Happier Made Simple™ Blog
Choose Your Words. Change Your Life.
Welcome to Happier Made Simple™: Choose Your Words. Change Your Life.
This community is for you if you want to Live Happier- Every Day , taking small, immediate steps.
Don’t miss Randye’s New Book,
Happer Made Simple™: Choose Your Words. Change Your Life. Now Available!
“The Queen Herself”: How One Handwritten Note Reframed My Thoughts About Aging
Reframe your own thoughts on aging. What are you telling yourself about where you are on that Ladder of Years?
Beauty and value do not disappear as we age - they are redefined.
Be where you are. You are beautiful, you are wise, you are the Queen! (or King).
Happier Made Simple™ is an Audiobook Too!
If you've been hoping to hear Happier Made Simple "read by the author", you've got your wish! Soon it will be on Audible, but in the meantime you can get it through Kobo/Walmart or Chirp!
here is a sample:
Funny You Should Ask: “How do you stay so positive?”
I think I recognize the eyes and the hair. Is that my friend Beth behind the N95 mask? (One of the all-too-familiar new brain tasks in our Covid-19 world.)
Yes, it is Beth, and we carefully hug each other hello (faces pointed away to avoid germs, sheesh) in the supermarket aisle. It has been way too long.
I really miss seeing people’s faces and hugging without fear. Sigh.
Can Words Help Us Mid-Panic Attack?
Last week I experienced my first panic attack. Ever.
At least, that’s what the internet says it was.
All I know is: my body took over my brain. My heartbeat was too fast, too loud, too strong. My limbs were trembling. My mind and my heart were both racing; nausea took over my digestive system. I was one step away from asking my husband to take me to the Emergency Room – but I had no idea what they could have done for me. I would have voted for temporary oblivion.
It Is What It Is: How Accepting Reality Leads to Happier
Core Phrase #2: It Is What It Is.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because (a) I did not make up the phrase – it’s widely used, and (b) the Reality concept here is also about something we also hear a lot about: Acceptance.
Whenever I find myself spinning my wheels about "why me?" and "this shouldn't be this way"...I realize I'm doing just that...spinning my wheels, and with absolutely no traction. In mud. Or snow.
Happier Made Simple: The Book, Some Listening, and You
What is Happier Made Simple really all about?
It's about little changes that can make a big difference.
Like: the words we use when we talk to ourselves, and to others.
Like: trying some actions even before they feel like second nature- and noticing what happens.
Like: taking small, consistent steps until you reach your goals.
Aging Proudly: 5 Ways to Fight Back Against "Age-Defying"
68. And a half. That's my age number, and I'm proud of it.
Or at least I'm working on it. Constantly.
My little grandkids will announce my age number loud and proud to anyone in line at Stop and Shop - so why does part of me cringe when they do?
Processing Time: Why Happier Does Not Mean Constantly Happy
I had a day on Sunday. You know, where I just couldn't shake my sadness the way I usually can.
Ever have one of those? (If you say no, then you may want to check your pulse.)
As a "happier" writer, and the person people seem to seek out when they want a more optimistic perspective, it isn't easy to fall into the occasional hole of a less-than-stellar mood.
April's Word: Complete. How Did it Go?
Well…is anything ever really complete? (*sighs* started with a disclaimer…no-judgment zone)
As you may be aware, this year I opted out of New Year’s Resolutions (okay, opted out again) and chose instead a try-and-see approach simply by choosing a word for each month, no pressure, and seeing what might happen.
Legacy: The too-short life of Amy Oestreicher
Ten years ago, I auditioned to play a role I’d performed twice before: Nancy in Oliver. I didn’t get cast (it had been a long shot, age-wise, but hey). The role went to my friend Amy - who was, to be fair, much more suited to it. Not only was Amy 30 years younger than I am, but she actually looked the part of the underfed, abused waif that Dickens’ Nancy probably was.
Why did Amy look so thin?
Art: Creating for the Non-Artist
Word of the month for March:
Art.
Why?
Because I'm not an artist - at least, not a visual one.
Why do it, then?
What’s in a Word? Turns Out, a Whole Lot.
Screw New Year’s Resolutions. Especially this year, unless the resolution is to just, well, stay alive. (Stupid Covid.) I can’t remember the last time I made a resolution, anyway, since my higher self knows they only make it until mid-January at best. Then it’s another whole 11½ months of Oreos buttered popcorn, and guilt until we “resolve” again.