesn’t mean that you have to be ‘Miss/Mr Chipper’, it may just mean that you’re someone that other people just like to be around.

Here are few things to consider:

What can you do today that will support you in feeling happier? Who can you spend time with that makes you laugh and feel good about yourself? And if being alone is what makes you feel happy, then where can you go to be alone and how will you spend your solo time?

Having spent some time focusing on activities that make you feel happy, start to notice your thoughts. What you’re likely to find is that it’s pretty hard to think negatively when you’re feeling joy and happiness. That’s the beauty of feeling happier - it positively impacts everything you do. When you’re feeling happy and all your thoughts are focused on positive outcomes, you become a better person by contributing to the well being of others with your good energy.

If you’ve ever gone into a government office that was full of lines of angry, impatient people waiting to be served, then you know what it feels like to have someone else’s energy affect you. In the same way that we can be negatively affected by someone’s anger or frustration, we can also feel like we’re being up-lifted by those that possess a positive attitude, and who are genuinely happy.

It’s our choice, what kind of person we decide to be each and every day. :)

I’d love to hear what happens when you try this so be sure to share your experience with me in the comments below.

To your authenticity,

Love, Christine

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