Categories
Sometimes our lives just don't feel "right." We just feel blah, or angry, or depressed... just plain out of alignment.
Instead of viewing this as a horrible thing, what would happen if we can view this as a SIGNAL - an opportunity to make a shift and get things back into alignment.
That difficult moment suddenly becomes an opportunity... and a gift.
www.jenriday.com/happy55
Megan Tenney shares her experience with forgiveness, choosing to be happy, and taking quality time for what's important, including a bath with a boot, vacation, and playing with her kids.
Megan Tenney is the author/owner of ShapingUpToBeAMom.com, where the goal is, "Life, easier. You, happier!" Her mission is to help other busy moms achieve their goals, while sharing her own adventures in parenting, fitness, travel, and checking off her bucket list. Born and raised on the shores of Maine, she relocated after college to the Arizona desert, where she now lives with her husband and four kids: Carter, Vanessa, Harrison, and Melody...
Nuggets of Wisdom from Megan:
"Just remember, this too shall pass away."
"I needed to learn how to forgive someone. That is why I had to go through those experiences."
"Your happiness is your own responsibility. You cannot depend on someone else to make you happy."
"Be easy on yourself. Don't jump right to feeling guilty for having negative thoughts toward someone. I think, to a certain extent, we can have power over our own feelings, and to a certain extent we cannot. And I think feelings might just come to you, like you get angry or you feel guilty, but then, you can fan the flames of that feeling or you can redirect your thoughts and try to focus on something else. It takes effort and it takes humility."
"One of the questions you [Jen] ask, the one that left the most lasting impact on me, was, 'At the end of your life, when you turn around and look back, what do you want to have done, or what do you want people to remember you for?' That made it so clear to me. Family. That is my absolute first priority."
Some of Megan's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "It has contributed to my sanity. I take a bath almost everyday. I just relax in the bathtub with a book and I do it almost everyday."
Easy meal: "Crockpot meal. So I make a pasta meal with a jar of marinara sauce. I used maybe four fifths of the marinara sauce. And another night, I do English muffin pizzas, and I use the leftover sauce."
Possession: "Crockpot. Vitamix."
Megan's Favorite Books: "'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,' by Marie Kondo, and 'Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment,'
by Tal Ben-Shahar."
"There are people that only focus on the present, and they do whatever it takes to make them feel good right now. Whether that's a bacon cheese burger, or sitting and watching TV, or whatever it is, and they don't plan for the future, and so they don't plan to be happier in the future. And then there are people that only plan for the future, and they deprive themselves of the moment. They eat only salads, or they work really hard and never take a vacation, and it's all for someday down the road. He [Tal Ben-Shahar] said that the happiest formula is to try to get both of those things, to do, ideally, one thing that will benefit you now and will benefit you later."
Best advice received: "Treat others the way you want to be treated."
Megan's Happiness Formula:
"I am happiest when I am being productive, planning a trip, and ending the day with a bath and a good book."
A Challenge from Megan:
"Plan a trip. It doesn't have to be Disney World. You don't have to get on a plane. It could be to the other end of town, to a restaurant you have never been to before."
Resources
My Konmari Closet (or Who Bought All These Clothes)
Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group
Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:
Boundaries are all about where you end and the other person begins. Learn how to strengthen your boundaries through self awareness, clear communication, and consistent consequences so you can preserve (and increase!) your energy and happiness.
jenriday.com/happy54
In part 2 of a 2-part series, I share a painful event from my past involving a miscarriage and the marriage struggles that intensified as a result. Listen to Part 1 here.
And, for fun, here's my bio: (Every other guest has one, so I want to fit in with the "cool kids.") Jen is a 42-year-old mom of six and Women's Happiness Expert who lives just outside of Madison, Wisconsin with her family. Jen was raised on a farm with the values of hard work and honesty, and today Jen's priorities are spirituality, family, health and helping women find happiness (in that order). In her free time Jen enjoys yoga, meditation, time in nature, and curling up with a great book.
In this Happy Bit: "It all started with my son plopping a steaming (and HUGE) bowl of yummy goodness in front of me. He had cooked sweet potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onions, hot dogs and a metric ton of garlic in some sizzling coconut oil... and it was AMAZING."
Our massage table is covered - COVERED - in books from various podcast guests and things I ordered on Amazon months ago but failed to read. But since I disccovered audio books from Audible, things are so much better! I can "read" again. ;) Because I love them so much, I've teamed up with audible.com to offer you a free audio book. Grab yours at vibranthappybook.com. You’ll also get a free thirty-day membership, too. Sweet!
Now on to our Happy Bit.
It all started with my son plopping a steaming (and HUGE) bowl of yummy goodness in front of me. He had cooked sweet potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onions, hot dogs and a metric ton of garlic in some sizzling coconut oil... and it was AMAZING.
For a nearly 16-year-old, this boy has mad skillz!
But sadly I tend to get more caught up in the fact he didn't empty the trash or clean his room.
Always the LACK, the scarcity...
When we stop and focus on the good, everything feels to much better, from our emotions to the entire tone of the relationship.
One way to focus even more on the good is to create a vivid vision of the future - to take the good things now and play them out and see exactly what they might look like in the future.
For example, maybe my son will be an amazing chef, or a fantastic cook for his family... one good thing leads to another, and when we create a vivid mental picture of all the goodness that could happen in the future, we train our brains to keep going. It's fun!
Also, I share how you can get your hands on the Self Care Toolkit available at jenriday.com/selfcare.
Grab yours before it goes away: jenriday.com/selfcare
Make it a great week!
And remember to get your free audio book at vibranthappybook.com.
In part 1 of a 2-part series, I share a past life struggle involving a miscarriage and the marriage struggles that intensified as a result.
And, for fun, here's my bio (every other guest has one, so I want to fit in with the "cool kids."): Jen is a 42-year-old mom of 6 and Women's Happiness Expert who lives just outside of Madison, Wisconsin with her family. Jen was raised on a farm with the values of hard work and honesty, and today Jen's priorities are spirituality, family, healthy and helping women find happiness (in that order). In her free time Jen enjoys yoga, meditation, time in nature, and curling up with a great book.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Jen:
After I clawed myself out of the emotional pit that resulted from events on the most horrible day of my life (so far), I learned several things that helped me let go of the guilt I used to feel when I took time for myself:
- I'm loved and I'm worthy.
- I'm 100% in charge of my life and happiness.
- The greatest gift I can give my loved ones is my own happiness.
- I'm happiest when I take care of myself first (and others second).
- The Wheel of Happiness is the perfect guide to guide my use of time so I take care of ALL aspects of myself.
A Challenge from Jen:
Grab the Self Care Toolkit and learn the 5 things that will help you get rid of guilt... sweet!
Then... email me at support@jenriday.com and share 1) one thing you struggle with and 2) 1 thing from the Wheel of Happiness you're going to focus on to help you take better care of yourself so you can face your struggles with strength. You can ask to remain anonymous, or, at the other extreme you can volunteer to jump on a Skype audio call so I can record your voice for Part 2 of this episode, airing next week!
Resources
The 8 components of the Wheel of Happiness: Body, Mind, Emotion, Spirit, Contribution, Relationships, Outdoors, Resources.
Listen to Part 2 to get the rest of the story next week.
Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:
Do you start the day YOUR way?
At age 22 Loren Brill found out she had Hodgkins Lymphoma. Cured a year later, Loren decided she REALLY had to start living life as fully as possible. She entered her favorite natural cookie recipe in a contest and won. Now her cookies are in supermarkets across the nation under the Sweet Loren's brand. You'll love hearing Loren's tips for living a vibrant, happy life with 100% dedication (and with zero tolerance for negativity).
Loren is a 32-year-old New York City born and bred foodie and healthy lifestyle entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Sweet Loren's, a cookie dough company founded on the promise of delicious taste and better-for-you ingredients. Sweet Loren's offers both retail refrigerated cookie dough sold in supermarkets across the country, as well as bulk food service for businesses to bake.Loren is also a certified Hatha Yoga instructor and blogger for the Huffington Post. In her free time Loren loves to travel, laugh, have spontaneous adventures, swim in warm water, cook with friends, try new restaurants, do triathlons, paddle board, wakeboard, ski, spin, paint, and drink good wine..
Nuggets of Wisdom from Loren:
"You miss a hundred percent of the shots you do not take."
"Fear is really what holds us back most of the time from following our dreams."
"I realized that in order to build from the ground up, I was going to have to hustle my butt off."
"But when it is something that you love and it is something that starts growing and has a life of its own, it is something that makes you really happy, it is just this magical combination that has its own driving force and you are just kind of there to guide it along and keep up with it and make sure that it stays on course."
"It is really important to surround yourself with positive energy and a positive attitude and be gentle on yourself."
"If you are strong mentally and physically, you can really get through anything. Life becomes really a joy. You feel very empowered."
Some of Loren's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Waking up every day and really being grateful and having a clear head. Whether that is a really good workout for you or meditation, but really starting the day grateful with a clear head. And then being able to prioritize."
Easy meal: "Making plantains. Baking them until soft. And cutting them in the middle and then keep stuffing them with whatever you like. So shredded chicken, shredded vegetables. It's just really easy and delicious and interesting."
Possession: "A cast iron skillet."
Loren's Favorite Books: Steve Jobs' Biography
Best advice received: "You've got to be strong." (Loren's Mom) and "You do not scare me." (Hoda Kotb)
Loren's Happiness Formula:
"Digging in deep and listening to your gut. Combine that with honoring your dreams. Going for it 100% with a great positive attitude. And making sure that your life is full."
A Challenge from Loren:
"I challenge anyone listening to let go of fear. To really dig deep and look at their life and see if there is any area where they would want to change and wake up tomorrow and have zero excuses and go after it. To really just throw fear aside."
Resources
Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group
Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:
Learn how 20 seconds can completely change the other 86,000 seconds in your day...