Tag : Freedom

Freedom with Positive Psychology Flourish

Posted by Dr. Judy at 3:00 am

How do you know if and when YOU are flourishing?
And how does FREEDOM add to well-being and life satisfaction?
Who do you have to thank besides yourself when you are living
your 24 character strengths?

America…”Land of the free and home of the brave.” Both values upon
which we built our independent nation. Dr. Martin Seligman, positive
psychology pioneer and author of the acclaimed book, Flourish, defines
flourishing as: “…Happiness, flow, meaning, love, gratitude, accomplishment,
growth, better relationships – constitutes human flourishing.”

In the USA, this July 4th, I salute all those who have helped us flourish.
Many who have risked their lives or paid the ultimate price to assure our
country remains free.

Here is my July 4th wrapped in red, white, and blue take on freedom
and flourishing:
Freedoms ~ Free speech, free expression, free to live life your way with
well-being, your reward for your life well-lived.

Remembrance ~ Gratitude to those who serve to keep your country free
so you may walk though your world safe and secure.

Encouragement ~ Every day is yours to creatively, curiously explore.
To welcome and savor life. A “Bring it on!” attitude.

Engage ~ Enhance, enlighten, enjoy, evolve, empower, and embrace all
life has to offer you. You are free!

Duty ~ To yourself and others; To make choices that help you thrive.
Service. You pay love forward, a well-being win win.

Opportunity ~ To live, love, grow and use your strengths in a country
affording you opportunities to morph into lovely Flow.

Mindfulness ~ Pause and appreciate your fortune to live in a country
that embraces diversity. Let all spirits soar. Hope rings!

Let Freedom ring ~ mine from the Liberty Bell!

With patriotic, wave the flag, deep gratitude to all who serve to keep us free.
God Bless you all!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My appreciation for our nation and my rights to life, liberty, &
pursuit of happiness sky-rocketed after visiting Cuba and seeing what
people there lived did not have: freedom and essentials for everyday life.

See the Cubans’ amazing spirit and beautiful scenery in my book:
Photo Adventures in Cuba ~ Unlock Your Power of Positivity!
Now a best-seller on Amazon ~ Kindle

I’d love to hear from you!
Just send me your questions, and I will answer in a future blog.
You can also connect with me on facebook, LinkedIn, or twitter
www.facebook.com/drjudykrings

5 Value Tips to Lasso Happiness

Posted by Dr. Judy at 3:00 am

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Bet that line rings a bell.
If you’re my age it does, but wait till you hear about our young people.

I recently read an article about America’s young adults and how they
know almost zilch about American history. Sad, not to appreciate the
Constitution, Bill of Rights, or Declaration of Independence. My freedom
value rings out like the Liberty Bell. Next, my gratitude value chimes in. 
Hope, tenacity, and confidence values peal in next. All necessary to be
happy no matter what era you lived nor where you live.

To be happy in 1776. To be free to follow your dreams and forge ahead
into life. Can you imagine being a pioneer? The hardship journey to cross
the ocean and have no idea how you would traverse the unknown once
you reached distant shores? But these folks were courageous, yes, another
value, and they were happy amidst their hardship trials and tribulations.
Why? They had mission and a purpose. Opportunity they created for themselves!

One thing we know about happiness, after your basic needs are met, you’re
not much happier making more money if your goal is only to buy more stuff.
If you are, the happiness is fleeting. Buying happiness is a short term fix.
Pursuing it, “I want happiness now!” will get you nowhere. Yet most folks say,
“To be happy is what I want!” Like it was one entity and once you got it, it was
yours for keeps. Good news is if you share your moola in service of others,
happiness ensues. But you need to keep priming your pump to allow happiness
to flow.

Good news is you can mindfully plan to DO activities and FEEL happier. Being
flexible and curious and challenging yourself to stretch out into your world is
the ticket. Not that you can have a joy ride all the time. How boring!

Were you raised to think happiness was a by-product that you received/achieved
after a job well done? After you saved your money, you could buy or do what you
wanted? Accomplishment. It is one of positive psychology’s Dr. Marty Seligman’s
Five elements of well-being he calls PERMA:

Positive Emotion

Engagement

Relationships

Meaning

Accomplishment

This isn’t to say you need to be a workaholic. It means happiness comes as a result
of you feeling fulfilled after a job well done, savoring a meaningful victory with
friends,  and knowing your life has a purpose and meaning. You don’t TRY to be
happy. You  notice it on your journey, are mindful of it, and better yet, you
gratefully share it with others.

So what IS happiness to you?  I hope you know.(There I go with a value again!)
If not,  I challenge you to sit a spell with yourself. Take out a piece of paper and
write down five times you felt happy. What the patterns do you notice? How
might you repeat them?  When? You owe it to yourself to do, feel, and acknowledge
your life’s joyful gems.

Want a tip?
Use all your five senses to be aware of your world. Let “taste, touch, smell,
hear and see” be your happiness cheat sheet! Remember, if you write it
down, you will remember it better.

That is you I see getting out a piece of paper, right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to discover how Cubans with almost no resources are happy?

You can see how in my new book ~
Photo Adventures in Cuba ~ Unlock Your Power of Positivity!
Click here to take a peek!

I’d love to hear from you!
Just send me your questions, and I will answer in a future blog.
You can also connect with me on facebook, LinkedIn, or twitter
www.facebook.com/drjudykrings

Fun and Freedom. Do you Have Enough?

Posted by Dr. Judy at 3:00 am

© 2010 Dr. Judy Krings

Lucky me. My Delaware best friends, Cheryl and Bob, treated me to one of the most relaxing times I’ve had in ages. Keep Reading…

Freedom Symbol

Posted by Dr. Judy at 3:00 am

No matter what your politics, we in the USA are blessed to live in a country where freedom rings. Having lived in 3 other countries, I cherish freedom. When I saw this video, it gave me pause. How can you use positive psychology to unite brotherhood?

Keep Reading…

The Freedom To Sing, Dance And Love

Posted by Dr. Judy at 3:00 am

© 2010 Dr. Judy Krings

No matter what you religion, or if you have none at all, I hope this prayer touches you. It reflects Positive Psychology. Hope, Love, Kindness. Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways, meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. Keep Reading…