Solah from Positively Purposeful has contributed some great suggestions to Only Positive News in the past, so when she dropped us a comment, I was excited to pass on an excerpt from her latest article about New Year’s resolutions. We all know how fallible resolutions can be. Maybe we set ourselves up a bit too much. Here are a few pointers to take it down a notch:

One way that we can cultivate belief in ourselves is by incrementally increasing how we challenge our self. We can do this by setting one small goal at a time, taking the neccessary steps to set ourselves up for success and then of course, by sticking with it. Once we reach our goal, it’s equally important that we take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate our achievements before putting our focus on something just a tiny bit bigger. This process builds our belief in self.

It’s important to also know that for a resolution to be successful, it must be lined up with what our subconscious really wants for us. When we try to go against the subconscious, it will always find a way to meet it’s own agenda.

Read more here.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired! This last week has been packed with friends and family and gift giving and eating, eating and more eating! Today, I’m taking an official day off from the festivities and treating myself to a good movie. I found this list as a starting point:

The Classics

These are the films that your grandparents approve of and for good reason: they’re wonderful.
1. It’s a Wonderful Life
Arguably the most-watched film each holiday season, George Bailey’s never-been-born adventure is sure to make you cry tears of life-is-beautiful joy.
2. Holiday Inn
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire: what more do you need? How about the debut of the now-classic song “White Christmas”? Warning: this film will make you want to quit your job and only work on holidays.
3. White Christmas
After you’ve seen Holiday Inn, watch its Crosby-starring spin-off, “White Christmas.” Rosemary Clooney is a dream—as are the fur-trimmed capes and painted Vermont landscapes.
4. A Christmas Carol (1951)
The classic Dickens novel has countless adaptations. A top recommendation: the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim. It will destroy your inner “bah, humbug!”
5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
In this 1947 Oscar winner, Santa Claus is on trial. By the inspirational movie’s end, you’ll believe again.
6. The Bishop’s Wife
The non-musical inspiration behind The Preacher’s Wife, this film stars Cary Grant as an angel-slash-marriage-counselor. Enough said.
7. The Bells of St. Mary’s
More Bing Crosby, the face of classic Christmas movies. This 1945 film features a Christmas pageant at the run-down school he and a nun are trying to save.
8. Meet Me in St. Louis
This Judy Garland classic is on the list merely for the scene in which she sings a magical rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

9. Babes in Toyland
Laurel and Hardy rescue Tom Tom and Bo Peep from Bogeyland in this 1934 adaptation of Victor Herbert’s operetta. Disney’s adaptation was released in 1961.

Read more at Gimundo!

We received this over the weekend from a reader, about our post, Positive Quote Wednesday - on Gifts.

For me gift giving is about giving proper Gifts, thoughtful Gifts, Gifts from the heart. The ones you made/bought/collected with the person at heart. Those are the most valuable and fun ones to give.

I hear you on the receiving part. But I also have that feeling when giving a gift. The not knowing how the receiving party is going to react - that’s just as satisfying.

A couple of months ago I gave a friend of mine a cake I made especially for him. It wasn’t something you can buy in a shop, it requires a bit of effort and love and care. It came right out of my heart. So I was realy curious what he would think of it. His reaction made a real impression on me. I barely see that reaction on people anymore. The look on his face when he received it - the thrill, the thankfulness…the sheer appreciation. Immense joy! It really felt I made a connection.

And I think that’s what’s it all about. Walking that extra mile, putting in that extra effort. Giving your love and make that connection.

Whishing you a warm loving Xmas spend amongst your loved ones
BIG HUG,
Ingrid

I usually pass on gifts during the holidays. I don’t like the excess and frankly, the things I need are beyond a ribboned box. But like anyone else, I still feel a thrill when a gift is given to me. Curiousity, thrill, the wonder of the unknown.

Here are some sweet quotes on gifts this holiday season - or any season of the year!

You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.  ~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

What is bought is cheaper than a gift.  ~Portuguese Proverb

A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.  ~Thomas á Kempis

The only gift is a portion of thyself.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.  ~Seneca

We do not quite forgive a giver.  The hand that feeds us is in some danger of being bitten.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays

But it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith’s.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Gifts,” Essays, Second Series, 1844

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.  ~George MacDonald

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.  ~Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur

Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.  ~Author Unknown

A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and it’s easy to exchange.  ~Author Unknown

If you give what can be taken, you are not really giving.  Take what you are given, not what you want to be given.  Give what cannot be taken.  ~Idries Shah

I read a review yesterday about a fun book entitled Quirkology. As the name insinuates, this book covers strange and interesting human quirks or behaviors that may have bigger implications. This one about smiling seemed to hit home. Fake it till you make it!

The Smiling Solution

And finally, if you want to feel happier, there’s a simple way to do it: Just smile.

In a 1988 study, researchers at the University of Mannheim in Germany had participants look at Far Side cartoon strips (see below) under two conditions: One group of people was asked to hold pencils between their teeth, which forced their mouths into smiles. The others held the pencils with just their lips, which produced a frowning expression. According to the results, the people who’d been forced to smile found the comics far more hilarious than the frowners did.

So if you want to boost your mood, just grin and bear it. Soon enough, your smile will be for real. Science says so.

Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things is available from Amazon.

This week, we say goodbye to Vaclav Havel, leader, free-thinker and inspired playwright. He was the tenth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).

During a time when many of us question world leaders, it is reassuring, even in time of death, to look back on a political career with respect, reverence and yes, positivity. According to Lucas Kavner of The Huffington Post:

In many ways, Havel embodied the spirit of the “flower child;” he spoke often of “truth and love” as trumping all other things, and was emphatically anti-war. In 1990, one of his first acts as president was to empty Czech prisons and close down its arms factories. Yet even the most conservative leaders seemed to love him. President George H.W. Bush, in an interview with Columbia University, remembered watching Havel command a crowd of a million after the Velvet Revolution, and said he couldn’t think of another foreign leader for whom he has more respect.

“I cannot say enough good things about President Vaclav Havel,” he concluded.

In 1990, Havel delivered a New Year’s address to a budding new nation, three days after being named its first president. He encouraged the new nation to be built around a politics of morality above all else, a message Orwell would likely have approved himself.

“Let us teach ourselves and others that politics should be an expression of a desire to contribute to the happiness of the community,” he said. “Let us teach ourselves and others that politics can be not simply the art of the possible, especially if this means the art of speculation, calculation, intrigue, secret deals and pragmatic maneuvering, but that it can also be the art of the impossible, that is, the art of improving ourselves and the world.”

This past week we lost a writer and a major intellectual, and we lost a brutal, confounding dictator. We also lost a playwright, a rebel, a rockstar, a chain-smoker, a renowned artist, a non-profit leader, and one of the most beloved presidents in history.

No matter how much of a Grinch we can contain with us, everyone has a little holiday spirit to spare. Here are some words of wisdom to inspire a happy holiday:

A Christmas Carol is such a fool-proof story you can’t louse it up.
Leonard Maltin

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
Benjamin Franklin

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.
Garrison Keillor

And of course there’s so much music in and around our family. I had a piano during Christmas because it’s obviously useful through the season. There are so many people, songwriters, who are around.
Ashley Judd

At Christmas our house is like a Donnie and Marie Christmas Special.
Kevin Richardson

At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.
Thomas Tusser

At Christmas, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ makes me cry in exactly the same places every time, even though I know it’s coming.
Nicholas Lea

Besides the two Christmas things, we’ve got a about a dozen new tracks we’re working on.
Chris Frantz

Bloody Christmas, here again, let us raise a loving cup, peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up.
Wendy Cope

Christmas carols always brought tears to my eyes. I also cry at weddings. I should have cried at a couple of my own.
Ethel Merman

Christmas in Bethlehem. The ancient dream: a cold, clear night made brilliant by a glorious star, the smell of incense, shepherds and wise men falling to their knees in adoration of the sweet baby, the incarnation of perfect love.
Lucinda Franks

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.
Washington Irving

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/christmas.html#ixzz1gUtA9vE5

We often think our happy is based on our immediate environment as well as our mental state. But did you ever think that the country you live in has a direct impact? Or that countries can be rated according to their happiness?

Here’s the number 1 happiest country:

The Happiest Countries in the World

1. Denmark

> Life Satisfaction Score: 10
> Debt As a Pct. of GDP: 39.5% (14th lowest)
> Employment Score: 8.4 (5th best)
> Self-Reported Health: 7.37 (15th best)
> Employees Working Long Hours: 9.72 (3rd best)
> Disposable Income: 4.0 (18th best)
> Educational Attainment: 7.39 (18th best)
> Life Expectancy: 5.71 (25th best)

Danish residents have consistently rated themselves as the happiest in the world for years in several different studies. This is in some ways surprising, considering the Scandinavian country received only average scores for several metrics that other highly satisfied countries consistently perform well in. For example, Denmark’s 26% income tax as a percent of GDP (the highest in the OECD) has resulted in an average disposable income of $27,080 compared to the OECD average of $36,800. This places Denmark among the bottom half of developed countries for disposable income. The country also ranks in the bottom third life expectancy and just average in self-reported health. However, Danes have one of the strongest senses of friendship and community, with 97% reporting they had someone other than a family member that they could rely on. Danish culture and government policy is one of the most leisure-friendly. Denmark’s citizens spend more than 16 hours each week on leisure time, the second-highest rate in the OECD. The government also subsidizes a full year of maternity leave.

Read more: The Happiest Countries In The World - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/06/01/the-happiest-countries-in-the-world/#ixzz1gQwZ4b5k

Celebrities often seem out-of-touch with the world around them, draped in excess and entitlement. But many are making sound contributions to their communities, such as Jon Bon Jovi, who opened up a “pay what you can” restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Soul Kitchen is a new restaurant opened in Red Bank, New Jersey, by Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea. The establishment offers a “pay what you can afford” payment model, and serves wholesome, gourmet food made with fresh ingredients grown in the restaurant’s garden, and other local produce.

On the website, they explain that Soul Kitchen is “A community restaurant with no prices on the menu; customers donate to pay for their meal. If you are unable to donate you may do volunteer work in exchange for your family’s meal.”

But as NJ.com reports, this is no soup kitchen serving up desperation and gruel. “The décor is upscale. Patrons don’t wait in line — they are waited on.”

Read more.

Is there enough trash to build a viable house? This woman uses resourcefulness and ingenuity to prove it can be done.

House Made Entirely out of Trash