What happened yesterday is only a distant memory now. Turn the page and look forward to what today will bring. If there's one certainty in life, it's that life goes on. What happened yesterday is a springboard to new experiences that await us today and in the future. But we must resist the urge to harp on things we can no longer revisit except in our thoughts. Whether what occurred yesterday was favorable or negative, we cannot remain in the same point in time for too long. Experiences help us learn and grow, and great ones are certainly worth reminiscing about every so often. But if we dwell too much on what happened yesterday, we inhibit ourselves from progressing. Obviously, everyone aims to live as happy a life as possible -- one chock-full of magnificent experiences. But that won't happen if we remain enmeshed in the past. Always remain forward-looking . If yesterday was a lousy day, guess what? Today can be a whole lot better so long as you belie...

Hug a little tighter. Kiss a little longer. Love a little harder. Life is short, and we ought to make every moment count. Cease putting off working toward your dreams. Forget about tomorrow, for we don't know if it'll ever come. Live for today. Seize the day. Whether you want to write a book, travel to India, or start your own business, now is the time to take the first step toward making your goals a reality. Nurture relationships that are worth your time and effort. Sever ties with people who don't enrich your life. Instead of aiming for a large group of acquaintances -- the people you have as "friends" on Facebook but seldom talk to -- focus on building a small circle of tight-knit friends and family. Tell these people as often as you can how much you cherish them. Indulge your hobbies as much as humanly possible. Write, read, draw or paint to your heart's content. Make or dance to music like no one's listening or watching.  Broaden yo...

There's a well-known adage that variety is the spice of life. This is far from a tired cliché; it's the truth. The only way to ensure that our lives don't get stuck in a repetitive rut is to keep them fresh and exciting. We do this by infusing them with new experiences. That can be anything from traveling the world to taking a different route to and from work each day. We are creatures of habit who tend to get stuck in our comfort zone, conditioning us to live each day in "rinse and repeat" fashion. While a little routine is to be expected, we shouldn't feel as if each day is a rehash of the prior one. If, at the end of the week, you can't remember a single thing that distinguished one day of that week from the other -- if the entire week seems like a big blur -- that's a telltale sign you may need to spruce things up a bit. And no one says injecting some spontaneity into your life has to be expensive. The key is to do a few little things ...

I learned yesterday morning that one of my closest childhood friends died of a heart attack in his sleep overnight. He had just turned 30 a couple of weeks ago. I met him in Kindergarten and reconnected with him six or so years later when, as fate would have it, my sister and his brother began dating. During our middle school years, we did everything from play sports and video games to go on vacations together. We stayed pretty close through my sophomore year of high school. He then joined the football team, after which we went our separate ways. The last time I remember spending time together was the day of my high school graduation. (He failed the 1st grade and went on to graduate a year after me.) I hardly spoke to him during and after college, but we later began keeping in touch via Facebook. He moved back to Florida after living in California, where his girlfriend and three kids live, for a few years. In recent weeks, he had told me how happy he was that my wife and I bo...