When I started posting Be-Happier tips each weekend, I leapt in at calendar week #11, with the promise that I’d post the ten “missing” tips for living a happier life. So… since I believe in keeping my promises… here are the first five, and I’ll post the remaining five tomorrow!

Weekend Be-Happier Tips:

#1 Make someone happy.  This is the Platinum Rule of Happiness (according to your happiness guru). When you focus on helping others, your own worries diminish.

#2 Be a CHAMPION for someone. Find a friend who needs someone on their side to help them through a rough patch, and volunteer to be their hero. It doesn’t mean you’re going to financially take care of them. Don’t become an “enabler” for things wrong in their life. Instead, look for ways to be supportive.  Offer a listening ear and let them vent their troubles.  Depending on what their situation is, and yours, you might offer to drive them to the doctor if they have medical tests they are afraid of.  You could help out by watching their kids one evening so your friend gets a chance to relax without caring for young ones. There are endless possibilities for being a champion. You will feel like the white knight riding to the rescue.

#3 SMILE — keep on smiling no matter what’s going on in your life. That means you also learn the paradoxical joy of laughing through your tears. If you are grieving a loss, think of all the times your friend or loved one made you smile. It can be a tribute to them to keep smiling, and to remember the good times, instead of losing yourself in sorrow.  When you smile at others, you pass along hope, you pass along good cheer, and you help elevate the mood of the world. Be part of the Happy Smile Revolution!  🙂  And best of all, it’s completely free!

#4 Lighten your load.  Clean out your closets. Throw away old bills and files that you no longer need to keep. Clear away the clutter in your kitchen drawers. Give your excess “stuff” to charity — you can bless your things as you send them on their way to brighten someone else’s life who could use gently used household goods, clothes, appliances, tools and other items that are simply taking up space in your apartment or home.  You’ll be amazed to find that you don’t miss all that extra stuff, and now you can actually find the things that you do use and want.

#5  Be the “candy man” for the weekend. Give yourself the challenge of saying only sweet and kind things to everyone around you– including YOU!  That means when a snide or sarcastic comment starts to come out of your mouth, you mentally pop in a peppermint candy (or your favorite flavor – this is imaginary so don’t worry about calories) and you transform your words into something SWEET!

Btw, the photo at upper left is one I took while hiking near my home.

I thought the path would make an inspirational photo, representing the journey we are all on.

Do you like it?

your happiness guru,

Evelyn Brooks

PS Don’t forget to ask me your question about how to be happy and stress-free — http://askevelynbrooks.com Free call next Wed 4/21 11am PDT — I’m going to make the replay available for free, but only to those people who have registered and asked a question — your questions determine the content of the teleclass.  🙂