Happiness—How To Get More, And Why You Need To

April 18, 2013 by MikeTremba Leave a Comment

Here’s a great tip: Smile.

Feel better? You should; smiling releases endorphins that improve your mood, no matter how low you feel, or how forced the smile is.

On that same strain, if you force yourself to laugh for long enough, you’ll actually burst into genuine, uncontrollable laughter. And laughing reduces anxiety, tension and is even rumored to inhibit cancer cells from developing.

Now, we can’t all walk around laughing and smiling all the time (although, wouldn’t that be a wonderful world to live in?), but there are dozens of positive life changes we can make to maximize the happiness in our lives.

Don’t Trust Me Because I’m A Doctor

There are plenty of healthcare “professionals” out there with quick-fix diet plans that promise an immediate boost in self-esteem, energy and happiness, with no risk and a massive price tag.

You know who else will try to sell you on their product with this kind of rhetoric? A drug dealer.

You don’t need to put chemicals into your body to increase your well being. In fact, a great deal of diet shakes, pills and powders only serve to temporarily (if at all) enhance your mood, only to beat down a few hours later with a terrible crash.

Again, a lot like a drug.

Out With The Bad, In With The Good… Food!

The first thing you can do to immediately increase the happiness in your life is slice out unnecessary and harmful foodstuffs; that includes sugary energy drinks, coffee, and alcohol.

While cutting out the bad, make a simultaneous effort to introduce the good. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables; if you’re a carnivore, only purchase organic, free-range meat; cut back—or entirely avoid—unnatural sugar, and drink plenty of water.

What you put in your body determines how your mind functions. If you want to increase happiness, it’s imperative that you improve your dietary health.

Happiness Is Healthy

I don’t think there are too many people out there who would pass up on the opportunity to live a happier life. Life today is riddled with stress and disappointment, so a little extra boost is something everyone’s self-esteem could use. However, there are wrong ways to increase your emotional well-being Pumping foreign chemicals into your body is definitely one of them. Plus, it’s totally unnecessary; your body has everything it needs to boost itself up naturally.

Just like smiling and laughing can improve your health, studies have shown that happier lives tend to be longer ones—sure, the good may die young, but the happy live to ripe ages.

Not only is it an important social and emotional move to increase the happiness in your life; it’s crucial to your health.

Sculpting your body is as much an internal endeavor is it is external; In one particular lifestyle program, The Truth About Abs, reviews of lifelong diet and exercise plans will tell you that being healthy and happy does just as much to improve your outward appearance as it does your inward perception.

So, want to ramp up the stores of happiness in your vault? Do a few sets of sit-ups and a then head out on a run (as far as you’re able to go). You’ll get an immediate burst of positive energy, as well as the long-term payoff of a healthier body.

It’s As Easy As 1-2-3

It’s important to recap: When it comes down to it, three minor adjustments to your daily routine can add a world of happiness, even if you already inhabit a happy world. And if you’re frequently unhappy, stressed or overwhelmed, well… you need to make these changes, and incorporate them into your normal lifestyle habits.

Thinking back to what we just went over, I’d bet that simply:

Cutting chemicals, like coffee, processed foods and sugary treats out of your diet
Fitting an hour of physical activity into every day, and
Smiling…

…will have your well-being flipped into high gear no matter how helpless your emotional state may feel.

Happiness is one of the most important aspects of being alive;

It helps you realize and appreciate the things that make life worth living, and exudes energy that attracts people to your presence. The happier you are, the happier you will be.

About the author: Dr. Mike Tremba looks for ways to find happiness in everyday life. In addition, one of his other passions is helping others eat well, exercise, and lose weight as he’s done himself. His website at http://www.NaturalWeightLossTruth.com is one place where he gets to share that passion to the countless people he’s served. In addition, he loves spending time with his lovely wife Shari near the beaches of the Gulf Coast.

Three 10-Minute Steps To An Amazing Lunch Break

April 9, 2013 by MikeTremba Leave a Comment

Your daily lunch break: Is it rushed? Inconvenient? More stressful than relaxing?

Do you even take a lunch break, or do you gulp down an energy drink at your desk and keep working ‘til it’s time to commute home?

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. Most Americans don’t capitalize on the opportunities a workplace break offers to them. Winding down for a half hour in the middle of the day is a healthy habit for mind and body, but a lot of people feel like it’s more of a hassle than a health benefit. In fact, most Americans work straight through what should be a midday reprieve from workplace stress because, for many of us, stepping away from our desks can mean losing momentum and fighting to keep focus for the rest of the afternoon.

If walking away from your desk for a half hour halfway through the day is stressful, you need to reorganize your workday. Lunch breaks are meant to revive your brain and gear you up for the rest of the day. If you’re not taking one, you’re not getting the most out of your professional capacities.

Making the most of your midday break takes preparation; however, in three hassle-free steps, I can take you from noontime stress to 12 p.m. rejuvenation.

All you need is ten minutes.

7 a.m.: Take 10 Minutes To Schedule Your Day

Nothing worth having ever comes without a good deal of planning ahead. Eating well, for instance—any worthwhile regime’s success is heftily contingent on making a game plan and sticking it out. The Truth About Abs reviews, (from one particular eating plan), describe many testaments from folks who’ve only found success losing weight and increasing health through some thorough strategizing. This success is equally applicable to succeeding in the workplace.

So, every morning before you dive head first into the pile of work on your desk, take ten minutes to prioritize tasks and carve blocks of dedicated time out of your workday. Be realistic about your work blocks and give yourself enough time to account for unforeseen distractions, like urgent orders from your boss or a coworker’s request for some last-minute help.

Knowing what’s ahead of you for the day will create a mental map of where your focus needs to be and when, gearing your brain up for when to be on task and when to wind down.

11:30 a.m.: 10 Minutes To Assess Progress And Wind Down

Retrospection is crucial to successful forward movement. Mid-morning, take a look back at what you’ve accomplished.

Not only will this help you plan out the remainder of your afternoon, it will give you a sense of satisfaction. Rehashing your small victories of the morning—maybe you finally turned in a big project to your boss, or were able to deescalate a disagreement with a coworker without issue—will change your brain’s gears from “work, work, and work” to “reward, reward, and reward.”

After recounting the morning’s workload to yourself, spend the hour between your mid-morning check-in and your lunch break tying up loose ends and preparing your work for the afternoon. Don’t start anything too intensive, but don’t let yourself lose focus, either.

Instead, ride on the high of your morning’s victories and create a blueprint for an equally successful afternoon.

12:30 p.m.: 10 Beautiful Minutes Of YOU

Remember: it’s lunch, but it’s also a break. A break for breathing, restoring your energy, and appreciating yourself.

Take your healthy brown-bag lunch on a walk and find a quiet spot in a nearby park, or treat yourself to a health-conscious meal at a restaurant close to where you work. Sit quietly with every bite of your meal and focus on yourself.

Acknowledge any worries or stresses present in the front of your mind, but appreciate foremost the time you’re devoting in this moment to take care of yourself. Being healthy isn’t just about eating lots of veggies and running a mile every day; it’s about loving yourself and wanting the best for you.

If you take a look at, you’ll get an overload of information on the importance of putting a love for yourself ahead of any other goal when it comes to getting healthy.

No matter how you approach it, do yourself—and your health — a favor, and make time for a valuable, reflective lunch break.

About the Author: Dr. Mike Tremba loves lunch breaks, or any chance he gets to appreciate how great life is. He loves sharing his uncommon weight loss tips through his website at http://www.naturalweightlosstruth.com. In his free time, he constantly looks for new activities to stir his imagination, while spending time with his wife and best friend, Shari

Do 1 New Thing Every Day

March 18, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Make time each and every day to try one new thing.

It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be scary.

As examples:

Walk down a new street
Try a new recipe
Add 5 minutes into your fitness regimen (or start one)
Leave a note for your spouse, partner, or child
Read the first few pages in a book you’ve been planning to open
Go to bed earlier (or later)
Try a new fruit

In effect, change up your pattern.

Research shows that we do better with our established patterns if we also try new patterns. (Plus it’s fun.)

Shake it up today – and have some fun!

[Read more…]

One Telephone Pole at a Time

February 28, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

It was painful to watch her try to walk; albeit not as painful for me as it was for her.

“Sit down,” I suggested, pulling up a chair, wanting to relieve her of her burden.

She stared at it, shakily supporting herself with her metal cane, the type with four rubber-capped legs that stands on its own. “Do you have a chair without arms?” She asked, referencing her size with a flick of her bulky arm. “It’s hard for me to fit in this type of chair.”

I scurried away and returned with the requested model, placing it behind her. She sluggishly lowered her heaviness on to the seat, all the while leaning weightily on the cane for support. After placing herself, she exhaled a strained sigh of exhaustion, took a moment to regain her composure, and said, “Hi, I’m Sheila. I need to lose weight. I can’t live like this anymore.”

I’m always interested in what triggers us to finally take action. After all, weight doesn’t come on overnight. We fight it for years, constructing excuses, living in denial; until eventually we cross a line that drives us from needing to do something to actually doing it. It’s at that nexus where I enter the scene.

“What brought you here today?” I asked.

“I can’t get my mail.”

“Tell me more,” I said, looking for clarification.

She exhaled again, attempting to catch her breath. “My mailbox is at the end of the driveway, which is up a hill.” She rested. “Well, it’s not really a hill, it’s more of an incline, but I can’t walk that far anymore. I needed someone to bring me the mail yesterday.” Another deep exhalation escaped her lips as she steadied herself on her cane, relying on it to steady herself while sitting. “That’s no way to live. I have to do something.”

That was how we met.

Unfortunately, after a few months, she got a new job and moved away. We lost contact.

Not long ago, she resurfaced, visiting family in town. I did not recognize her.

“You look fantastic!” I exclaimed, upon realizing who she was.

“I’m down 163 pounds – and I walk every day.” [Read more…]

The First Step in Feeling Better

January 9, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I take pride in this column.

Every Wednesday for eight years, I plant myself at my computer and conjure up what I hope is the best way to utilize the power of 600 words. Sometimes, ideas explode forth with volcanic fury and I cannot keep up. Oft times, I rearrange the pixels on my screen for the better part of a day. However, I trudge on until I am satisfied enough to forward it with pride to the editors who so graciously publish and post it.

What astounds me is which pieces get the most, or least, feedback.

Articles I’m convinced will generate a firestorm sometimes barely ignite a spark, whereby those I presumed would simply cause quiet contemplation will produce a flood of reactions via email, phone calls, and strangers approaching me to continue the discussion. Last week’s column (Practical, simple advice to feel better quickly) was of the latter category. I was pleasantly stunned with the number of comments about its practicality and helpfulness. Therefore, I will take it deeper.

What I did not have room for in that piece was the preliminary step, even prior to changing one’s ideas and behaviors. Preceding the rearrangement of one’s routines, one must query of himself: “Why am I going to change this?” Whether the topic is diet, relationships, finance, or attitude; this question is essential as it establishes motive, which affects the likelihood of success — or failure.

The answer will fall into one of three main categories:

I want to live a better, happier, or healthier life
I need to change or things will get worse
I should do it (or I’ve been told I should do it)

With dedication, planning, and patience, the odds of success from number one or two is strong. This is so because the drive is internally motivated. Contrarily, if the inner voice replies with should, the results — if any — will be short-lived.

“Should” is the word used by the invisible committee of “they” to run our lives.