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210 Pain Quotes that Will Make You Stronger and Wiser

While life is beautiful in so many ways, it is also filled with struggles and obstacles. We can’t truly appreciate happiness without experiencing some sort of pain.Pain is inevitable. No matter how much we try to prevent bad things from happening, life will strike. Maybe you will have to face grief, betrayal or a broken heart. These experiences can tear you down in unspeakable ways. Some of them will cause so much pain that you’ll do anything that comes to mind to avoid it or feel a bit of joy, even if just for a few seconds.Deep pain can lead to depression. Be sure to acknowledge your pain, and not avoid it. Process it and then find ways to let it go. Don’t wait for time to heal your wounds because the longer you allow your pain to stay with you, the more it will harm you. If you think you need help to overcome your suffering, don’t hesitate to ask for it!Here are 210 pain quotes to help you acknowledge and overcome it:Sad pain quotes Sad Boy in PainAs stated above, no one can run away from pain forever. At some point, we all experience it one way or another. We've put together the following list of sad pain quotes to let you know that you are not alone.Behind every beautiful thing, there’s been some kind of pain. BOB DYLANYou can’t run away from trouble. There ain’t no place that far. UNCLE REMUSIt’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace. CHUCK PALAHNIUKI don’t believe there is pleasure in life. I believe there is only relief of pain… We have to suffer to be on top. GEORGES ST-PIERRENothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness. ANDRE GIDEYou have to die a few times before you can really live. CHARLES BUKOWSKIThe most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. ERNEST HEMINGWAYThe prettiest smile hides the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain. UNKNOWNI want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited. SYLVIA PLATH (more Sylvia Plath quotes)There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery. DANTE ALIGHIERII think that humans have a huge capacity to carry pain and sadness. There are things that haunt us our entire lives; we are unable to let them go. The good times seem almost effervescent and dreamlike in comparison with the times that didn’t go so well. HENRY ROLLINSWhen you give someone your whole heart and he doesn’t want it, you cannot take it back. It’s gone forever. SYLVIA PLATHGod whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S. LEWISLife is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something. WILLIAM GOLDMANLife swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom. ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUERAdventures are all very well in their place, but there's a lot to be said for regular meals and freedom from pain. NEIL GAIMANI imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain. JAMES BALDWINLife didn’t promise to be wonderful. TEDDY PENDERGRASSIt has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone. ROSE FITZGERALD KENNEDYWhen you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever. ALEXANDRE DUMASWaiting hurts. Forgetting hurts. But not knowing which decision to take can sometimes be the most painful... JOSÉ N. HARRISI have the choice of being constantly active and happy or introspectively passive and sad. Or I can go mad by ricocheting in between. SYLVIA PLATHPain is constant. You either suffer the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. YVAN BYEAJEEThe marks humans leave are too often scars. JOHN GREENThe worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared. LOIS LOWRYWhy is there ever this perverse cruelty in humankind, that makes us hurt most those we love best? JACQUELINE CAREYImagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. MARKUS ZUSAKFor without pain, there can be no pleasure. Without sadness, there can be no happiness. Without misery there can be no beauty. And without these, life is endless, hopeless, doomed and damned.Adult. You have become adult. HARLAN ELLISONTears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart. JOSÉ N. HARRISMental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say 'My tooth is aching' than to say 'My heart is broken.' C.S. LEWISAlthough it's just a small tear, it is the heaviest thing in the world. And it doesn't do a damn thing to fix anything. CHASE BROOKSPain quotes that will make you feel strongerWhenever you experience pain know that it will not last forever. Be patient and learn from it. Remember that you are in charge and that you can help yourself to overcome your suffering faster. Below, we’ve gathered a list of pain quotes that will make you feel stronger. Read through them and start taking the next step toward your healing.Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you. OVIDYou never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice. BOB MARLEYWhat hurts us is what heals us. PAULO COELHOI can bear any pain as long as it has meaning. HARUKI MURAKAMIOut of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. KAHLIL GIBRANMost of the gains in life come from suffering in the short term, so you can get paid in the long term. NAVAL RAVIKANTPain makes me grow. Growing is what I want. Therefore, for me pain is pleasure. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGERLet me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it. RABINDRANATH TAGOREIt is when I struggle that I strengthen. It is when challenged to my core that I learn the depth of who I am. STEVE MARABOLIThe real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. THOMAS PAINEOur wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us. DAVID RICHOAt the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can. FRIDA KAHLOWe do survive every moment, after all, except the last one. JOHN UPDIKEIf you’re going through hell, keep going. WINSTON CHURCHILLThe only thing that’s the end of the world is the end of the world.BARACK OBAMAThe pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow. UNKNOWNWhat matters most is how well you walk through the fire. CHARLES BUKOWSKITrue discovery happens when you embrace the obstacle. Truth is for the patient, the enduring. MAXIME LAGACÉDon't be scared... Women can handle the worst kind of pain. You'll find out one day. GAYLE FORMANSince I was young, I have always known this: Life damages us, every one. We can’t escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other. VERONICA ROTHThere are ships sailing to many ports, but not a single one goes where life is not painful. FERNANDO PESSOADon’t let pain define you, let it refine you. TIM FARGOPain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever. LANCE ARMSTRONGPain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.HARUKI MURAKAMI If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. PAULO COELHOAfter the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here. WALT DISNEYPain is a sudden hurt that can't be escaped. But then I have also learned that because of pain, I can feel the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing. C. JOYBELL C.Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain. ECKHART TOLLEDon’t get lost in your pain, know that one day your pain will become your cure. RUMIPain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. JIM MORRISONI think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive. FRIDA KAHLOIf you never heal from what hurt you, you'll bleed on people who didn't cut you.UNKNOWNTo heal from mental pain requires physical pain. Everything requires effort, don't give up. BEN AFFLECKInspirational pain quotesSometimes a few words are enough to give us hope in dealing with our pain. Sometimes they are enough to help us re-evaluate our situation. In this regard, we’ve gathered for you a list of inspirational pain quotes. Enjoy!Laugher is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain. CHARLIE CHAPLINSit with the pain until it passes, and you will be calmer for the next one. NAVAL RAVIKANTGreat things never came from comfort zones. NEIL STRAUSSAlthough the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. HELEN KELLEREvery pain is a gift. Every pain is an opportunity. MAXIME LAGACÉChange happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change. TONY ROBBINSWe can learn and change in a state of pain and suffering, or we can evolve in a state of joy and inspiration. JOE DISPENZAWhen I planted my pain in the field of patience it bore fruit of happiness. KAHLIL GIBRANPassion is the bridge that takes you from pain to change. FRIDA KAHLONever to suffer would never to have been blessed. EDGAR ALLAN POEYou may have had unfair things happen to you, but the depth of your pain is an indication of the height of your future. JOEL OSTEENWhen it hurts – observe. Life is trying to teach you something. ANITA KRIZZANToo many people believe that everything must be pleasurable in life, which makes them constantly search for distractions and short-circuits the learning process. ROBERT GREENEMy pain may be the reason for somebody’s laugh. But my laugh must never be the reason for somebody’s pain. CHARLIE CHAPLIN (more Charlie Chaplin quotes)Every negative situation contains the possibility for something positive, an opportunity. It is how you look at it that matters. ROBERT GREENELife begins at the end of your comfort zone. NEALE DONALD WALSCHTime doesn’t heal emotional pain, you need to learn how to let go. ROY T. BENNETTThe more you reject the past, the more your suffering lasts. MAXIME LAGACÉThe pain that you create now is always some form of nonacceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is. ECKHART TOLLEI tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling. FRIDA KAHLOForget about winning and losing, forget about pride and pain. BRUCE LEEStay focused on your purpose, not your pain. RANAL CURRIEThe real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not. C.S. LEWISNobody can hurt me without my permission. MAHATMA GANDHIIf there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. THOMAS PAINEThere is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength’. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.DALAI LAMATake it from me: If you hear the past speaking to you, feel it tugging up your back and runing its fingers up your spine, the best thing to do-the only thing-is run. LAUREN OLIVERIf you can learn to endure pain, you can survive anything. Some people learn to embrace it- to love it. Some endure it through drowning it in sorrow, or by making themselves forget. Others turn it into anger. SARAH J. MAASProsperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. FRANCIS BACONIf I can see pain in your eyes then share with me your tears. If I can see joy in your eyes then share with me your smile. SANTOSH KALWARThere is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt. ERMA BOMBECKPain introduces you to your highest self. PAUL DOMENICKAnd the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ANAIS NIN (more Anais Nin quotes)God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them. JOHN AUGHEYNeurosis is the natural by-product of pain avoidance. CARL JUNGSome of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. GARTH BROOKSThe pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again. CHARLES DICKENSPain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain. JIM MORRISONWhere the wound has been given, there must the cure be found, if anywhere. JANE AUSTENThe cure for pain is in the pain. RUMI (more Rumi quotes)Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success. BO BENNETTBe soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place. IAIN THOMASBad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself. WALTER ANDERSONGrowth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong. UNKNOWNProblems are the price you pay for progress. BRANCH RICKEYSacrifice today for tomorrows betterment, you are willing to pay those payments with pain, because pain is just a message when you are fixing something that’s insufficient in your life. GREG PLITTDeep pain quotesSometimes the pain we feel is so excruciating that we would cling to anything for a few seconds of relief. If you believe that your pain is too much for you to handle, please don’t hesitate to ask for help from a friend or a professional.Here’s our list of deep pain quotes that you’ll resonate with:We don’t even ask happiness, just a little less pain. CHARLES BUKOWSKIPeople go through so much pain trying to avoid pain. NEIL STRAUSSSmile, though your heart is aching. Smile, even though it’s breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by if you smile through your pain and sorrow. Smile and maybe tomorrow, you’ll see the sun come shining through for you. CHARLIE CHAPLIN‘You,’ he said, ‘are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world, and that, I believe, is why you are in so much pain.' EMILIE AUTUMNOne thing you can’t hide – is when you’re crippled inside. JOHN LENNONI just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong. HARUKI MURAKAMIThere is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. MAYA ANGELOUIt is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. JULIUS CAESARI must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it. SYLVIA PLATHMy painting carries with it the message of pain. FRIDA KAHLO (more Frida Kahlo quotes)There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds. LAURELL K. HAMILTONYou think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive. JAMES BALDWINIf you love deeply, you're going to get hurt badly. But it's still worth it. C.S. LEWISI remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind. EDGAR ALLAN POEYou care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.J.K. ROWLING (more J.K. Rowling quotes)In misery we seem aware of our own existence, even though it may be in the form of a monstrous egotism: this pain of mine is individual, this nerve that winces belongs to me and to no other. GRAHAM GREENEThe silence depressed me. It wasn’t the silence of silence. It was my own silence. SYLVIA PLATHUnrequited love does not die; it's only beaten down to a secret place where it hides, curled and wounded. For some unfortunates, it turns bitter and mean, and those who come after pay the price for the hurt done by the one who came before. ELLE NEWMARKIf you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it. ZORA NEALE HURSTONOften it’s the deepest pain which empowers you to grow into your highest self. UNKNOWNForgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim--letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor. C.R. STRAHANThe tragedy of life is in what dies inside a man while he lives – the death of genuine feeling, the death of inspired response, the awareness that makes it possible to feel the pain or the glory of other men in yourself. NORMAN COUSINSI may never be happy, but tonight I am content. SYLVIA PLATHThe hottest love has the coldest end.SOCRATESThere's no comfort in the truth, pain is all you'll find.GEORGE MICHEALMoral wounds have this peculiarity - they may be hidden, but they never close; always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart. ALEXANDRE DUMASThe damage was permanent; there would always be scars. But even the angriest scars faded over time until it was difficult to see them written on the skin at all, and the only thing that remained was the memory of how painful it had been. JODI PICOULTMemories are bullets. Some whiz by and only spook you. Others tear you open and leave you in pieces. RICHARD KADREYI have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom. EDGAR ALLAN POELife is painful and messed up. It gets complicated at the worst of times, and sometimes you have no idea where to go or what to do. ALYSHA SPEERI could never hurt him enough to make his betrayal stop hurting. And it hurts, in every part of my body. VERONICA ROTHPainting completed my life. I lost three children and a series of other things that would have fulfilled my horrible life. My painting took the place of all of this. I think work is the best. FRIDA KAHLOSome old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word. GEORGE R.R. MARTINWhy the hell are we conditioned into the smooth strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world, Alice-in-Wonderland fable, only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of ourselves as individuals with a dull responsibility in life? SYLVIA PLATHI became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. EDGAR ALLAN POEI still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. The pain is like an axe that chops my heart.wisYANN MARTELThe worst type of crying wasn't the kind everyone could see--the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. KATIE MCGARRYCompassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. ANDREW BOYDShort pain quotesSadness and pain are part of everyone’s life. We hope that some of the short pain quotes listed below will help you in dealing with your situation.Here’s our list of short pain quotes that make perfect captions for your Instagram posts:Life is pain, so live it up while you can. ERNEST HEMINGWAYPain is a fact. Suffering is a choice. NAVAL RAVIKANTWithout pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing. FIGHT CLUBPain is inevitable, suffering is optional. BUDDHALet go of the past. ROBERT GREENEAdversity is the first path to truth. LORD BYRONNew beginnings are often disguised as painful endings. LAO TZUI’ve learned more from pain than I could’ve ever learned from pleasure. UNKNOWNFailure gave me strength. Pain was my motivation. MICHAEL JORDANThere are no gains without pains. BENJAMIN FRANKLINThe root of all suffering is attachment. BUDDHAOne good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. BOB MARLEYThe art of life is the art of avoiding pain. THOMAS JEFFERSONIt hurts because it matters.JOHN GREENThat’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt. JOHN GREENWe can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. C.S. LEWISFace your life, its pain, its pleasure, leave no path untaken. NEIL GAIMANMove toward resistance and pain. ROBERT GREENEMuch of your pain is self-chosen. KAHLIL GIBRANI ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. JEWISH PROVERBThe pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That’s the deal. C.S. LEWISEmbrace the feeling. Start the healing. MAXIME LAGACÉPain is a great motivator. NAVAL RAVIKANTIt’s better to feel pain than nothing at all. UNKNOWNTwo barrels of tears will not heal a bruise. CHINESE PROVERBStrange how we decorate pain. MARGARET ATWOODFear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. ARISTOTLETo hurt is as human as to breathe. J.K. ROWLINGLife is pain and the enjoyment of love is an anesthetic. CESARE PAVESEWise pain quotesIf anything, pain is a teacher. If you learn to change your perspective and see pain from a different point of view, you will soon observe that it often teaches you valuable life lessons. Those lessons will help you cope better with whatever life throws at you in the future.Here’s our list of wise pain quotes that everyone should read:One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love. SOPHOCLESIt is always by way of pain one arrives at pleasure. MARQUIS DE SADETurn your wounds into wisdom. OPRAH WINFREYIf you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. MARCUS AURELIUSThe aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure but to avoid pain. ARISTOTLEWe must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. KENJI MIYAZAWAIt is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things. THEODORE ROOSEVELTRemember anything you want that’s valuable requires you to break through short-term pain in order to gain long-term pleasure. TONY ROBBINSPain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you. MARY TYLER MOOREThere is no education like adversity. BENJAMIN DISRAELIWe must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. JIM ROHNNothing pains some people more than having to think.MARTIN LUTHER KING JRHe who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man. DR. SEUSSWisdom is nothing more than healed pain. ROBERT GARY LEEIf experience is the mother of wisdom, pain is the father. THIBAUTWe are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality. LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECATry to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself. C.S. LEWISSometimes you must hurt in order to know, fall in order to grow, lose in order to gain, because life’s greatest lessons are learnt through pain. NAGATOHandling our suffering is an art. If we know how to suffer, we suffer much less, and we’re no longer afraid of being overwhelmed by the suffering inside. THICH NHAT HANHAcceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it. MICHAEL J. FOXTrying to build a life where you never experience bad feelings is like building a ship that can’t handle a storm. NEIL STRAUSSPain can change you, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a bad change. Take that pain and turn it into wisdom. UNKNOWNThere is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.CARL JUNGWe cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. ALAN WATTSPain, pleasure and death are no more than a process for existence. The revolutionary struggle in this process is a doorway open to intelligence. FRIDA KAHLODo you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul? JOHN KEATSBut who can remember pain, once it’s over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind. MARGARET ATWOODIf you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind. SHANNON L. ALDER

Woman Finds Out Some Big News - Visits Her Dad in the Hospital and Receives a Surprising Reaction
Uplifting News

Woman Finds Out Some Big News - Visits Her Dad in the Hospital and Receives a Surprising Reaction

Alzheimer’s is one of the hardest diseases to go through, especially for the loved ones of the person affected by the disease. While the sick person seems to be in peak physical condition, their mind is deteriorating, along with their memories. So, the person who once looked at you as if you were their whole world may begin to look at you as if you were a stranger. One young woman experienced this with her father, who started suffering from the devastating disease earlier than most. She chronicled her experiences with her once-devoted dad on TikTok. The Surprising News One Woman Gave Her FatherPhoto by Andrea PiacquadioOlivia Salza is a TikToker whose father is battling Alzheimer’s disease. Before his diagnosis, Olivia was a single mother who loved watching her daughter and her father bond. Just as he had been when she was a little girl, her father was the most loving, adventurous, and fun figure in her young daughter’s life. She was eternally grateful for his presence, and was thrilled when he walked her down the aisle after she finally met Nick, the man who would become her husband. Unfortunately, he was soon diagnosed with the disease and deteriorated quickly. To make matters worse for Olivia and her family, she and her new husband were struggling with infertility. They tried to conceive for more than three years, but had no luck. Finally, Nick and Olivia got what they had been hoping for for so long -- Olivia was expecting! She was over the moon but was worried she would not be able to tell the one person who mattered the most to her: her father.She decided she would pray for him to be having a lucid day, and went to the hospital to give him the big news. She captured the exchange on video.The Bittersweet Moment Between One Dad and His Daughter Olivia walked into the hospital room and asked a few preliminary questions to check if her father was lucid that day. Amazingly, he was, and he was in good spirits. He joked around with Olivia and Nick, and was excited when she told him she had news.She revealed that she was finally pregnant and that he would be a grandpa again. Her father immediately broke down into tears and gave Nick a meaningful look, congratulating him. He excitedly told him that he would get to experience “the cradle of that person,” the most wonderful feeling in the world. Olivia burst into tears saying “that’s what you’ve done for me my whole life.”While this moment between father and daughter is in some ways devastating, it is also beautiful. Alzheimer’s disease did not steal the moment from the family, they were still able to bask in the happy news together. While he is still deteriorating, grandpa got the meet his new grandson nine months later, and he was overcome with happiness then too.

Police Officer of 19 Years Dances on the Street - And His Reason Why Has People Laughing
Uplifting News

Police Officer of 19 Years Dances on the Street - And His Reason Why Has People Laughing

A Cleveland Clinic police officer has got some serious dance moves … and they have made him go viral!Corporal Eric Hudson has been dancing his way into the hearts of caregivers and visitors as he helps them safely cross the street on their way to the Cleveland Clinic.Hudson's motivation to volunteer as a crossing guard has always been to make people smile and add some light to their days while simply … paying kindness forward."You'd be surprised with the caregivers, how many of them hug me and break down. They're crying in my arms saying 'thank you, I needed this.' So, that's what gives me joy. When I come here, I love giving that energy, and it reciprocates back to me. I love it," Hudson told ABC7 Chicago.Why One Police Officer Dances on the StreetsHudson, 49, a Cleveland native, said that sharing love was what helped him through his darkest days on the job as a police officer. He has now been a member of the Cleveland Clinic’s police department for 19 years."It weighs on you every day. You come in and put your life on the line, and there's scrutiny, so it drains you because you don't feel appreciated," he said.RELATED: Teen’s Crush Agrees to Be His Date to the Dance, Then Plays a Cruel Prank on Him – So He Gets the Best RevengeTo beat those blues, Hudson volunteered for crosswalk duty to share his moves, play music, sing and add cheer to the community and be an optimistic beacon for all of the people coming in and out of the Clinic."This is just me being me. I love it. I love my community," he said.“He delivers high fives, endless dance moves, and pure happiness to our caregivers and visitors while he’s working,” said the Cleveland Clinic in a YouTube video they shared of Hudson in action. “Life is too short not to have fun!”How One Police Officer Proved the Importance of Spreading LoveThe Cleveland Clinic was established in 1921 and has pioneered a number of medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. It has 77,000 caregivers, 22 hospitals, and 275 outpatient facilities in locations around the world.“You’d be surprised by the energy, the love people receive, and how they give it back,” said Hudson. “Especially with our caregivers, you never know the load they’re carrying when they walk into the Clinic.”One patient from the Cleveland Clinic even drove around the block a few times just so she could see more. “It made me laugh so hard! It was the best medicine of the week,” she told Cleveland.com.“I decided I’m going to give them that energy before they go to work. Just like I’m helping them out, they’re helping me out.”

How to End a Relationship: A 5-Step Guide to Breaking up, Letting Go and Moving on
Dating

How to End a Relationship: A 5-Step Guide to Breaking up, Letting Go and Moving on

Ending a relationship can be a painful process. Your hopes and dreams for a future with your partner are typically replaced with disappointment and anger. But while breaking up is always tough—and can take a serious toll on your mental health in the short term—it’s also a great opportunity for personal and relationship growth. The end of a relationship can bring sadness of course but also clarity and a renewed purpose for finding yourself—and the right partner someday.To help you through this often challenging time, here is a five-step guide for weathering the storm of a breakup, letting go of the relationship and moving on to the next bright, new chapter of your life. Put a Post-breakup Self Care Plan in Place(Getty)If you’re the one doing the breaking up, you know what’s coming. (Though, even if you’re not the one to officially end things, you likely have a sense that a breakup is on the horizon.) Once you realize that there’s a clock ticking down the time left of your relationship, you can start preparing for the inevitable fall out.This means determining how you’ll take care of yourself when the relationship officially ends. Self care looks different for everyone but some ideas might be: stocking your refrigerator and pantry with nourishing foods, firming up an exercise routine that you can use to worth through your emotions in a physical way, putting in for time off from work so you can take a restorative vacation, researching a therapist so you can get mental health support, starting a meditation practice or making the perfect post-breakup playlist. Doing this before the relationship is completely over—when you’ll be less inclined to want to take care of yourself—gives you a head start on healing. Have a Respectful Breakup Conversation(Getty)When it comes time to have the big talk about your relationship, come prepared with what you want to say. This helps keep you from lashing out emotionally or saying things you don’t really mean. Coming to the conversation as calm and prepared as possible allows you to have a respectful breakup—and fewer regrets about how things went down.If you have questions for your soon-to-be ex or need things clarified, use the breakup as the time to get your answers. Put it all on the table so you don’t feel the urge to call them or text them after the fact. You’re going to need space to truly be able to move on. Set Boundaries to Let Yourself HealAfter the breakup, do what you need to do to facilitate your own healing. While you may have the desire to befriend your now-ex, don’t get ahead of yourself emotionally. Right after a breakup is not the time to transition from partners to friends. You need space. They need space. To create these boundaries, initiate a rule of no contact after the breakup. Don’t respond to texts or calls. Stop following your ex (and their friends and family members) on social media. Block these people if you need to so that you can protect your peace. If your ex needs to pick up stuff they left at your house, put everything in a box and leave it on your front porch. You might want to consider getting rid of or storing any relics of your relationship (gifts from your ex or pictures of you two) as well. These steps in the process are all so important for letting go. Finally, sit with your own feelings and decide who is worthy of speaking about those feelings with. (Like only your close friends or your therapist. Or maybe no one at all. Your choice.) You don’t owe people an explanation or a play by play of your breakup. Shut down any conversation that’s seeking to get information out of you—your life is not fodder for gossip. Utilize Your Support System and Self-Care Strategies(Getty)Lean on the people who love you to get through this hard time. When friends offer to bring over food (or wine) or ask if you need anything don’t brush them off. Let them help you, even if it’s just listening to you talk out your feelings yet again. Strengthening the bonds with the people who are close to you will serve as a reminder that while you’re now single you are certainly not alone. Be sure that you’re keeping up with your self care during this time, too. Revisit the plan you made and decide if you need to tweak or add in anything that can help you. Many people find journaling to be a helpful post-breakup activity as it allows them to get everything out. There’s a certain power in writing your feelings down—doing so can almost neutralize or take some of the sting out of your heartache. Prioritize your own happinessNow that you’re no longer part of a couple you have the opportunity to truly focus on your own needs and desires. You hold the keys to your own happiness and you don’t need to compromise or defer to anyone else right now. You don’t have to check in with anyone or ask for permission. Especially if you’re emerging from a long term relationship, this can be a strange, almost foreign feeling.Take this chance to rediscover who you are outside of being someone’s partner. What activities do you truly enjoy doing? Who do you actually love to hang out with? What really lights you up inside? Prioritize your joy to help you move on from this relationship. Once you feel healed from your breakup, you might start to ponder if you’d like to find someone new. The possibilities for your next partner are truly endless and you never know who you might meet. Get excited knowing that your best relationship is yet to come. (Getty)Remember that everyone’s post-breakup process may look a little different since no two people, or two relationships, are alike. As you grieve the death of what could have been, just know that you’ll come out the other side stronger and more love-savvy than ever before.

50 Inspirational Quotes to Uplift and Motivate
Leaders

50 Inspirational Quotes to Uplift and Motivate

Whether it’s a day you wish you’d stayed in bed, or you just happen to be searching for a little more direction to get the world straight and develop success in your day-to-day life, sometimes all it takes is a few words of wisdom from fellow human beings to push you in the right direction. Learn a little from those who have lived life to the fullest - a successful outcome may only be a quote away! And don’t forget, motivation determines the course of our lives, and if you could use some help manifesting your desires, these quotes may help you jumpstart the happy life you envisioned for yourself. No matter what situation you’re dealing with, you’re sure to find an inspirational quote (or three) in the list below that speaks power to your current challenges and helps you lift your chin up just a little higher. Sometimes, the only limit to success is the limit you set yourself - so enjoy the quotes below!Live by these inspirational wordsWords are more powerful than many would like to admit to themselves. So why not use this power for good? Since we could all do with a little inspirational boost every now and then, using words to anchor us and help us to live well should be a no-brainer. The following quotes are all noble anchors.“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’” - Audrey Hepburn“Spread love everywhere you go.” - Mother Teresa“Belief creates the actual fact.” - William James“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein“Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” - Walt Whitman“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Zig Ziglar“At the end of the day, whether or not those people are comfortable with how you’re living your life doesn’t matter. What matters is whether you’re comfortable with it.” - Dr. Phil“People tell you the world looks a certain way. Parents tell you how to think. Schools tell you how to think. TV. Religion. And then at a certain point, if you’re lucky, you realize you can make up your own mind. Nobody sets the rules but you. You can design your own life.” - Carrie Ann Moss“I’m going to be gone one day, and I have to accept that tomorrow isn’t promised. Am I OK with how I’m living today? It’s the only thing I can help. If I didn’t have another one, what have I done with all my todays? Am I doing a good job?” - Hayley Williams“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” - Roald DahlThe very best inspirational quotes for deeper meaningLife is a hustle; we get so busy sometimes that it’s easy to forget that magic underlies everything we do. When you need to re-centre, dig a little deeper, and make contact with the source within, these quotes are for you.“Be courageous. Challenge orthodoxy. Stand up for what you believe in. When you are in your rocking chair talking to your grandchildren many years from now, be sure you have a good story to tell.” - Amal Clooney“You make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You draw your own box.” - Duchess Meghan“You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.” - Oprah Winfrey“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” - Michelle Obama“I care about decency and humanity and kindness. Kindness today is an act of rebellion.” - Pink“When it comes to luck, you make your own.” - Bruce Springsteen“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one!” - Dolly Parton“Wake up determined, go to bed satisfied.” - Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.” - Augustine Og Mandino“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” - Stephen R. Covey“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” - Vince Lombardi Uplifting quotes for positive thinkingMost of us have a routine that we adhere to on a daily basis in order to get us from point A to point B without wasting time, energy, or needless worry. But how many of us schedule time for some daily inspiration? While Mark Twain quotes are a respectable source of uplifting wisdom, many others can also help ground us in the wonder of the day-to-day.“Stay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great too.” - Mark Twain“Do not allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put some sunglasses on.” - Lady Gaga"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Edison“There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.” - Martin Luther King Jr“We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action. Fear is nature's way of warning us to get busy.” - Dr. Henry Link“I’m not going to continue knocking that old door that doesn’t open for me. I’m going to create my own door and walk through that.” - Ava DuVernay“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi“Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen—that stillness becomes a radiance.” - Morgan Freeman“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” - Earl Nightingale“Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.” - Henry David Thoreau“Our lives are stories in which we write, direct and star in the leading role. Some chapters are happy while others bring lessons to learn, but we always have the power to be the heroes of our own adventures.” - Joelle Speranza“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” - Rosa Parks“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” - Amelia EarhartMeaningful and motivational quotes for the dayEven the most motivated among us can use a little pick-me-up every now and again to help set us back on course and keep our eye on the prize. After all, our attitude determines almost everything! No one said it was easy, least of all anyone who’s ever accomplished anything. So here’s a great idea: use the following inspirational quotes moving forward, and they may just help you crystallize your intentions and set off down the road of action to find the light tomorrow. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” - Carol Burnett“There is nothing impossible for those who will try.” - Alexander the Great“If you make your internal life a priority, then everything else you need on the outside will be given to you and it will be extremely clear what the next step is.” - Gabrielle Bernstein“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson“I am experienced enough to do this. I am knowledgeable enough to do this. I am prepared enough to do this. I am mature enough to do this. I am brave enough to do this.” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez“Weaknesses are just strengths in the wrong environment.” - Marianne Cantwell“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” - Anne Frank“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” - Joseph Campbell“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” - Ruth Bader(Getty)“We are not our best intentions. We are what we do.” - Amy DickinsonBest inspirational quotes for hard timesMost of us are extremely well acquainted with the reality that life is fraught with challenges of all stripes, and that these challenges occur rather continually at times. When times are hard, it becomes necessary to turn inward and seek inspiration. Once again, the lived experiences of others can be an invaluable resource at times like these. From Nelson Mandela quotes to nuggets of wisdom spoken by people you’ve never heard of, hearing the right words at the right time can be a game-changer.“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” - Michael Altshuler“I just want you to know that if you are out there and you are being really hard on yourself right now for something that has happened … it’s normal. That is what is going to happen to you in life. No one gets through unscathed. We are all going to have a few scratches on us. Please be kind to yourselves and stand up for yourself, please.” - Taylor Swift(Getty)“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” - Malala Yousafzai“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.” - Brene Brown“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” - Aristotle “Not having the best situation, but seeing the best in your situation is the key to happiness.” - Marie Forleo“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” - Maya Angelou(Getty)“Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth, and everything else will come.” - Ellen DegeneresYou gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” - Eleanor RooseveltThe bottom lineIt’s perfectly natural to lose inspiration from time to time, as we go through the motions, and as we travel from one task to the next. Next time you need a little boost, consider referring back to this list of inspirational quotes to help you realign with your truest self. Or, if you liked these and want some more, maybe these motivational quotes are just what the doctor ordered.

100 Beach Quotes & Sayings to Remind You of Those Happy Summer Days
Quotes

100 Beach Quotes & Sayings to Remind You of Those Happy Summer Days

There’s something special about the time spend on the beach. It simply moves differently. People are more relaxed, they smile more. Maybe it’s because they’re on vacation or maybe there’s simply something magical about this places.Some people prefer the mountain, whether it’s sunny or snowy. The fresh air, the lakes and the crystal rivers have their own charm. Besides, if you’re a winter sports’ fan, the mountain will definitely be your first choice. Nature is beautiful, regardless of our preferences. However, the sound of the waves hitting the shore, the salty air, and the soft sand somehow remain romantic and eternal.The sunsets and the sunrise look and feel different when you’re on a beach sipping on one of your favorite cocktails. It’s like you’re surrounded only by good vibes that make it impossible not to relax and switch to "vacay mode”.If you’re looking for something to take you back to those warm summer days, check out our collection of cute beach quotes.Here Are 100 Beach Quotes and Sayings to Remind you of Those Happy Summer DaysFunny beach quotesIt’s a safe bet to say that everyone is funnier at the beach than at school or at work. You’re more relaxed and it can easily be seen in the way you behave or speak.You suddenly feel playful, you want to just run along the shore, act silly and scream from the top of your lungs that you’re finally happy. And since we’re all so hooked up on our social media, why not write a funny status to let your friends know about the wonderful time you’re having?We’re almost sure that the sea has already inspired you to come up with a funny beach quote on your own. But if not, check out the following Instagram beach quotes that we’ve handpicked for you.I wish that Beach Therapy was covered by my Health Insurance. UNKNOWNThere’s no place like home. Except the beach. UNKNOWNHow to have a beach body: 1. Have a body 2. Go to the beach. UNKNOWNHow inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. ARTHUR C. CLARKELife is a beach. I’m just playing in the sand.LIL' WAYNEEveryone should believe in something. I believe I’ll go to the beach. UNKNOWNI’m in a tropical state of mind. UNKNOWNLife is better in flip flops. UNKNOWNPlease excuse my resting beach face. UNKNOWNThe ocean asked to hang out, and I said, ‘Shell yeah.’ UNKNOWNI can sea clearly now. UNKNOWNQuotes to celebrate the beach life The good life, right? Most of us love the beach so much because we associate it with holidays. No more emails, no more work related phone calls. Your phone’s sole purpose now is to take good pictures and create long lasting memories.However, there are people who live by the sea, and I believe those people are the happiest. For them, it’s mostly sunny and if they want to relax in the afternoon, the beach is at a stone’s throw.The closer you get to the beach, the sound of the waves cover all the other noises that stress you on a daily basis.Here are some beach life quotes that prove how great it is:If everyone could just live near the ocean, I think we’d all be happier. It’s hard to be down about anything knee deep in the sand. CRYSTAL WOODSThose who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part. HERMANN BROCHOne learns first of all in beach living the art of shedding; how little one can get along with, not how much.ANNE MORROW LINDBERGHOn the beach, you can live in bliss.DENNIS WILSONTo escape and sit quietly on the beach that’s my idea of paradise. EMILIA WICKSTEADTo myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.ISAAC NEWTONI have always loved the beach. The smell of the salty water, the wind in my face, the gentle roar of the waves all combine to create a sense of peace and calm. UNKNOWNIf there’s heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached to it. JIMMY BUFFETTrue freedom is on the beach.ROSAMUND PIKEInspirational beach quotesSometimes, all we need to take us back to those happy and sunny days is a good summer beach quote. Below you’ll find a few that will also make you daydream about your future holiday.The ocean is an inspiration in itself. We’ve all felt like poets while watching a beautiful sunset on the beach. The warm breeze and the captivating colors often bring out our inner artist.Check out our inspirational beach quotes, pick your favorite and print it on one of the best pictures you have from your summer vacation. Or better yet, pick more and create an awesome album with pictures of all your dear ones that have joined you.At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun. SANDY GINGRASBecause there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away. SARAH KAYWhere does a wise man kick a pebble? On the beach. Where does a wise man hide a leaf? In the forest.G. K. CHESTERTONThe three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach.HENRY BESTONBeach Rules: Soak up the sun. Ride the waves. Breathe the salty air. Feel the breeze. Build sandcastles. Rest, relax, reflect. Collect seashells. Bare-feet required. UNKNOWNAfter a visit to the beach, it’s hard to believe that we live in a material world.PAM SHAWIn every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.RACHEL CARSONThe beach is in our blood. Everyone in our family returns to the beach instinctively, just like the sea turtles.SANDY ARCHIBALDMy life is like a stroll on the beach… as near to the edge as I can go.HENRY DAVID THOREAU (more Henry David Thoreau quotes)You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUSYou can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. JON KABAT-ZINNThe cure for anything is salt water -- sweat, tears, or the sea.ISAK DINESENThe ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul. ROBERT WYLANDEvery time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard. PSYCHE ROXAS-MENDOZASmell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.VAN MORRISONGoing out with the setting sun on an empty beach is really embracing your loneliness.JEANNE MOREAUThe beach to me is a sacred zone between the earth and the sea, one of those in-between between places where transitions can be experienced where endings can be mourned and beginnings birthed. JOAN ANDERSONDay at the beach quotesSometimes the world around us gets so hectic. We can’t even remember the last time we haven’t been stressed by work or daily struggles. You know what can cure all that, at least temporarily? Vitamin Sea!A long day at the beach will help your mind declutter. Just for one day put your phone away and allow yourself to loosen-up. Feel the warm sun against your skin and burry your feet in the soft sand. Let all you thoughts dissolve into the sound of the waves and enjoy the beautiful silence that comes with it.For now, read our selection of day at the beach quotes and make sure you take that trip as soon as you can.The true beauty of a woman can be observed when she has spent the day at the beach. TROIAN BELLISARIOIf you need me, call me on my shell. UNKNOWNAt the beach, just another day in paradise! UNKNOWNA cloudy day at the beach is still a day at the… Beach! UNKNOWNI followed my heart and it lead me to the beach. UNKNOWNGetting my daily dose of Vitamin Sea. UNKNOWNI’m going to change the world, but today I’ll just be a mermaid. UNKNOWNTime wasted at the beach is time well spent. UNKNOWNA good beach day keeps the doctor away. UNKNOWNMy only worry today is if the tide gets too close to my beach blanket. UNKNOWNAn ocean breeze puts a mind at ease. ALI GORDONDance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free. CHRISTY ANN MARTINEA day at the beach is never lost time. When the warm grains of sand touch our hearts, we know we’re in the right place. UNKNOWNQuotes to express your love for the beachEveryone loves the beach. Maybe some of you have even experienced one of those movie-like summer romances.Below, you’ll definitely find a quote that will instantly put you in a romantic mood. There are few things better than walking along the shore while holding the hand of your loved one. But whether you’ve fallen in love at the beach or you’re simply in love with the beach, we got you covered.For many, the beach is a place that brings up memories of laughter, joy and love. There’s something in the air that is so soothing for the soul.We hope our list of summer beach quotes will evoke all those happy memories.The ocean is both my mistress and my lover. How else can I explain her salty kiss that is still on my lips. ANTHONY T. HINCKSTake time in a place you love, restore your spirit on the beach.LUANNE RICESky above our heads. Sand beneath our feet. Life is good. UNKNOWNThe sand may brush off, the salt may wash clean, the tans may fade, but the memories will last forever. UNKNOWNYou all want to know what my dream is? Very simple. To walk along the beach, holding the hand of my lover MICHELLE BACHELETIf a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.BERN WILLIAMSDo I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches. THE PRINCESS BRIDELong walks on the beach are the supposed holy grail of a romantic evening. The beach becomes a kind of utopia the place where all our dreams come true. ROXANE GAYI miss the beach, the peace it brings you. I love the sound and smell of the sea. GENESIS RODRIGUEZSummer romances end for all kinds of reasons. But when all is said and done, they have one thing in common: They are shooting stars-a spectacular moment of light in the heavens, a fleeting glimpse of eternity. And in a flash, they’re gone.NICHOLAS SPARKSDo not grow too fast, so you do not forget how much you love the beach.MICHELLE HELDI thought of you and how you love this beauty,/ And walking up the long beach all alone/ I heard the waves breaking in measured thunder/ As you and I once heard their monotone. SARAH TEASDALEMore funny beach quotes and punsWe usually go to the beach to unwind, and when our minds drift away from our daily routines that include work and things we have to do, but not necessarily want to, we can finally have fun. But until you get the chance to dip your toes in the sand, we’ve prepared some more funny beach quotes for you to enjoy.Beachology: Be shore of yourself. Don’t be crabby. Let your worries drift away. Drown out pier pressure. Soak up positive energy. Seas life’s moments. UNKNOWNI’m pretty sure my birthstone is a sea shell.UNKNOWNGirls just wanna have sun.UNKNOWNSand on, stress off.UNKNOWNI don’t wanna be tide down.UNKNOWNGiving in to pier pressure.UNKNOWNIf there’s a will there’s a wave.UNKNOWNOcean breeze and beach sayingsThere’s something about the ocean breeze. It’s so soothing and it can induce so much calmness. There aren’t too many things on this Earth that can so easily put the mind at ease. So here are a few ocean breeze and beach sayings that will carry you to a place of peace.Advice from the Ocean: Be shore of yourself. Come out of your shell. Take time to coast. Avoid pier pressure. Sea life’s beauty. Don’t get so tide down on work that you miss out on life’s beautiful waves.UNKNOWNA pool just isn’t the same as the ocean. It has no energy. No life.LINDA GERBERShe loves the serene brutality of the ocean, loves the electric power she felt with each breath of wet, briny air.HOLLY BLACKFor her the ocean was more than a dream, it was a place she needed to visit to find herself. And when she returned to the city, you could see the sun in her eyes, the wind in her hair, and taste the infinite salt in her lips. JOSE CHAVEZThis was where I’d always found peace. The ocean was my drug of choice. SUSAN M. BOYEThe calming movement of the sea along with the restless ocean breeze gently caresses me creating a soothing trance which lulls me to a place of peace. M. L. BORGESIn one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans. KAHLIL GIBRANThe ocean makes me feel really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective. BEYONCÉOur memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone. UNKNOWNI believe in the ocean curing all bad moods. I believe in the waves wiping away worries. I believe in seashells bringing good luck. I believe in toes in the sand grounding my soul. UNKNOWNBeach captions for InstagramWe know that when you’re on vacation you have to share at least a photo with your friends on social media. In this regard, we’ve picked some beach captions for you. Pick your favorite one, share it, and then put your phone away. Allow yourself to really enjoy every moment.Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home. SYLVIA EARLEGone to the beach. Be back never.UNKNOWNShell-abrate good times.UNKNOWNEat. Beach. Sleep. Repeat.UNKNOWNSea la vie!UNKNOWNHaving a whale of a time.UNKNOWNLong time, no sea.UNKNOWNHappiness comes in waves.UNKNOWNNamast’ay at the beach.UNKNOWNI love you to the shore line and back.UNKNOWNYou’re the piña to my colada.UNKNOWNWe mermaid for each other.UNKNOWNI’m an aquaholic.UNKNOWNMore inspirational beach quotesEvery time we think about the beach, something different may pop up in our minds. Some of us instantly think about a great vacation, others will think about it on a deeper level. We are all impressed with the vastness of the ocean and often compare it to life or love.If you’re the type that sees more than water and sand when it comes to the ocean, here are some more inspirational beach quotes for you. You never really know what’s coming. A small wave, or maybe a big one. All you can really do is hope that when it comes, you can surf over it, instead of drown in its monstrosity. ALYSHA SPEERYou are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.RUMIVicinity to the sea is desirable, because it is easier to do nothing by the sea than anywhere else, and because bathing and basking on the shore cannot be considered an employment but only an apotheosis of loafing. ("Expiation") E.F. BENSONNo words can express, The depth of her contentment, As she walks along the beach. As the waves lap against the shores, They create the rhythm of her life. Balmy breeze kiss, Her sun-bronzed skin, And she wonders… Could there ever be a greater destiny, Than to be born with a love, For the treasures of the sea? Here, she is home. SUZY TORONTOBe careful… not all are what they seem. Some people pretend to be the beach, but they’re actually quicksand.STEVE MARABOLIThe weather was perfect that summer. No storms. Blue skies and just the right amount of wind every day. The sailors were in heaven.KATHERINE HALL PAGEIt's because it's the beginning, and also the end. That was what she loved about the place where the water met the land. A promise of something fresh, a suggestion that even if what is happening now is to be suffered, there is an end and a beginning.JACQUELINE WINSPEARIf you feel lonely walking alone on the beach then you are ignoring the friendship of the waves, the seagulls and the wind!MEHMET MURAT ILDAN

What Is Cherophobia and Could You Possibly Suffer From It?
Mental Health

What Is Cherophobia and Could You Possibly Suffer From It?

A phobia goes way beyond simply disliking something, or feeling uncomfortable in a given situation. According to mental health experts, a phobia is an overwhelming anxiety or fear surrounding a certain place, circumstance or thing. Phobias can also center around a specific feeling, which makes those emotion-based fears a bit more intangible than others. For instance, cherophobia is the fear of being happy, and while it is not one of the most common phobias, these sorts of mental health conditions are highly relatable concepts nonetheless. Some may not be able to fathom the idea of having an irrational aversion to happiness, but people can experience all types of phobias throughout their lives. They can be common ones like a fear of spiders (arachnophobia) or heights (acrophobia), or they can be more unusual aversions like a fear of cheese (turophobia) or belly buttons (omphalophobia). And yes, that last one totally is a real thing.In fact, according to the American Psychiatric Association, eight to twelve percent of adults in the United States will experience specific phobias in a given year. Statistically, women are more likely than men to experience an anxiety disorder that leads to these fears, as well as other types of social anxiety. Medical experts classify cherophobia as an anxiety disorderHow does a fear of being happy play out in real life? Someone with cherophobia will work to actively avoid joyful moments and situations. They won’t allow themselves to go to a so-called “happy place,” either mentally or literally. If you or someone you know has a fear of being happy, you may want to know how to get rid of cherophobia, since this phobia can impact not only the relationships in your life but your overall well-being. Here’s what you should know about the fear of happiness, including who’s most likely to experience it, and how to ultimately overcome cherophobia. Understanding the cherophobia definitionAlthough cherophobia has been documented as a legitimate phobia, it’s not yet officially recognized as a clinical disorder under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, a number of studies have worked to define the fear of happiness and understand why it exists. One aspect that makes cherophobia hard to define is the fact that the concept of happiness itself can be difficult to put into words, at least in a universal way. Happiness can also be hard to put a definition to medically and scientifically. In fact, an entire branch of research—called positive psychology—is dedicated to understanding happiness. Happiness can mean different things to different people, after all. The happiness scaleSome use what is called the “happiness scale” to measure what is, admittedly, a subjective perspective. Sonja Lyubormiski, a Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, came up with a self-evaluative measurement system. It works by having respondents answer a simple four-question survey. Questions include: One common way to describe happiness that most people can agree on is this: Happiness is the experience of having a feeling of contentment with one’s life, and the feeling of happiness is often linked to emotions like feeling fulfilled and experiencing gratitude. A fear of happiness, then, can be associated with a belief that feeling joy or contentment is not possible, or even that pursuing happiness is a frivolous pursuit. The mentality of cherophobia puts sufferers in a tough spot: They end up judging themselves for feeling joy, and woes still, they sometimes end up transferring that judgement onto other people as well. All in all that makes this phobia pretty darn isolating. It’s hard to be around someone who can’t tolerate personal happiness, or who can’t feel free expressing happiness in a normal way.Signs you might have cherophobiaIf you think you might have a happiness aversion, take stock of your actions and beliefs surrounding joy and personal satisfaction. In your day-to-day life, do you make choices that other people might not understand—and that are guaranteed to keep happiness at bay?People with cherophobia typically avoid social gatherings like birthdays, weddings and other celebrations. They may also break off relationships that make them feel content, as the sensation of being happy in love or in friendship makes them feel uncomfortable. They could also turn down significant life opportunities, like a promotion at work or a chance to travel, if the experience will bring the possibility of joy.While these behavioral symptoms of cherophobia are pretty straightforward, there are other signs of having a fear of happiness that are less obvious. These have to do with mental reasoning and subconscious beliefs. (Westend61/Getty)To experience cherophobia is to be constantly living with the belief that being happy somehow makes you a bad person. If others are suffering, why should you experience joy? This thought process not only involves a lot of projected guilt—you’d feel badly if you were happy—but this way of thinking also upholds the belief that happy people are self-involved or self-serving. Another belief is that being happy is only a precursor to being miserable. That if something wonderful happens in your life, then the universe will need to balance that out with some sort of tragedy. People with this attitude toward life are typically waiting for the other shoe to drop—not only do they fear happiness but they go through the day always imagining that something terrible is right around the corner waiting for them.Finally, people with cherophobia may also believe that it’s rude to express happiness. They see happy people’s outlooks as an affront to others and don’t want to cause upset by showing or partaking in joy. Happiness could make other people jealous or suspicious of them, which is another reason they fear getting caught up in it. People who could be more susceptible to cherophobiaHaving certain personality traits may also make a person more likely than others to have a fear of happiness. In particular there are a few key qualities identified by research that could make cherophobia thrive. Here’s how each one can increase a person’s vulnerability to this phobia:IntroversionIt should go without saying that introverts are in no way predisposed to cherophobia. However, if someone experiences some kind of traumatic event that sparks cherophobia and they happen to be introverted, their lifestyle tendencies to shy away from social gatherings and spend time by themselves can sometimes encourage the fear of happiness to grow. People who are more extroverted, on the flip side, are less likely to have a fear of being happy. This is because they are more prone to spending time gathering with others and being social inherently brings extroverts joy.PerfectionismSomeone who is always striving to be a better version of themselves may equate happiness as complacency. If you’re not constantly working toward something, then you’re basically settling—and this applies to everything in life, not just joy. For a perfectionist, if they’re happy then they don’t need to micromanage their existence anymore, which would take away their sense of self. WithdrawalIn psychology, withdrawal is defined as having a tendency toward depression and anxiety. In a 2013 study about the different connections of fear and happiness, researchers found that people who are depressed often avoid social events or activities that could bring them joy. This leads to a spiral, the study suggests, where withdrawing socially supports the idea in someone’s mind that being social will only lead to disappointment or loneliness in the end, causing more isolation or a fear of happiness during activities that are meant to be fun. AgreeablenessAnother psychology term, agreeableness, is defined as a person’s ability to put other people’s needs above their own. While thinking of others can bring joy in its own way, there is a line between serving others and forgetting oneself. When it comes to cherophobia, someone who is very agreeable has a hard time being happy in their own life because so much of their self worth is wrapped up in making sure the people around them are happy. Why a fear of happiness can be a big dealCherophobia isn’t just tough on your relationships and on your mental state, it can be detrimental for your physical health as well. Happiness hormones, especially endorphins such as serotonin and dopamine, are important for our well-being. When you don’t produce enough of these endorphins, you may develop depression, which, as mentioned above, can put you in a mental cycle that’s tough to break. But serotonin and dopamine are also critical for maintaining proper body function beyond the brain. Research also shows that happiness may have an effect on various systems within the body such as blood pressure, cardiovascular health and the immune system. There’s even the potential that a positive outlook and general sense of well-being may allow for a longer lifespan. When someone lives in fear that every positive experience will undoubtedly bring a negative one, this can cause the body to activate stress hormones, particularly cortisol. Too much cortisol in the body paves the way for chronic stress to take hold. Long-term chronic stress can lead to all sorts of physical issues, including headaches, digestive problems, heart disease, sleep issues, weight gain and lack of concentration. This is because cortisol activates your flight-or-flight response system, taking nonessential body functions offline so you can respond to a perceived threat. When that threat is happiness, you get all of the issues that come with too much cortisol running through your system and none of the perks that happiness can bring. Overcoming cherophobiaHow to treat cherophobia? The answer is to first turn within and try to identify the root cause of your fear of happiness. Cherophobia usually comes about after a significant trauma or conflict. Keeping happiness at arm’s length can be a protective measure to avoid future hurt. Understanding what happened in the past to trigger a fear of being happy can be an important first step toward overcoming this phobia and making positive life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can HelpWorking with a trusted therapist, particularly someone skilled in cognitive behavioral therapy, can also be helpful for healing. Cognitive behavioral therapy centers on helping people recognize detrimental or illogical thought patterns and looking for behavioral changes to counterbalance them. Identifying the scripts running through your brain about happiness that lead to an irrational or heightened sense of fear of happiness is key. Changing the mental conversation around happiness beliefs with a professional can help you overcome your fear. Relaxation strategies like yoga, deep breathing, journaling and exercising can also be useful for combating cherophobia. These activities can help regulate cortisol by alleviating stress, as well as manage symptoms of anxiety and depression, both of which can further fuel cherophobia. Having a calmer mental state may allow for you to break free from the intrusive thoughts about happiness that cherophobia can bringFinally, it’s important to take the leap and embrace the discomfort of happiness in order to overcome this phobia. Make time in your day for small moments of happiness that can challenge your beliefs about joy without overwhelming you. Use your daily routine to find these moments. They can be simple things like smelling your morning coffee before you take the first sip or feeling the warm water on your skin when you take a shower. A mindful gratitude practice can connect you with your body, the current moment and a tangible thing you are thankful for in your life.Start small and start SteadyBuild toward experiencing happiness in a manageable setting. Maybe it’s an activity like grabbing dinner with a friend or visiting an art gallery. Seizing moments of joy and realizing that nothing bad will happen will eventually add up. As you train your brain to feel comfortable with experiencing joy again, you’ll be able to free yourself from the grip of cherophobia. You can overcome this, and make yourself a much happier person!

How to Be Happy: 10 Simple but Profound Daily Habits to Increase Happiness
Self-Development

How to Be Happy: 10 Simple but Profound Daily Habits to Increase Happiness

No one would turn down the offer for more happiness, am I right? Happiness is one thing we cannot get enough of. We want happiness in all magnitudes and in all areas of our lives, including physical well being, emotional connections, financial abundance, steamy romance, loving and supportive family and friends — all leading to the overarching ideal of what we picture as Happiness with a capital H. However, the question of how exactly to gain a happy life for yourself doesn’t have a clear cut answer. Although it has led to the production of innumerable books, poems, documentations, scientific research and psychological studies throughout human history. In the end, the key to personal happiness remains somewhat of a mystery, leaving us wondering if there is a magical formula to a semi-permanent and lasting positive mood for us mere mortals here on earth.Life satisfaction: The mind-body connectionNot until more recent years did Western cultures begin to widely recognize the significance of our body, mind, and spirit connections and what that means for our mental health and overall happiness. Continued studies in psychology and neuroscience also confirms our environment and our thoughts have a direct linkage to our brain chemistry, responsible for signaling different sensations in our bodies. (The Good Brigade / Getty)This quick read in Psychology Today summarizes how our physical experience triggers the neurotransmitters in our nervous system and affects our mental health. In other words, our thoughts can affect hormone secretion which regulate our feelings and sensations.Mental health through fitnessIn short, how we take care of our physical body takes care of our mind which dictates our mood; and how we take care of our mental and emotional health takes care of our physical well being and our overall happiness. Taking care of this intricate balance forms the very foundation we build upon to gain everything we strive for, so we can achieve ultimate life satisfaction, one filled with positive emotions and a positive attitude.But how many people can truly say they are happy? According to an article from Greater Good Magazine by University of California, Berkeley, the 2019 World Happiness Report finds that people are feeling worse than ever before. Not only has a positive outlook been harder to achieve, but negative emotions are rising around the world, indicating a widening happiness gap. While this alarming news is something to be concerned with, the good news is, many of us with greater self-awareness now realize that happiness isn’t just something that happens to us, it is something we can create and maintain by positive habits. Fortunately, not all new habits have to cause drastic changes in your daily life. Sometimes, the simplest micro habits can make an impact for your overall happiness subtly but effectively. This can be true in many ways, whether you practice gratitude, upgrade your sleep routine, or find yourself enjoying the journey instead of always focusing on the destination.“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.”― JAMES CLEAR, AUTHOR OF ATOMIC HABITSWhat is happiness anyway?What truly constitutes the state of happiness? And how can we be sure it isn’t temporary, like many external pursuits can be? Consider this definition of happiness: Happiness is a feeling of contentment, that life is just as it should be. Perfect happiness, enlightenment, comes when you have all of your needs satisfied. Since the feeling of happiness and fulfillment is highly individualized, what makes one person happy doesn’t necessarily do the same for the other, I thought I would curate a list of habits that focuses on providing building blocks to support positive thoughts. This includes a heightened awareness and clarity of our surroundings and our personal journeys, greater self awareness, stress reduction, gratitude, and compassion, so you can achieve lasting happiness for exactly the way you’d like it.1. Begin your morning with an affirmationIt is important to set the tone for the rest of your day with a positive intention. Sometimes we can carry over the remnants of a grumpy mood from the day before or just from how we slept overnight. A loving and motivating affirmation will help you snap into a brand new day of possibilities. It is a way of practicing gratitude as a way of finding ways to be happier.Set aside a quiet minute first thing in the morning. Take a deep breath and say the affirmation out loud and let the intention sink in. This can be done before you even get out of bed. Depending on what you are currently working on, here are a few examples of affirmations:I am here to receive love, support, and guidance with an open heart and an open mind.I look forward to exploring all the opportunities this new day has to offer.I am safe. I have everything I need. I have nothing to fear.2. Move your body to avoid negative emotionsPhysical exercise is essential to our mental health as well as physical health. You are probably already familiar with the benefits of spending time doing physical exercise in general, and the increase of endorphin production in the body and the release of other feel-good chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. You can move through stress, anxiety, or depression by staying physically active.Getting your body moving and warmed up first thing in the morning can also do wonders for your energy and mood on a daily basis. It doesn’t need to be an hour long workout or a 3-mile run. Just a quick 10-15 minute warm up routine or few sequences of vinyasas are sufficient to get the blood flowing and gently wake up your system.Moving your body throughout the day is also important so that blood continues to flow throughout the body delivering oxygen wherever it needs. Avoid sitting for a long period of time. At your lunch break, get up to turn your head, stretch, and change your position frequently throughout the day. This will not only relieve muscle fatigue but will also prevent brain fog, scatteredness, and promote better focus and concentration.Helpful tip: Create an alert twice a day on your calendar (Mine are set at 11am and 3pm) for a break to stretch, walk, or a quick solo dance session :)3. Smile for more happinessHow often do you find yourself smiling? When you walk past the mirror, do you catch yourself smiling or frowning? We’re not talking about a fake smile here, but a genuine, happy smile that screams “I’m living my best life!”Neuroscience researchers found that the pleasure we get from smiling is equivalent to eating 2,000 chocolate bars or receiving $25,000. Seriously! The simple act of smiling is kind of like a rainbow that appears over anyone’s cloudy day. The reason this is so has to do with the fact that our smile is directly linked to the brain, signaling us to do so when we receive stimuli of pleasure, amusement, or excitement. The reaction is autonomic and we simply can’t help ourselves. When we smile, even if it’s a bit forced sometimes, we signal back to the brain that we are experiencing more joy within ourselves, prompting the release of feel-good neurotransmitters such as dopamine. This is one instance of the “fake it till you make it” hypothesis I wouldn’t object — A smile will always do well to carry you through a happier life.4. Stay in the presentWise words from Lao Tzu states: “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”We often get into trouble when we allow our mind to wander off worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet, or still jousting over what had happened last week that really bothered us. If we are able to reel ourselves back to the present moment, we will see that there is only what’s in front of us, nothing more, nothing less. It’s what we make of the present moment that truly matters. Our past is gone, and our future depends on the choices we make in the present moment.Helpful tip: If you catch yourself drifting off into a space other than the now, simply bring your attention back to the present moment. Take a deep breath and feel yourself grounded and centered where you are. Repeat as necessary. You may even think about starting a gratitude journal to center yourself and bring yourself back to the present.5. Meditate The popularity of meditation has exploded world wide because of its undeniable health benefits and contribution to overall happiness and success of each individual. Just a few minutes each day can reduce stress, relieve pain, increase focus and concentration, boost clarity, not to mention enhance intuition and connection to a higher purpose.(Pyrosky / Getty)All of which are factors contributing to deep, fulfilling, lifelong happiness. Many successful athletes, entrepreneurs, and public figures are known to meditate on a daily basis to help guide their careers and personal choices.Make meditation an important ritual of your day and you will find yourself more calm, peaceful, with a bigger capacity to give and receive happiness. If you have trouble getting started with meditation, this article from Soulove may bust a few myths about meditation and help you get started, especially if you have an overactive mind.6. Use positive language Much like our thoughts, our spoken words have a big influence on our happiness and our self esteem. When we express ourselves through our words, we output an energy associated with those words into the universe. And the universe, whether you see it or not, always responds. Some may call this The Law of Attraction. When thoughts become words, spoken out loud, creating sound, a measurable vibration released into your space, you can often feel or see an immediate reaction. That reaction can take the form of a smile, a friend’s comment, an uncomfortable silence, or more subtly, an inner joy, or a knot in your stomach. The Law of Attraction suggests we attract what we think and say most often, that we bring in what we put out, therefore, keeping our words positive will attract more positivity and happiness into our lives. A more practical explanation would be, positive words are truly important factors, and always lift up the atmosphere and make everyone around you feel happy. And that happiness will undoubtedly be returned to you one day, if not immediately.7. Eat on timeOne of the often overlooked habits that cause us more stress than our culture realizes is starving ourselves. This unhealthy habit has been glamourized by the beauty industry as well as pop culture in the past few decades. We associate food with being overweight and associate skipping meals as being health conscious or hard working. Starving ourselves, however, can cause stress in parts of our body, and affect our brain function as well.Eating on time and not allowing yourself to starve are good habits, and can invariably affect your overall mood and concentration. (The term “hangry” was not without validity). Having an established routine of eating at a certain time is a good way to manage your day with a fundamental activity we must all engage in.This simple routine will serve as an anchor to your busy day and set expectations of when you can take a break and enjoy some food. 8. Connect with nature Sure, spending money or getting a massage can be great, but have you tried immersing yourself in the healing energy of mother earth? It is an undisputed way to refresh your senses and destress from your daily grind.The wonderful feelings we experience from connecting with nature aren’t just because we’ve stepped away from our work environment or the majestic sights we often come across when in nature. They are backed by scientific reasoning in that we recharge by exposing ourselves to negative icons only found in natural elements. High concentrations of negative icons can be found in areas of mountains, ocean, waterfalls, lake, streams, dirt/earth, etc. We are typically surrounded by positive ions in our modern daily lives. Exposure to excess can have poor health consequences. When our environment and body are out of balance we experience fatigue, allergies, infections, and in severe cases, diseases. Positive icons are mostly concentrated indoors and are associated with household electronics, fluorescent lighting, metal, plastics, carpet, air pollution, etc. Here are a few quick and simple ways to spend some time with nature everyday:Gardening — potting repotting plants; pruning and trimming; harvestingWalking bare feet in a grassy parkWalking bare feet on a sandy beach, or swimming in a lakeHiking in a nature trailBreathe deeply where there is fresh air9. Let goWhen our days are bombarded with productivity, scheduling, and deadlines, a few things are bound to go unplanned, and misunderstandings and conflicts can happen. It’s important to realize that many things are outside of our control, but the one thing we can control is how we respond to them. Having a tool to successfully release feelings of anger, disappointment, and hurt is helpful when it comes to our overall happiness. It gives us the confidence we need to face any challenges in life without feeling like they can tear us down.Here is a quick and simple energy meditation to help you diffuse those feelings and bring you back to neutrality:Sit in a quiet space, eyes closed. Allow yourself to feel the uncomfortable feelings of anger or hurt in full. Identify each of those feelings with a color or shape (anything that comes to mind is okay. There is no wrong answer.) Put those colored shapes into a balloon and release it into the air when you are ready. Say goodbye to the balloon and watch it float farther and farther away until it pops and disappears.10. Give gratitudeGiving gratitude is one of the most important practices to welcome more happiness into our lives. This includes expressing gratitude to those who have helped you as well as acknowledging your own accomplishments in personal growth.Ending your day with gratitude is a mindful practice of how much there is to be grateful for despite the turn of events that can sometimes bring us down. Each night before bed, spend time writing down at least three things you are grateful for during the day. Even if it was just the smallest joy such as a hummingbird coming to visit your porch, habits like these can lead to increased happiness. Read the list outloud to yourself and end the session with a smile. This simple ritual will help focus more of what you want into your life and allow for what you don’t want to dissipate into the background. ConclusionConsistent practice of the simple habits above will in time become a regular routine in your daily life that helps you focus on the present moment and keeps the negative thoughts away. Even if you don’t see a difference immediately, you will notice subtle shifts in your clarity, focus, mood, self confidence, even health and energy level after consistent practice. (Getty)True happiness isn’t about what to do to instigate a feel-good moment but to remove all obstacles between you and all the gifts life has to offer.

60 Dance Quotes to Reignite Your Passion for Dancing | Goalcast
Quotes

60 Dance Quotes to Reignite Your Passion for Dancing | Goalcast

Dancing is for everyone! It is one of the easiest ways of improving your overall mood – it’s basically free therapy.Not only it is an excellent exercise for your entire body, but through dance, you can also release feelings of anger, stress or frustration. We know, it may be hard to think about dancing when you rather feel like hitting a punching bag, but give it a try. You only a need a few minutes of dancing to your favorite music to get rid of the intensity of all those negative emotions, feel better and make wiser decisions afterwards.If you’re looking for a way to stay fit, but you’re not a fan of sports or exercising, then dance is your friend. You don’t have to pay for classes, you don’t need any special equipment and you won’t depend on a strict schedule. We honestly can’t think of a better way to burn some calories and also feel great while doing it.To help you reignite your passion for dance, we’ve compiled a list of beautiful dance quotes. Enjoy!Inspirational dance quotesDancing is so much more than moving to the sound of music. When you dance and you really let loose, you step into another world -- a world of your own, where daily worries stop existing.If you think about it, you instantly feel joy just by watching other people dance -- that’s how powerful dance is. So why not multiply that feeling by joining them? Dance whenever there is an occasion and if there isn’t an occasion, create one.Dance to enhance your mood and to express yourself. You don’t need to learn moves, you’ve already got your own. Just dance!Here are the best inspirational dance quotes to celebrate the joy of dancing:Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (more Friedrich Nietzsche quotes)The job of feet is walking, but their hobby is dancing.AMIT KALANTRIDance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. […] Dance when you’re perfectly free.JALALUDDIN RUMI (more Rumi quotes)Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.OPRAH WINFREYHand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon.EDWARD LEARLife is the dancer and you are the dance.ECKHART TOLLE (more Eckhart Tolle quotes)How can we know the dancer from the dance? WILLIAM BUTLER YEATSPlease send me your last pair of shoes, worn out with dancing as you mentioned in your letter, so that I might have something to press against my heart. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHEDancing is the poetry of the foot. JOHN DRYDENDancing is like dreaming with your feet! CONSTANZEThe truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie. AGNES DE MILLEDancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn. TERRI GUILLEMETSIn a dancer, there is a reverence for such forgotten things as the miracle of the small beautiful bones and their delicate strength. MARTHA GRAHAMDancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. CHRISTOPHER MORLEYDancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals. CHARLES BAUDELAIRETo dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. AGNES DE MILLEFor, truth to tell, dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education: dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen... FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHEDance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. TED SHAWNThere are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. VICKI BAUMDancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself. HAVELOCK ELLISDance floor quotesEven the shy ones love to dance, and if they won’t do it on an actual dance floor, they will create their own at home or wherever they feel comfortable -- somewhere where no one can see or judge them.Regardless of how daring you are when it comes to dancing, we’ve prepared a few dance quotes that will make you want to get on the dance floor.This is why the idea of finding love across the dance floor endures -- symbolizing that, when we know the true rhythm of our heart, we know the other.ALEXANDRA KATEHAKISDo a loony goony dance Cross the kitchen floor, Put something silly in the world that ain't been there before. SHEL SILVERSTEINNobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.MARTHA GRAHAMStifling an urge to dance is bad for your health -- it rusts your spirit and your hips. TERRI GUILLEMETSWe're fools whether or not we dance, so we may as well dance. UNKNOWNDance quotes for kidsKids naturally respond to the sound of music. Basically, we’re all born to dance. Sadly, children get discouraged when they become too self-conscious about their dance moves.They lose their confidence when they compare themselves to other children or when others tell them that they’re not good dancers. That’s why it’s crucial to teach our children that they should keep on dancing regardless of what others say. That we don’t dance to impress people around us, we do it because it makes us feel good, both physically and emotionally. Dance is a competition for the pros. For the rest of us, it’s pure joy.Here are a few dance quotes for kids to encourage them to never stop dancing:Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music. WILLIAM STAFFORDWhen I was young, my mom realized I could dance and hold a beat, and I really danced just for fun. It was good exercise. TOM HOLLANDShe had to dance -- she just had to!... The music seemed to move in her body, moving through her. She leaped high and flung out her arms and oh, how she smiled! AMY EHRLICHIf life is good, don't just sit there -- dance! If life's not so good -- dance even more. TERRI GUILLEMETSDance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. KURT VONNEGUT (more Kurt Vonnegut quotes)Three little, merry little, piggy-wiggy-wigs,/ Danced three jolly little jiggy-jiggy-jigs... MARGARET SIDNEYDance, to be beautiful forever. TERRI GUILLEMETSPractice like you've never won. Perform like you've never lost. BERNARD F. ASUNCIONTo live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music?MICHAEL JACKSONLove dancing quotesWhen we feel the rhythm of the music, our bodies start to move naturally. That’s why we all love dancing -- it’s that easy and it makes us feel so good.Here are some dance quotes that will make you love dancing even more.You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.MERCE CUNNINGHAMIn a society that worships love, freedom, and beauty, dance is sacred. It is a prayer for the future, a remembrance of the past and a joyful exclamation of thanks for the present.AMELIA ATWATER-RHODESWe dance to seduce ourselves. To fall in love with ourselves. When we dance with another, we manifest the very thing we love about ourselves so that they may see it and love us too.KAMAND KOJOURIOn many an occasion when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists.MICHAEL JACKSONYou can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart. UNKNOWNFunny dance quotesDancing is fun, no matter how or when you do it. That’s the best thing about it -- you don’t have to be a professional. You simply let your body move to the groove however it wants to. When you don’t care about controlling your every move, that’s when dancing does its magic.Have you ever been shy on a dancefloor, yet when you’re home alone you feel like a performer? Well, the next time someone is there to “witness” your performance, let them! It doesn’t matter what they think, all that matters is for you to have a great time. However, if you don’t feel ready for this, at least don’t give up doing it.Check out our list of funny dance quotes then turn up your favorite music and start moving those feet!If people stand in a circle long enough, they'll eventually begin to dance. GEORGE CARLIN (more George Carlin quotes)When I dance, people think I'm looking for my keys. RAY ROMANODance first. Think later. It's the natural order. SAMUEL BECKETTToe dancing is a dandy attention getter, second only to screaming. AGNES DE MILLEPart of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can't talk and dance at the same time. GINGER ROGERSThere is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. EDWIN DENBYYou can teach an elephant to dance, but the likelihood of its stepping on your toes is very high. GARY MOSSDo you think dyslexic people have difficulty dancing to Y.M.C.A.? DAVE SOKOLOWSKIDance like no one is watching... Because they are not... They are checking their phone. UNKNOWNDancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. CHRISTOPHER MORLEYHe who cannot dance says the stage is not ready. TAMIL PROVERBDancing is the art of getting your feet out of the way faster than your partner can step on them. UNKNOWNDancing is like a shower: one wrong turn and you're in hot water! MAD MAGAZINEDance for yourself. If someone understands, good. If not, no matter. LOUIS HORSTIf you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance. GEORGE BERNARD SHAWI grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance. Waiting for the bathroom. BOB HOPEQuotes about dancingYou may have your own definition on what dancing means. However, below you will find a few dance quotes that define the joy of dancing in a beautiful and meaningful way. Enjoy!Dance is the hidden language of the soul.MARTHA GRAHAMDancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.GEORGE BERNARD SHAWTo dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful… This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking. AGNES DE MILLEDancing is creating a sculpture that is visible only for a moment.EROL OZANDancing is surely the most basic and relevant of all forms of expression. Nothing else can so effectively give outward form to an inner experience.LYALL WATSON

Get Lost Doing What You Love: 5 Tips for Entering a Flow State
Productivity

Get Lost Doing What You Love: 5 Tips for Entering a Flow State

Have you ever gotten lost in your work? Did you “wake up” an hour or two later, more productive than ever, almost as if you were sent into a trance (albeit a controlled one)? Yeah, that’s a flow state. But what exactly is flow? And why is it important? Is it just a state we enter as a result of doing work we love or is it something we can actually control to our benefit? That’s a common misunderstanding about flow and something I hope to clear up. When a story is flying along, and I'm so into it that my 'real' world goes away, it can feel magical. I cease to be, my desk and computer ceases to be, and I am my character in his world. Psychologists call this a 'flow state,' and it's better than publication, money, awards, fame. – Nancy Kress Wikipedia defines flow as: A mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. It’s a feeling virtually all of us have felt at some point in our life. Professional sports refers to it as “getting in the zone” and artists have referred to it as connecting with “the muse”. Clearly, it’s a state we can all tap into and it’s something which we gain much from. It’s a state where we’re able to perform at our best because our reactions are fluid and immediate. In creative endeavors, we’re able to tap into a completely clear state of mind where our best ideas can flow out. But can you control it? That’s the million-dollar question. Fortunately, the answer is yes. For those looking to perform at their best more consistently, learning how to control this state of flow is a very worthwhile effort. But how do you do that? How can we construct an environment that allows us to trigger this state of flow more consistently? What can we do? Luckily, while you can’t control when you enter a flow state, there’s quite a bit you can do to create the optimal environment that allows you to enter flow more often. 1. Do something you love and can get lost in This is the first and most important prerequisite to entering a state of flow. In fact, this is the one and only requirement. If you want to feel the joy of being in a state of flow and take advantage of the benefit of it, you need to be doing something you love. There’s no other way to go about it. If you’re not already putting a good deal of your daily effort into pursuing what you love, now may be the time to start thinking about how you can do just that. That’s because this state of flow isn’t just about productivity or efficiency, or about coming up with your best ideas. Flow is a state that makes us happier too. Those who more consistently enter a state of flow have been found to be happier in general, but it’s important to keep in mind that this thing needs to be a task you can immerse yourself in. Unfortunately, philanthropy can’t put you into a flow state even if it’s your passion because it’s not a singular task you do with your mind and body. However, writing, exercising, crafting, designing, sports, and anything else that involves you doing some consistent task with your brain and physical body qualifies as something that can put you into a flow state. 2. Pick a challenging task that isn’t too difficult This is likely the second major factor identified (so far) for helping you enter a flow state. The reason is because of what happens in the mind when we’re doing said task. If the task is too easy, it’s not stimulating enough. If it’s too difficult than we’re straining the brain and constantly interrupting our process and train of thought, making it impossible to enter a state of flow. But don’t misunderstand. The trick here is not to pick something easier, but rather, to get better at what you love doing. If you want to become a graphic artist, the better you become and the more automatic you can make your process for doing said activity, the more likely you’ll be to enter a state of flow. Of course, challenging yourself and learning new things is an important part of life and any endeavor, so you can’t always put yourself in a position that makes it more likely for you to enter flow. However, if you’re focusing on your craft than much of your time can be ideal for crafting this perfect environment for entering flow. 3. Pick your most productive time Now, it’s time to start working on the external circumstances that create the ideal “flow-inducing” environment. First, you need to pick your most productive time of day and the time of day you tend to be the most creative (they’re usually the same). For some, this is the early morning. For others, this is late at night after everyone has gone to sleep. For others, it’s more about being opportunistic and taking advantage of whatever time you can get (if you have kids, etc.). Whatever that time is for you, it’s important you find out what it is and take full advantage of it. If possible, center your primary activity in that time of day. If you’re a writer and you tend to have your best ideas in the morning, focus the brunt of your writing in that early morning time block. You’ll often find this makes you more productive by a multiplier of two to three. 4. Reduce distractions Next, now that you’re doing something you love which offers just the right amount of mental stimulation and at the right time of day, you need to reduce distractions to optimize your ability to focus. This will greatly increase the likelihood of you entering a flow state. Put a sign on your office door to not disturb you during this block of time, forward your calls or turn off your smartphone, use a browser extension that reduces distractions like Strict Workflow, play natural music like the sound of rain to block out noise if that’s an option (easily found on YouTube), and anything else you can think of that will help reduce distractions further. Whatever you do, craft an environment that is the least likely to pull you away from the activity while you’re in the midst of it as possible. 5. Focus intensely on the topic for a stretch of time Lastly, in order for any of this to work you need to give yourself enough time to focus on the task itself. Flow isn’t something you can immediately step into at a moment’s notice, it’s something which you need to fall into over a period of time given the optimum environment. This could be a half-hour, a full hour, or even just ten minutes of focused activity in the right environment. If you’ve followed the previous steps you’ll not just be more likely to enter flow but you’ll be more likely to enter flow earlier as well. Also, over time you’ll learn more about how long it takes for you to enter a flow state and can then adjust your process to optimize for this as well. Flow is an experience that doesn’t just help us do our best work, it also makes us happier. If you’re a professional who sits down or gets up each day to get to work on your craft, no matter what that is, optimizing your own process and your working environment to increase the chance and frequency of you entering flow is well worth the effort spent.