A Christmas Surprise is a short story about a down and outer, Eddie Testa, who’s quit on Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve and Eddie can’t wait for Christmas to be over. His unemployment check arrives the day after Christmas. Until the check arrives, Eddie has four dollars and fifty cents he found in his change box to buy food. Eddie heads out into a dark, cold, doubly gray sky to buy a slice of pizza for lunch and a loaf of hot French bread for dinner and Christmas day. He knows he’ll make it if he can skip a couple of meals. Eddie’s life takes a series of twists and turns the moment he leaves his small two room apartment 83-year-old Sofia asks Eddie to buy her a can of soup from the discount wagon at the market. She promises to pay Eddie back when her retirement check comes in. Eddie slowly discovers Christmas is all about people and giving and receiving. What Eddie learns changes his life. And, it may change yours as well.
Happiness
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Happiness is Good for Your Heart
Love and happiness may not actually originate in the heart, but they are good for it. For example, a 2005 paper found that happiness predicts lower heart rate and blood pressure. In the study, participants rated their happiness over 30 times in one day and then again three years later. The initially happiest participants had a lower heart rate on follow-up (about six beats slower per minute), and the happiest participants during the follow-up had better blood pressure.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ 5 Keys to Happiness
A 2010 study found that there are five key items that contribute to positive thinking, which, in turn, results in happiness:
(1) being grateful, (2) being optimistic, (3) practicing acts of kindness, (4) relishing in how lucky you are, and, (5) using your strengths. It’s in being aware of these aspects of your daily life that positive thoughts will flow, providing for better well-being and overall joy.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Know When to Let Go
Know when to let go
As the people get older, they tend to focus more on what’s important to them, and don’t sweat the small stuff to the degree they did when they were younger, according to Dr. Robert Waldinger. Other research supports this mindset, and has found that older adults are better about letting go of past failures. “They tend to realize how life is short and they are more likely to pay more attention on what makes them happy now,” says Dr. Waldinger. You can do the same.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Spiritual Paths & Happiness
People follow spiritual paths and join religious organizations for a variety of reasons, including faith, prayer, social support, community service, cultural tradition, friendship, commitment to the community and more. How often do you hear someone say that they committed to a religion or spiritual practice primarily to become happier? Perhaps not often. However, interestingly enough, studies demonstrate a close link between religious and spiritual engagement (practice) and happiness.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Choose Close Friends Wisely
How loved ones see you affects how you see yourself. When people see you in a positive or negative light, they treat you accordingly – and this influences your self-perceptions. In 1999, a group of researchers found that people become more like their ideal selves when they have a partner who sees them as they’d like to be. This “Michelangelo effect” was named after the legendary artist who created stone sculptures based on the images he saw in the raw material, just as partners help to shape their companion into the ideal self that they carry within. Of course, when partners or close friends see you in a less favorable light, that perception will affect you negatively. So, keep this in mind as you choose your partner and friends.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Beat the Winter Blues
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s believed to be caused by the changing seasons. Typically, symptoms begin to worsen around fall and peak during the winter months. Symptoms of SAD are similar to other forms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness, lack of concentration, social withdrawal, and fatigue. Treatments for SAD include medication, talk therapy, exercise, and eating a healthy diet
Besides being high in omega-3s, salmon is a great source of lean proteins. While a richly marbled rib-eye steak is undoubtedly delicious, the high saturated fat content may not be good for your mood or your body. Lean proteins, however, carry plenty of amino acids, which may positively affect your mood. Lean proteins are also a great source of energy, which is something you’ll need to help beat fatigue.
Source: Healthline
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ It’s An Inside Job
Remember that happiness is an inside job. That means that no one but you can really make you happy, even though it may not feel that way. When I see a smile on the face of someone I care about, it makes me happy, especially if I helped put it there. Maybe it is an inside job after all.
Feel Good Hack ~ Step Back & Look at the Big Picture
Look at the big picture. Most of the things that prevent us from feeling happy are day-to-day life issues. Once in a while, you go through something that makes the little things seem inconsequential, and this is when you need to remember that life is still going on, and whatever the issue is, it will end. Look at your life as a whole—not just the bad parts.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Trust Your Inner Voice
Trust your gut. When we go against our instincts, and it backfires, we usually feel sad. Follow your intuition and let it guide you toward people and things that will make your life just a tiny bit better. Day by day, your happiness will grow.
