A little trick to feeling happier is THIS...

Want to know a quick and easy way to feeling happier?

Be grateful. It's as simple as that.

A week or so ago, I had quite a scare. When I got home from work last Friday evening, I got a bad vibe -- a "something is missing" vibe.

To my dismay, while using my cell phone, I noticed that my wedding band was not on my finger! I hadn't the slightest clue where it could be; I couldn't even remember the last time I'd seen it.

It's one of those things where you grow so accustomed to having or seeing something that you automatically assume it's always there. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time in recent weeks that the ring had slid off my finger. It happened on another occasion where it fell in a drawer I was rummaging through to find a receipt. That should have been a warning to take the ring to get adjusted.)

My wife and I frantically searched for the ring -- in our condo, along the walk paths outside, in my car. We even searched my cubicle at work and the gas station I had stopped at just before heading home. It was nowhere to be found. We had all but given up hope at that point. We even went to the jewelry the next day to buy a considerably cheaper ring that bore a striking resemblance to my missing wedding band.

As it turns out, three days later -- on my birthday, no less -- my wife found the ring in the fridge of all places! It was sitting pretty inside the drawer where we store our cold cuts. My wife and I couldn't be happier, and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present. We wasted no time going back to the mall to return the newer ring I'd bought and having the original resized. I wasn't taking any chances.

Thanks to this unsettling experience, I cherish my ring more than ever before. It would have been devastating to lose something that held so much sentimental value. A wedding band is one of those things that cannot be replaced.

A valuable lesson that can be taken from all this: We should never take anyone or anything for granted, because we can lose them at any time.

Think about a time in your life where a loved one has had a health scare or been in a life-threatening situation. Chances are that the experience not only gave the individual a newfound appreciation for life, but you began to treasure the person more than you did before.

Indeed, the prospect of losing something or someone makes us more grateful to have them in our lives.

And you don't actually have to experience a near-loss to become more appreciative. Just the mere thought of someday losing someone or something dear to you can produce similar feelings. I encourage my readers to do this every so often and all of them report feeling more grateful thereafter.

Imagine being blind, handicapped, or homeless. Imagine you had only a month to live. Imagine not having clean drinking water. Think about blessings that you might take for granted -- but that so many others in the world would do anything to have.

Don't be one of those people who laments that "we don't know what we have until it's gone." Cherish what you have so that you never experience such contrition.

This will spell the end of your relationship

When asked to think about the most common culprits for a relationship's going south, most people will point to cheating, complacency, and taking one's partner for granted. While these are all valid -- and documented in various posts on this blog -- there are certain habits on the part of partners that may not kill the relationship right away, but cause it to erode more gradually. Among the most egregious of these is expecting your significant other to be perfect. They pick at your follies any chance they get. Nothing you do is ever good enough. In fact, you will never measure up to an ex, neighbor, or accomplished co-worker. Perhaps this all sounds a bit familiar. When you feel as though you're constantly being put under the microscope, it can inflict lasting damage on the relationship and your self-esteem. You're walking on eggshells all the time, praying you don't say or do something that's going to trigger your partner. This is no way to live, let alone ca

No response from someone IS a response

Make no mistake about it: When you don't get a response from someone -- whether they fail to answer your texts or return your phone calls -- it is still a response, and a powerful one at that. When a person fails to respond, it's a direct reflection of their interest -- or lack thereof -- in the relationship. Few things are more aggravating than having to hound a partner, friend, or relative for some sort of reply after we've reached out to them. Yes, we get busy from time to time, but that doesn't give anyone the right to leave the other person hanging. A terse text with something like "Been busy, will reach out soon" doesn't say much, but at least it shows some effort to bring the other person up to speed on why they've fallen off the radar. Failing to provide a response for weeks -- if not months -- communicates that you are just not a priority, and that you'll have to wait your turn to get this individual's attention. This is n

Misconceptions about quiet people

Earlier today, I came across a Facebook page that features motivational quotes intended to improve people's moods and enhance their overall self-esteem. Interestingly, I noticed two quotes that focus specifically on quiet people: "Be afraid of quiet people; they're the ones who actually think." "The quietest people have the loudest minds." I've observed that most people's views of quiet individuals can fall under one of two categories: 1. The ones who say quiet people are antisocial, suspicious, snobbish, and/or full of themselves. 2. The people who say their introspective nature and propensity to be deep in thought makes them smarter than their more garrulous peers. The quotes above speak to this mindset. As an introvert known to be quiet at work and at social functions where I might not know anyone, I feel I'm well positioned to dispel any inaccuracies surrounding quiet folks. First of all, the above statements misguidedly put

Understand People

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