It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem”—Corretta Scott King

One of the most liberating, but challenging words in the English language is “no”. When we learn to say no, we can begin to live authentically and finally become our true selves. It takes courage that we might not have known we had, but our lives will have more peace and happiness once we do. When we live our truth, life gives us better choices and adventures.

The past year was time when we heard “no” quite often. We were told what to do, told what to fear, and told what to think. It was easy to become distrustful of anything and everyone. It was a dark time for most of us, but it also gave us the perfect opportunity to dig deep and examine the world around us. Most of what we knew from the past felt like it no longer worked, feeling dishonest and empty. The world desperately needed to learn new ways to adapt and thrive in this constantly changing and chaotic world. Every time I looked around, I saw how much we needed to change how we think and care about each other. The old ways of doing things are the “old ways” and we can and need to do better. Discovering that we deserve better and deserve more happiness in our lives is life changing.

Sometimes the best thing we can do for our personal growth is to come to terms with ourselves and shine a bright light on our personal behaviors and actions. This can make us feel uncomfortable, but nothing worthwhile is ever accomplished without doing the hard work! Self-awareness is the first step in making positive change for ourselves and everyone around us. Now’s the perfect opportunity to dig deep and see ourselves for who we really are. No one will ever know all the answers, but action is needed to discover our true selves and rise to our potential.

Life will always present us with crisis, but how we react and learn is how we grow, thrive, and begin to love who we are.

There are a lot of things that were “normal” before the pandemic that no longer fit in our changed world. The sooner we realize that “normal” is never coming back the sooner we can change and adapt for the new. Traditional ways of doing things were responsible for greater inequality, fear, suffering, and too much anger!

As the Happiness Warrior, helping others navigate through life and gain greater self-esteem and happiness is the core of my being and mission in life. My truth is always near the surface and I know that every word we say or think has power and spirit. Authenticity and truth require both courage and self-awareness. Being truthful and forthright is not the easiest path through life, but it a continuing source of motivation and inspiration for anyone to be a better human. The surest path to greater personal happiness is to create a life grounded in helping others.

# 1 CHANGE-MAKERS ARE GOOD TROUBLE

Never be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble—Rep. John Lewis

People will always try to shame and judge the change-makers!

Change comes from action and forgoing a passive and “safe” way of life. Change is our inspiration and creation. Change may not keep us safe yet change for the better makes us happy. Learning from change helps to keep our lives balanced and moving forward with confidence. Change takes courage and courage makes us happier with ourselves!

Change is the most constant and reliable thing in our lives, isn’t that ironic? By adapting constantly to our new existence, we can learn to embrace the changes that life provides. A strong, life-affirming mindset helps to make what used to seem like obstacles become opportunities to grow. Change provides us with better choices!

#2 HANDSHAKES ARE OVER

I would love to never have to shake anyone’s hand again. In my mind, an overly strong handshake is a sign of weakness and insecurity. An overly strong and crushing handshake immediately puts me on the offensive and creates a red flag in my mind. Who is this person and why are they so desperate to display their dominance?

The world has changed, and overtly patriarchal behaviors are being examined and discarded. Never in my life, have I ever felt the need to prove my “manhood” by squeezing someone’s hand with an extreme grip.

Handshakes are also a very efficient way to spread germs like the cold, flu, and liver-damaging hepatitis. A polite and sincere bow or greeting with a fist or elbow bump gets the point across and puts everyone on an even playing field. All of us have been in public restrooms and witnessed someone exit quickly without washing their hands!

Bring back the Inuit nose rub!

#3 COMFORT FOOD IS A LIE

Good nutrition is essential in making a difference in our energy, attitude, mindset, and daily routines. We have a culture that emphasizes pleasure over making healthy and positive decisions in our diet. It’s so pervasive, that we’re rewarded with inflammation causing donuts in honor of being vaccinated!

My dietary rule is that everything that goes in my body has a purpose. Timing and necessity are the key to how I feed and nourish myself. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that cookies and pastries have their time and place. Everything in moderation is easy to say but harder to live by!

When we change our personal dialogue with food, we can begin making healthier choices to give our brain and body the nutrition it needs to fight viruses, regenerate cells, live longer, and fuel our energy. Why is food that makes us gain excess weight, feel sluggish, unhealthy, and increase depression called “comfort food”. Overly processed food depresses our immune response while adding unnecessary and empty calories. If we really want to eat something that makes us “comfortable” we can retrain our mindset to make better choices and eat whole foods that make us look and feel better. Eating a nutrient dense diet is comfort food redefined!

#4 FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN DESTROYS CONFIDENCE

Most of the world’s great problems come from fear of the unknown. Fear is a symptom of poor self-esteem and a life that centered on self-created negative emotions. A smile is an easy and powerful tool for creating a more magical and powerful existence.

When we do things that scare us, we can begin to experience life with more joy and feel more alive. We miss out on so much when we live in fear and hide behind our weak self-created defenses.

Mindset is everything, FEAR is a CHOICE. Fear is not real and is a product of our thoughts and emotions. Danger is real, but fear is a choice. Throwing out old negative behaviors and action is empowering!

This is what I learned during the pandemic, what did you learn?