March 2013 - Jonathan Robinson, Finding Happiness

How to Be Filled With Energy

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Jonathan RobinsonJanuary 16, 2023

ways to get more energy Have you ever felt depressed and filled with enormous amounts of energy at the same time? Probably not. When we have a lot of energy, we both feel better and get more done. Of course, we’re told that the way to greater vim and vigor is to eat right, exercise, and avoid harmful substances. We know what we should do, but we often don’t have the energy or discipline to follow through. If you’re like me, you wonder “are there any safe shortcuts to how to have more energy?” Luckily, there are. There are now a plethora of supplements in health food stores that can safely and effectively help you to get more energy. Once you find how to get more energy in a way that works well for you, it’s like finding a magic pill that helps you feel healthier, happier, and more energized. Who knows, you may even become motivated to eat better and exercise more often!

If you go to a health food store and ask about supplements to get more energy, you’ll likely be overwhelmed by the number of products available. After much trial and error, I’ve learned three things about how to get more energy in a way that feels good to your body. 161718759 First of all, it’s important to look at the ingredients in each of the bottles. Many energy supplements are really just caffeine-like derivatives that take a toll on your body. Caffeine, Ma Huang, Ephedra, and Guarana are all very similar in that they stress your adrenal glands and ultimately leave you with less energy. It’s better to look for products whose main ingredients are things like bee pollen, spirulina, wheat grass, amino acids, ginseng, algae, royal jelly, or vitamin B-12.

The second thing to know when looking for a supplement to get more energy is that different pills work for different people. Just because your friend swears that Product X changed her life doesn’t mean it will have any effect on you. It’s best to buy small amounts of several products and give each one a trial run to see which one works best. In addition, you may need to try each supplement for a couple of weeks to notice what, if anything, it does for you. Thirdly, there’s a tendency for your body to gain a “tolerance” for whatever you take. This means that, over time, it has less effect on your body. That’s why it may take more caffeine than it used to in order for you to feel really “buzzed.” If you’ve tried several supplements, you can begin with the one that had the greatest effect, but periodically change to others when you feel you’re building up a tolerance.

Uptime to get more energy Bearing all this information in mind, there are several supplements I can heartily recommend because of their ingredients and the consistently good results people report. My personal favorite is something called Uptime. Although it has a small amount of caffeine in it, it has plenty of nutritional goodies that more than make up for the fact that it contains a little caffeine. If you’re a coffee drinker, definitely consider using Uptime as a healthier alternative. If you can’t find it in your health food store, you can order it directly online (I have no financial ties to this company—or any products I recommend here).
get more energy with ultra energy plus
Another favorite is something called Ultra Energy Plus by the Rainbow Lite company. This product is filled with good stuff, and contains no caffeine at all. Although it doesn’t take effect as quickly as Uptime, it can give you a nice boost of sustained energy. Think of it as a powerful food that blasts your body with vitamins. For people who like to take only natural herbs instead of vitamins, there’s a product called Ginseng Energy Now. It’s especially suitable for people who are very sensitive to supplements.

There are also various drinks you can buy to give your body a boost of energy. Nowadays there are many places that offer a variety of fresh squeezed juices that are energizing and good for you. Look for smoothies that have bee pollen, vitamin B-12, or a lot of “green stuff” added to them, or try some fresh wheatgrass juice. A big smoothie sipped throughout the day can provide you with plenty of vitamins and sustained energy. Experiment with what your local juice bar offers until you find one that tastes good and feels great.

how to get more energy and jump for joy The great thing about finding a Magic Pill or drink to get more energy is how easy it is. No matter how lazy you are, you can always pop a pill into your mouth or drink some fresh juices. Although supplements are easy to “use,” their effect can be life transforming. Many people don’t realize that the reason they feel depressed or unhealthy is due to a lack of nutrients. I’ve seen clients in my therapy practice who literally change overnight by finding a supplement they really needed to take. Once you know how to get more energy in a way that feels good to your body, you’ll have a consistent way to support your body, mind, and spirit. With a little exploring, for under a dollar a day, you can find a supplement that can have a major impact on your life. That’s a deal too good to refuse.

The International Day of Happiness

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Jonathan RobinsonJanuary 16, 2023

UN-Pledge-international-day-of-happiness March 20^th is the International Day of Happiness, which is sponsored by the United Nations. They ask all participants to make the following pledge:

“I will try to create more happiness in the world around me”

It’s a nice pledge, and one that research shows has interesting ramifications. Studies show that when we perform acts of kindness, it actually make us happier. By trying to make other people happier, it gives us a lift. It’s a win-win. So why don’t we do acts of kindness and/or try to make others happier more often? It’s an interesting question, and in exploring that question we can learn a lot about how to become happier in our own lives.

children know how to be happy I believe that happiness is our natural state. Look at young kids. They are happy a lot (unless they are in physical pain), so it can’t be something we need to learn “to do.” Instead, we have to focus on what it is we are already doing that gets in the way of our natural joy, peace, and contentment. Rather than just have this be a theoretical discussion, you can ask that question to yourself. What do you think you do that gets in the way of you being happier?

From my years of being a psychotherapist, I’ve seen that most people do not have a really good answer to that question. If they have an answer at all, it’s usually very general—and therefore not truly useful. woman needing help with anxiety But the truth is that you and I are doing specific things almost all the time that get in the way of being truly joyous—and most of us have no idea what those self-destructive habits are! We fall victim to bad habits like rushing, multitasking, worrying, or indulging in negative emotion patterns. All these “inner” obstacles keep us from being happier—and they even keep us from attempting to make others happier. Only by becoming aware of our inner obstacles to being happier or being kinder can we make a significant impact in our level of fulfillment.

Rather than become more aware of these inner obstacles we have to happiness, most people simply try to change the external events and situations of their life. This works to a small extent, but usually not for long. Our inner obstacles or shadow aspect of ourselves has a way of bringing us back down to a life of rushing, worrying, struggle, etc. What can a poor soul do about this? Fortunately, a lot.

create happiness even by faking it The first step is to become acutely aware of what specific things you do that lead away from your natural state of happiness. In my audio course, Deeper Happiness: One Month to a Lifetime of Greater Fulfillment, I have many simple methods for doing that. But here’s one simple idea you can try: On the International Day of Happiness, March 20^th, try a one day experiment. For one day, do your absolute best to be ridiculously happy. If you need to, fake it till you make it. While you’re at it, do your best to make others happy as well. Then, notice what thought patterns, emotions, or daily habits get in the way of you being truly and consistently happy that day.

When I’ve done this one day experiment in the past, I’ve noticed I have habitual excuses for “putting off” happiness till sometime in the future. For instance, I’ll think “I can take a moment to enjoy life as soon as I finish…” Of course, there’s always more to do, so this way of thinking can lead one to never allowing a moment of pure enjoyment. Other obstacles to being fully satisfied have also become very obvious when I’ve tried to be happy for a day. For example, my tendency to feel self-pity or “poor me” when things don’t go exactly the way I want. Indulging in such a feeling is a surefire way to interfere with greater happiness. By becoming more aware of these tendencies in myself, I’ve been able to lessen their frequency and impact in my daily life.

Woman finding happiness In my opinion, there is nothing more important in life than trying to be happy and add to the level of happiness in the world. The good news is that, as a race, we’re currently pretty bad at being happy. I say that’s good news because, with a little effort and experimentation, we’re bound to get better at it. Fortunately, there are a lot of simple methods that can help us on the path towards deeper happiness. For instance, the attitude that you’re a detective on the look out for what gets in the way of being happy is a good start. I encourage you to keep that in mind on March 20^th—the International Day of Happiness. By experimenting with your own desire to be a more fulfilled person, you will also be helping others to reach their full potential.

How to Stop Worrying About Money

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Jonathan RobinsonJanuary 16, 2023

With the tough economy and tax season upon us, a lot of people want to know how to stop worrying. People worry about a lot of things, but foremost amongst them is money. If the money you currently have could assume a human form and talk to you, what might it say? If you’re like most people, it would probably say something like this: “You never appreciate me. All you ever do is complain about how I’m never enough. You need to stop worrying about how I might let you down in the future, or might leave you. I don’t feel like you trust me at all. And after all I do for you! I’m always getting things for you, protecting you, entertaining you, and making your life easier–but do I ever get a heart-felt thank you? Nooooo!” … If we treated our mate the way we “relate” to money, he or she wouldn’t want to hang around us!

In order to learn how to stop worrying about money, it can be helpful to focus in a new direction from how we’ve been conditioned. Normally we’re always looking for more money as an antidote to the feeling that we don’t have enough. Yet, this constant seeking for more usually just leads to wanting even more—no matter how much we have. Fortunately, there is an antidote that can help us to stop worrying so much. The antidote to the “not enough disease” can be summed up in a single word—gratitude.

The ability to feel thankful for what we have right now is perhaps the greatest key for helping us learn how to stop worrying. By feeling grateful for the things in your life, a whole new energy and experience is created. People often pursue money for years just so they can have a few moments of feeling satisfied. Yet, the practice of gratitude can make us feel rich faster than any “get-rich-quick” scheme ever invented. After all, if you feel thankful for what you have, you’re immediately rich! But if you have millions and don’t appreciate it, then you’re eternally poor.

Perhaps you’re thinking it would be easy to feel grateful if you only had some more money. If only, if only – the curse of the modern mind. If you own a car, you are automatically in the top 7 percent of wealth in the world. If you don’t feel grateful for being in the top 7 percent of wealth, being in the top 2 percent won’t make much difference. The truth is that you and I live better today than kings lived just one hundred years ago! We’re blessed with inexpensive ways to enjoy music, read books, be entertained, talk to people on the phone, and even travel to distant lands. There’s a lot we can feel grateful for – if we don’t fall into the pothole of “if only” thinking.

I’ve learned that the discipline of gratitude begins by appreciating whatever you currently have – even if part of you doesn’t like it. In my own battle with the “not enough” trap, I learned some tools that immediately helped me convert my feelings of scarcity to feelings of abundance and thankfulness. One effective method is to simply ask yourself the question, “What could I feel grateful for?” This question is a great way to help any person learn how to stop worrying so much. When I began this practice, I came up with just intellectual answers. Yet over time, I’ve been able to tune into the actual feeling of deep gratitude for the many wonderful things in my life. Gratitude is like a muscle that needs to be exercised. The more I’ve focused on this question, the easier it has been to feel truly grateful, and less caught up in the trap of “if-only” thinking.

You may have already listened to the 3 free audio segments from my course “Deeper Happiness” (if not, you can get the audios for free here). The second of these audios offers another “tool” for helping to tap into gratitude during daily life. I won’t go into all of the details here, but many people report that this deceptively simple tool can have a dramatic effect on their level of gratitude. And remember, the more gratitude you feel, the more you have found the quickest cure for how to stop worrying.

A second way to stop worrying about money is to have a written Plan B. A Plan B is simply a blueprint of what you could do if you ever experienced money troubles. When I wrote down my Plan B, I realized I had over a dozen things I could do to bail me out of financial difficulties. Seeing these ideas on paper helped me to feel assured that, if bad times ever came, I could handle it. After all, I already had a plan. Worrying about money is a non-productive waste of energy. By feeling grateful for what you already have and having a back-up plan in case of difficulties, you can learn how to stop worrying about your finances. If you can do that, you’ll feel more relaxed, peaceful, and happy.