When negative thoughts attempt to take over your mind, don't let them! How do you prevent this from happening? By turning those negative thoughts into positive ones. You can cancel out a negative thought with a positive one in a number of ways: 1. By thinking about or looking at something that relaxes you or otherwise brings a smile to your face (e.g., pictures of kittens). 2. By listening to music or doing anything else that puts you in a good mood. 3. By thinking about or looking at something that makes you laugh (e.g. blooper videos). 4. By thinking about all the wonderful things you aim to accomplish in the future. Focus not on the past, but on the present and the future. 5. And, most importantly, by being thankful for what you have and reminding yourself that it could be worse. It's about never losing sight of the fact that you have it better than a lot of people out there do. Whenever I'm feeling a little blue, I do one -- if not all -- of these th...

I have found that nothing puts me in a better mood than distracting myself -- even if momentarily -- from the present. That can mean picturing myself lounging on a sun-dappled beach, surrounded by turquoise water (not as good as actually being there, but I'll take it); spending a few moments watching bloopers or videos of adorable animals; immersing myself in a compelling book; or listening to my favorite songs on my iPod Touch. The key is to disconnect from the moment. If you spend ALL your time ruminating on your carries and worries, life will become very monotonous. Sometimes you just need a short break from your annoying coworkers, nagging neighbor, and others who drive you up the wall. Such an intermission -- however brief -- can leave you feeling more relaxed and/or energized. I realize this is easier said than done for some people. Not everyone lives in their head or has the inclination to do so, especially those who tend to be more outgoing. However, everyone ...

Want to know one reason so many of us are unhappy with our lives? You guessed it: our jobs. Want to know why our jobs make us this way?  Because we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about how miserable they are.  Unfortunately, far too many of us fail to: Break out of these negative thoughts and redirect our attention towards things that actually make us happy Cultivate hobbies outside of work  Instead, we think of our jobs as the be-all and end-all of our existence. We count on work to fulfill us in ways that are unrealistic.  Ideally, we all want jobs that pay well, involve working with great co-workers, and keep us mentally stimulated.  While such jobs certainly exist, we'll always take issue with some aspect of our jobs. As I've said before, no job is perfect.  Relying upon your job to fulfill you is a recipe for disaster.  As we well know, things at work can change in the blink of an eye. You ...

We all know about the myriad benefits of exercise, from helping us lose weight to lowering our blood pressure. A recent study in the journal  Psychosomatic Medicine finds that it also helps adults with high-anxiety sensitivity -- or fear of anxiety and related sensations like sweating, dizziness, or a racing heart -- quit smoking. By reducing anxiety sensitivity and depressive symptoms, exercise makes it twice as likely that these individuals will kick their smoking habit. I always encourage my friends and loved ones to exercise -- and with good reason. The benefits go way beyond the physical. When I go to the gym, put on my headphones, and blast the music while on the treadmill or elliptical, I feel fantastic. Not only does it melt away my worries, but it puts me in a good mood -- and I feel more energized (not less so, as contradictory as that may seem) once I get home. If you're not big on exercising, I recommend that you put in at least a couple of hours a week. (I aim to h...

There's more to smiling than simply trying to be nice and polite. Studies show that smiling can actually make you happier, even when you're faking it! In other words, from a young age, we've smiled countless times while in the presence of others or when experiencing something, be it a first kiss or heartfelt moment in a movie. Unbeknownst to us, that very smile was putting us in a better mood, making us even more likely to enjoy that special kiss or captivating movie scene. Now, does this mean that smiling around your obnoxious boss or meddling in-laws can make you like them more? That's probably a stretch. I think smiling can best be put to use in certain situations. For example, when you're nervous about something -- say, a presentation you have to make before a crowd of 100 people -- smiling can likely calm your nerves and put you in a more positive frame of mind: Instead of thinking "I'm going to do terribly," you may feel you can actually wow ...