I have a notebook that I paste snippets of this and that into. If I'm flipping through a magazine and I see an illustration that grabs me, I'll tear it out for my notebook. When I visit art galleries I pick up the postcards that are often on offer (they're usually extras of the invitations that were sent out for the show), These too get glued in my notebook.

Of course, my notebook also has words in it. If I read a great quotation I jot it down in my notebook. Or if someone says something nice to me I record it in my special book.

And when I get photos of people or things that I find especially dear, I add them to my notebook rather than leave them hanging around in a drawer waiting to be put in an album.

On a practical level, I find it important to have my notebook accessible. I keep it on the table next to my reading chair, as that's where I'm most likely to be tearing things out. I also keep a glue stick handy so I can paste it in right away.

In this way, I create a deeply personal record of things that bring me joy. It's always there to brighten a rainy day or to provide inspiration for artwork or writing.

It's rather embarassing to admit that one has bad habits, but it's a rare person that doesn't have a few. I know I certainly do.

Since I believe that our habits add up to become the sum of our life, I really want to change my bad habits. Easier said than done, but here's an approach that can help.

In order to break a bad habit (or develop a good habit) there has to be a more inspiring reason than “it’s bad for me” or “I should” or “I shouldn’t do it”. One way to do that is to connect your habit change to your personal definition of success.

Try completing the following sentence three times:

I know I’m being successful when…

What you've just done is to define the three things in life that you value most.

Here’s an example. A coaching client wanted to change his exercise habits. He had tried many times without success. I asked him to define his personal definitions of success, and one of his three statements was “I know I’m being successful when I am enjoying time with my family”.

I then asked him “how does exercising fit in with your value of spending time with your family?”

BINGO! The answer was obvious to him: “If I exercise I will live a longer and healthier life and be able to see my grandchildren grow up”.

Suddenly sticking to an exercise program was more than a “should” or even a “want”; it became a “desire” because he could see the link to his greatest value.

What about you? Do you have bad habits you're ready to let go of? Could linking them to your personal definitions of success help you?

A wise person once said to me, "We become like the 5 people we spend the most time with."

That's a powerful statement.

Think about it: even as adults we are subtly influenced by "peer pressure". We tend to pick up on the attitudes, language and mood of the people we hang out with.

So who are the 5 people you spend the most time with? Do they embody the "Welcome Joy" attitude towards life? Or are they negative, cynical and blaming?

And how do they treat you? Note who you enjoy being around. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself "after spending time with this person, do I feel stronger or weaker?" The answer can give you important clues on who to spend time with.

If you want to feel joyful, choose to have people in your life who:

· Treat you with love and respect

· Want the best for you as you define it

· Help you find out what you want to do and how to do it

· Encourage you to explore all your talents and interests

· Are thrilled when you succeed

· Listen to you when you need to complain

· Help you learn from failure without making you feel like a bad person

I encourage you to spend less time with critical people and more time with those who appreciate you. You'll notice a difference in how you feel about yourself and how much joy you experience.

Note added June 4, 2007: This article was chosen to be included in the following blog carnivals: Powerful Living; Positive Thinking; Observations on Life; Brain Fitness; Happiness Carnival and Carnival of Life.

In this article, therapist and author Dr. Charmaine Saunders provides practical tips for being happy.

Have you noticed that if you just feel happy for its own sake, people think you’re strange? They say things like, `What do you have to be happy about?’ or `What’s brought on this cheerful mood?’

The whole point of being happy on a continuous basis is that there is no particular reason - you feel the joy inside you and you naturally smile and shine, like walking near the ocean on a glorious summer’s day and being grateful just to be alive.

You can have that `bliss’ all the time, in the sun, in the rain, on good days and difficult, when life is going your way and when it appears everything’s against you. It’s feeling `okay’ inside all the time. That is true freedom. And as you shine, those around you bask in the warmth of your joy.

How do we positively work with the happiness principle?

*Look for signs everywhere
*Make positive thinking a choice
*Relax and stop worrying
*Remember life is a daily adventure
*Connect with your inner child every day
*Play every day, not just on weekends and holidays
*Love yourself enough to allow happiness

I think of myself as a `joy merchant,’ someone who sells the idea of joy. If you adopt this philosophy in your everyday life, it’ll change your life. Please write to me if you want to know more about living with joy.

Excerpted from Dr. Charmaine Saunders' article “Happiness” available at iSnare.com

In this article, Jacqui Tew shares how her sister's diagnosis with thyriod cancer taught her how to stop worrying about things that she had no control over.

When my sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, my need to help her leapt into action. She was ill with cancer three times and then had two back operations. All in all, she stayed in hospital 19 times over eleven years.

At first it was perhaps my family instinct to want to help her. As time went on, I became frustrated at her lack of wanting to help herself.

One great lesson she taught me was that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink!

Her first cancer was in the thyroid and after having it removed she was put on a daily dose of thyroxin. Initially I used to ask her if she had had her thyroxin tablets for that day and she would say she had not done so. I used to worry because I knew it was essential for her to take this medication.

Imagine this: A spa treatment in a woodland sanctuary. Singing in harmony around a campfire. A workshop with an inspiring teacher. A steaming cup of scented tea in a quiet room.

Ahhh…such are the rewards of retreat.

The retreat experience is a temporary break from the rigors of daily life. It’s precisely the change of environment that refreshes mentally and physically. The rules: no laptop, no cell phone, and no paperwork.

But what if time or financial constraints make it difficult to get away to a spa or retreat centre? No problem. There are many ways to have the retreat experience without leaving town or even spending a dime. Jennifer Louden, author of The Women’s Retreat Book describes “mini-retreats” as alternatives to long retreats.