I'm sitting here at my favourite cafe, still damp from having an extra-hot, skinny latte (with half-strength vanilla syrup, of course) tipped over me by an over-exuberant four-year-old. My hand is stinging from the burning liquid, and my previously-luscious square of carrot cake with cream cheese icing is now a pile of soggy mush.
    It's just been 'one of those days'. Have you had one of those lately?
    The funny thing is that I'd been planning to write an inspirational blog piece today about a website I've recently come acrosss: www.actionforhappiness.org . I was going to write something profound about how it's interesting that when I/you discover something new/inspirational/challenging/life-changing, we often don't recognise its potential at first. Instead of reaching out and grabbing with both hands onto the new project/investment opportunity/job/story idea/trip-of-a-lifetime, we can sometimes hesitate, stuck in the paralysis of indecision that fear brings.
    Unfortunately, the words 'inspirational' and 'profound' somehow aren't in my vocabulary today. :)
    But, despite it being 'one of those days', I've managed to get up and dust myself off to continue with this planned blog post.
    On the above-mentioned website, you'll find the 10 Keys to Happier Living resource, based on latest scientific research about happiness (love the retro photos, too :)). The GREAT DREAM acronym outlines 10 key principles that positively impact on happiness levels:
    Giving
    Relating
    Exercising
    Appreciating
    Trying out
   
    Direction
    Resilience
    Emotion
    Acceptance
    Meaning

    For something a little different, I'm planning to explore these ten principles further over the coming weeks - not in a dry and factual way, but with 'skin on', based on the experiences of myself and others, and with tips on how to apply them to your life.
    I hope you'll join me on this journey as we discover more about how to 'get happy'. Who knows, you may even find yourself achieving a greater level of overall happiness and wellbeing.
    And hopefully, have less of 'those days'. :)
    I'd love to read your comments about how you managed to move on after a challenging circumstance/day - you can share it on my Facebook page.
    P.S. This is the second version of this post - the first inexplicably deleted itself. I can think of no other explanation than the title above. :)