Life

If there’s one thing most people can agree on it’s that happiness is much more enjoyable than unhappiness. Yet when it comes to being happy, it seems that most of us aren’t as happy as we would like to be. But there are some people that just always have a happy go lucky attitude. What is their secret? What do they know that we don’t? And most importantly, how do we get to the same state of mind as them?

If you’re ready to start being happier today and well into your retirement years, then here are some of the secrets you won’t want to miss.

They Forgive

The happiest people don’t go around begrudgingly remembering all of the wrongdoings of others. They forgive easily and they don’t hold grudges. When you hold a grudge, you may think that you’re exiting your power. However, in reality, you’re only holding yourself back from living a free life. Let go of situations and people that have hurt you, and move on. Happy people feel things, and then they let them go as quickly as they arrived. Harboring negative energy will only hurt yourself in the end.

They Practice Gratitude

The happiest people are the ones that aren’t constantly thinking about what they can acquire, but rather focusing on what they already have acquired. Gratitude is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself, and an important part of being happy. If you’re only focused on what you don’t have, then you forget about everything that you do have.

Take a minute every day and count all of the things in your life that you’re grateful for. Once you start looking for things to be grateful about then you start to realize how many things there are to appreciate. Practice the art of being appreciative, and you’ll find your entire world opens up.

They Love Themselves

The unhappiest people are the ones that count on others to define their self worth. Happy people love themselves, and don’t need anyone else to tell them how wonderful they are to make them feel good. They know that they don’t need anyone’s opinion other than their own.

Try to look into the mirror at least once a day and find something you like. Loving yourself isn’t just about physical appearances either. It’s also about loving the interior of yourself and being proud of your accomplishments. Happy people know how to give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done.

They Nurture Their Friendships

One of the greatest things you can do for yourself is to nurture your relationships. Spend time with the people you love, and show them that you love them. Happy people have strong friendships and a support system to reach out to when they need it. Don’t isolate yourself!

 

Yes – if you’re like most people you need to work to survive and generally the more you work the larger your paycheck. But there are real dangers to having an imbalanced work life; isolation from friends and family, burnout, poor sleeping habits, obesity, and heart disease are only a few examples.

So how can you achieve a better work-life balance and avoid these problems? Try following these simple tips.

Set Boundaries at Work

Do you get work emails well after office hours? Are you often pulled into meetings you had no intention of attending? Are leave days and holidays ruined by frequent calls from work colleagues? Then, you lack work boundaries.

Preferably, you should set boundaries at work early on. Still, it’s never too late to do so. Start by communicating your expectations to your boss. Politely explain the ways in which you need to have more control over your time at work.

If politely communicating your boundaries doesn’t work, try being more assertive via your actions. For example, if you’re asked to attend an unnecessary meeting outside of your normal working hours, simply don’t attend and communicate from home that you have prior commitments.

Of course, there will always be occasions when you have to work overtime. But these should be exceptions and not the norm.

Don’t Schedule Everything for the Weekend

Admittedly, weekdays can be exhausting and it’s rather tempting to schedule non-work-related activities for the weekend. The problem with this approach is that work gets 5 days of the week while your personal life only gets two- a clear imbalance.

So do things besides work during the weekdays! Use your lunch break to go for a walk, read a book or just relax. In the evenings, schedule a fun activity with friends or family whether it’s renovating your garage with garage art or attending a trivia night event. By filling up your weekdays with enjoyable activities, you won’t need to spend all your time on the weekends trying to balance things up and getting overwhelmed.

Use Apps

Apps are very handy. From tracking workouts to chatting with people miles away, there’s an app for everything. So, there are definitely apps that can help you achieve a better work-life balance.

For example, with productivity and time management apps you can keep track of your time and schedule your day more efficiently to get more done in less time so that you have more free time for your personal life.

There are even apps that let you control work-related notifications after work hours. This way you can avoid the temptation of checking work emails or taking work calls outside of office hours.

Achieving a better work-life balance is possible with a bit of effort. By setting boundaries at work, enjoying your free time during the week, and using apps to manage your time more efficiently, you can easily achieve a better balance. Give it a try!

 

If you’re getting ready to throw a themed party but aren’t sure how to go about this or where to start, you’ll be glad to know that there are a few areas of party planning that can help you turn any old get-together into a full-on themed party. To help you see how this can be accomplished for the party that you’ll be throwing soon, here are three things to remember when throwing a themed party.

Get Your Guests Invested, Too

If you’re going through the trouble of putting together a themed party, the last thing you want to have happen is for your guests not to have just as much fun as you are. So to help ensure that everyone enjoys themselves at the party, you’ll want to find a way to get them invested in the theme, too.

One simple way to do this is to encourage everyone to dress in the theme of the party. By having guests come already in the attire of the theme, you can help them get invested in the theme well before the party even starts. As they get their costume together, they’ll get excited to share their creation with others and participate in everything you’ve put together for your themed party.

Your First Impression Is Everything

People’s first impression of your themed party will set the tone for the entire night, so you want to be sure that their first glimpse of your party represents that theme exactly as you want it.

To do this, try to make the first impression of your themed party both comfortable and exciting. You don’t necessarily want to shock people when they first arrive, but you do want to include themed elements that will have them instantly feeling the vibe of your party and knowing without question what the theme is. Try to keep the entrance of your party high energy with the right themed music, decorations, people and more.

Let The Theme Guide All Your Choices

As you get everything ready for the day of your themed party, you’ll want to make sure that you have the theme guiding all of the choices that you make for your party. The theme should permeate through everything you include and how you set everything up. Choose samplers of food that represent your theme, music based on the theme, and lighting that showcases your theme. If there’s anything that doesn’t add to the theme, consider removing it so that everything at your party supports the theme and helps your guests have an immersive experience.

If you want to throw a themed party that’s a hit with all of your guests, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you plan everything perfectly.

 

Moving can be one of the biggest ordeals that you’ll go through with your family. Especially if not everyone in your family is onboard with the idea, getting your family ready for this event can be a lot to process. Luckily, with the right planning and preparation, you can help yourself and each of your family members to be more ready to take on all that a move entails.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three things you should do to prepare your family for a big move.

Start Working With A Schedule

In the most ideal of circumstances, you should have at least a few weeks or months to get ready before your moving day arrives. And if this is the case, you’re going to want to start putting together a schedule as soon as possible so that you can keep track of what needs to get done and ensure that you’re going to get it all done at the right time.

As part of this schedule, you’ll want to plan out when you’ll want to contact a moving company to help with packing and moving your things, when you’ll want to have certain rooms packed up, when you’ll need to figure out everything with the new place you’ll be moving to, and more. This way, you won’t wait until the last minute to take care of these all-important tasks.

Make It A Family Affair

Depending on the ages of your kids, you should be able to give each of them some kind of responsibility associated with the move.

If your kids are old enough to pack up their own room, ask them to do this while the rest of the family packs other rooms. If this isn’t possible, you could ask your younger kids to help you choose which items from the home to sell and which to keep, especially when it comes to toys or things your kids have used. You could also make your kids in charge of things on the actual moving day, like keeping walkways clear or making sure everyone stays hydrated.

Plan A Way For Them To Say Goodbye

Moving can be a sad and scary time, especially for your kids who are going to be leaving friends and the places they’ve come accustomed to.

To make this a little easier to swallow, you should plan for some way that they can say goodbye to the things and people they will miss. Planning a going away party or visiting the places they love one last time before the move can be a great way to allow them to say goodbye and get ready for the big move.

If you’re going to be undertaking a big move with your family soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you get everyone ready for this change.

 

If you’re ready to update the look and feel of your dining room by getting new dining chairs, there are a few things you should think about before you head to the store and try out all kinds of chairs to potentially bring into your home. To help you with these considerations, here are three things you should think about when getting new dining chairs.

The Height Is Right With Your Table

While you might be thinking only about what chairs you want and what chairs look and feel best to you, your dining chairs aren’t going to be something that you use all by themselves. Because of this, you’ll really have to think about how the chairs will interact with the rest of your dining room, especially your dining room table.

One of the most important things to think about is how the height of the chairs will be with the height of your table. If your table has an apron, measure from the seat of the chair to the bottom of the apron to see if that will be enough room for you and your family or guests to sit. The last thing you want is to get your new chairs home only to realize that no one can comfortably sit at the table now because their legs are getting squished.

They’re Easy To Move On Your Flooring

The flooring that you have in your dining room or eat-in kitchen will also determine how useful the dining chairs are.

With some types of flooring, moving your dining chairs around when you’re sitting in them will be very challenging. Not only is this annoying, but this could be a fall risk for young children or older people in your home if they get tripped up by the chairs that don’t move as they anticipated. So before you choose new dining chairs, make sure they will be easy to move around in your dining area.

The Upholstery You Prefer To Sit On

If you want to be comfortable as you sit on your dining chairs, you’ll want to be sure that you choose a seat or upholstery that you like to sit on. For some people, having a hard-bottomed dining chair is preferred, both for the feel and for the ease of cleaning. But for others, having a softer chair that is more comfortable makes more sense.

Whichever way you decide to go, just be sure that you know the best way to care for the type of seat you have and that the seat makes you want to enjoy meals together with the people you love.

If you want to get new dining chairs for your home, consider using the tips mentioned above to choose the perfect solution for your dining needs.