The Power of Happiness

“When I have been unhappy, I have heard an opera... and it seemed the shrieking of winds; when I am happy, a sparrow's chirp is delicious to me. But it is not the chirp that makes me happy, but I that make it sweet.” |
-John Ruskin

Attitude has a major impact on our efforts, our results and our interactions with others. Lately, I've been taking time to focus on happiness daily. To notice and celebrate the things that make me happy, to connect with people who add to my happiness, to share things that I hope bring happiness to others. 

During setbacks and difficult times cultivating happiness is even more important than when it's easy to be happy. Creating a positive attitude and a healthy routine in life changes everything. I've been exploring using a routine to improve my productivity. Staying active helps to keep things in perspective and nourish a sense of accomplishment. I find my work gratifying, so even when there are distractions, I make time to write. 

Celebrating small things -- the artistry of a spider web, the diligence of a squirrel hiding nuts, an insightful comment from a reader -- each moment of joy deserves attention. It's a quality of being present with life that makes each day good, and full.

My new articles:

Healthy Recipes for Weight Loss: Quick Poblano Chiles with Fresh Mozzarella

My recipe for stuffed poblano chiles with fresh moz for a quick weight loss meal, including how to select poblano chiles, full cooking instructions, toppings, serving suggestions and weight loss menu tips. I've lost nearly all of my excess weight eating healthy, whole foods.

Make Money Online 3: Writing Basics

 How to polish your writing for success with online article writing, blogging, websites, upfront-pay articles, rev share articles, selling or running your own business online. Learn to catch common errors and improve your grammar and writing style for online readers. Make your message clear and professional -- and make a great first impression by getting the words right and correcting errors. Includes links to high-quality resources for improving your writing and grammar. This is part of my making money online series, based on freelancing full-time online.

Boost Productivity: Feel-Good Tips

Here are tips for creating a positive mood for productive work on your writing and freelancing projects. Getting into a positive mood and making it a habit to maintain a happy state helps the work to flow faster and better. It's a great way to improve the speed and quality of your work to make more money with less stress.

Write a gratitude list often. This tool gives you perspective on your life, to see what you have from a place of thankfulness, rather than focusing on deprivation or scarcity. Taking time to appreciate the wonders in nature and the good people, belongings, conditions and skills we have creates a strong foundation for building success.

Clear clutter. Donate a box of things you don't need to people who are in greater need than you are. Do this regularly, at least once a month. This helps to prevent stagnation and makes room for new things and change by letting go of the past. Even if it's difficult to start, once you begin to let go of things from the past than no longer serve you, your home becomes more organized and attractive, finding things and  organizing your work becomes more efficient -- and you feel better about yourself and your environment.

Don't feed the tigers. This wonderful idea I learned from Buddhism has great wisdom. If you keep your attention on disturbing thoughts, they become like tigers taking over a village. If you don't feed the worries, resentments and other negative distractions, they go away from lack of attention. This allows you to create a more productive frame of mind to support your goals and productivity.

Keep your mind on positive, constructive thoughts. Start the day by focusing on your goals. If  you begin to become distracted, stop any negative thought by talking back to it. Think up a counter-thought or conclusion.

Play up-beat music. This creates a positive mood for writing and working on freelance projects.

Write down your goals. Getting clear on what you want to accomplish and being specific about it helps you to be more productive -- and can help you stay on target all day. Keep your goals in mind as you work to help avoid distractions. Action is powerful.

Work in short bursts. Try the Pomodoro technique to increase your productivity. Set a timer for 20 minutes, focus completely on the task at hand. When the timer rings, take a five minute break. Repeat three times and then take a longer break. Continue this pattern for the duration of your work day. Breaks help you increase your productivity and work more efficiently.

New Articles

 I started writing on Hubpages three years ago. Some of my favorite topics are science, nature, weight loss, writing, living green, stress-reduction and making money online.

These are my newest articles on Hubpages:

Make Money Online 2: Write Faster and Increase Productivity

Tips for writing more content, faster to raise your hourly pay as an online freelancer. I've learned many tricks for improving my writing productivity while freelancing full-time. In this series I share my methods for writing faster to make more money online.

Dark Energy: 2011 Nobel Laureates Discovered Universe's Expansion is -- Accelerating

This year's Nobel laureates in physics discovered that the universe has been expanding at an accelerating rate, countering previous theories that gravity would cause the expansion to slow down. The implications are mind-blowing. The universe's accelerating expansion could rip the universe apart. These researchers arrived at their shocking conclusion by examining images of supernovae. Pictures from the Hubble space telescope played an important part in this discovery. Dark energy requires further investigation, but for now it offers a possible explanation for this speeding expansion and the fact that the expansion rate isn't giving in to gravity.

Crazy Hairy Ants Invade Texas 

It sounds like something out of a horror movie, but these ants that eat everything are infesting Texas and the gulf states at an alarming rate, causing property damage and astronomical costs in pest control. Standard ant-control  methods available to consumers don't stop these crazy ants, also known as rasberry ants, after a Texas exterminator. The infestations can damage wiring, destroy equipment and shut down businesses. Two chemicals approved in Texas combat crazy ants, and these chemicals are only available to professionals. The infestation affects several gulf states and is spreading. The crazy ants ride along in hay bales or tires and invade new areas with alarming speed. They next in damp places, rather than creating ant hills. Although only the size of a flea, these pests are already crowding out fire ants and causing Texas homeowners and businesses hundreds to thousands of dollars in pest control expense each year.

My newest online articles on Hubpages

Fountain of Youth -- Exercises for Looking Young & Long Life
http://hikeguy.hubpages.com/t/29bea5

On the Tibetan five rites

 Red Tide
http://hubpages.com/t/29bbff

The red tide in San Diego, and causes and results of algae blooms in general

Make Money Online
http://hubpages.com/t/29b940

















Legitimate ways to make money on the Internet from home and my favorite productivity tools and software


If you enjoy the hubs, please vote them up! Thanks. Trent Adams, aka HikeGuy