VITAMIN OPTIMISM
Cheering each other on
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Your dose for today…
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” —Mark Twain
My angel-food-faced kitty, Tarzan (Image: Amy Spencer)
Sometimes it helps to take the spotlight off of yourself and move it to someone else. This reminds me of the research (in particular one study by the Journal of American Geriatrics Society) that older people who own pets feel less isolated and are more emotionally healthy than non-pet owners. Caring for other people (or pets) brings out that loving part of yourself, it takes the focus off the issues you’re dealing with, and sometimes, it puts your life in perspective. If you’re feeling down and waiting for something or someone to cheer you up, flip the switch. Today: Find someone else to cheer up, and see how good it feels.
You might also like:
How to Be Happy: It’s Easy!
Big love,
Posted in Optimisms, VITAMIN OPTIMISM | Comments Off on VITAMIN OPTIMISM: Cheer Them Up Instead
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
Your dose for today…
“Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.” —Janet Lane
Me + Montauk = One happy chick
This, of course, is at the heart of dating optimism. You can walk into a bar wearing the coolest T-shirt and the cutest jeans, but if you’re accessorizing that with an expression that reads “downright depressed” then you’re not going to get anywhere. I’m all for being depressed sometimes. I get a lot of questions from people wondering if it’s okay that they’re feeling over the optimism for a minute, and my answer is: Yes, it’s okay! It would be weird and unhealthy if you were always happy all the time. So swim around in the down and out for a minute, but when you want to pull the good stuff in, you’ve got to wear it on your face as much as in your body. A happy expression attracts people who want happiness in their life. And isn’t that just what you’re aiming for?
You might also like:
Are You Looking for the Rainbows?
Big love,
Posted in Optimisms, VITAMIN OPTIMISM | Comments Off on VITAMIN OPTIMISM: What’s Your Favorite Expression?
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Your dose for today…
“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” —Groucho Marx
I mean...look at all the beauty to be had out there today. (Image: Amy Spencer)
Wow, who knew? Groucho Marx was a dating optimist! He was also a very wise man. There’s not much I can say that means more than the way he put it. Because he’s right: You—not what happens to you—have the power to make yourself happy. And if not today, then when? Don’t put off being happy until you find your other half. You have today and you might not have tomorrow, so choose, like Groucho, to be happy in it. Find what’s worth being grateful for. When you wake up in the morning and open your eyes, find the beauty, the funny, the friendship. The more you make yourself happy today, the sooner you’ll meet the person who wants to be a part of all that love and happiness with you for tomorrow.
You might also like:
Bench it like Kobe
Big love,
Posted in Optimisms, VITAMIN OPTIMISM | Comments Off on VITAMIN OPTIMISM: The Open-Your-Eyes Moment
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Your dose for today…
“Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.” —E. Joseph Cossman
If you're focused on the right thing, the route will feel glassy and clear. (Image: Amy Spencer)
What a cool quote, I love this! I picture looking at a soccer goal while kicking the ball along, that if all you’re seeing is where you want to place the ball in the net, you won’t notice the line of defenders rushing at you from all angles, you won’t notice the flash of a goalie with his arms outstretched, and maybe you won’t notice that I’ve never played more than six minutes of soccer in my life and that it would be a miracle if I kicked the ball and it went forward, never mind into the goal. But you know what I mean.
If you’re thinking about love today or your happy future, train your eyes past the stuff that stands between you and what you want. If you change your focus and aim it on what you want, the big pains in the butt of life will turn into blurs in the foreground. It’s like I say in Meeting Your Half-Orange: It’s not your job to know how to get what you want, it’s your job to want it. So forget about the obstacles you might hit in the next week—the bad dates, the so-so matches, the new people that may come between you and meeting the love of your life. Stay focused on the goal and they won’t seem so daunting anymore. Here’s the best idea: Just imagine the moment when you find your match and the announcer in your head hops up and yells “Gooooooooooaaaaaallllllll.”
You might also like:
A Love Lesson from the Olympic Halfpipe
Take it From a Yoga Guru
Big love,
Posted in Optimisms, VITAMIN OPTIMISM | Comments Off on VITAMIN OPTIMISM: Obstacles? Phooey.
Monday, August 9th, 2010
Let this nourish your optimism and happiness all week long.
Your dose for today…
“Go out on a limb—that’s where the fruit is.” —Jimmy Carter
You can't eat it if you don't reach to pluck it (and yes, tomato is a fruit, remember?) Image: Amy Spencer
We’ve all reached out for things we didn’t get: We apply for a big reach college that doesn’t accept us. We pitch an idea for our dream product that doesn’t get past the first round. And in love, we express our feelings for someone who doesn’t feel the love for us. Losing what we wanted leaves us hurt, bruised and fallen. But it should never, ever leave us too injured to try again. Life and love are all about reaching out. You can’t get what you don’t ask for and you can’t receive love if you don’t give it.
The best things on this earth come from hard-to-reach places, both outside and within yourself. So go out on a limb in love: Tell the person you like how you feel, ask out that stranger at the bus stop, be honest in your online profile about the “serious relationship” you want. Sure, sometimes you’ll get bruised. But other times, reaching out will get you that sweet, delicious, perfect, plump fruit that made going out on a limb so worth it after all.
You might also like:
VITAMIN OPTIMISM: Dump the Parachute!
Big love,
Posted in Optimisms, VITAMIN OPTIMISM | Comments Off on VITAMIN OPTIMISM: Reach for the Fruit
Follow me on Facebook 
Grab the Feed (RSS)
Email Amy