You persist in making negative judgements about something. And this lowers your mood and gets you down.

Why do you do this to yourself? Well, you honestly believe that your negative value judgments are correct, of course!!

How can you stop? Well, you have to change your mind and start believing the EXACT OPPOSITE (or near opposite) of what you currently believe.

If you think that not owning a new car is BAD, you must challenge this belief until you actually believe either that not owing a new car is NOT THAT BAD, or even better, that not owning a new car is GOOD.

Recognizing that all values are subjective can help. Look up Moral Relativism, the Is/Ought Problem, or the Fact/Value Dichotomy on Wikipedia and study up.

When you are done studying, write down the opposite of your negative value judgement and then make a list of all the reasons why not owning a new car is actually GOOD.

Review these reasons frequently until you actually believe you are better off without the car.

*** This is not as hard as you think it is. Give it a try. ***

Simply pretending to be happy or using distraction (like meditation or relaxation techniques) will only work temporarily.

Value subjectivity is what explains how the richest person on earth and the poorest person on earth can be equally happy.

Value subjectivity explains how a world class athlete can be as happy as a quadriplegic.

There is no other sane explanation.

By the way, value subjectivity also explains how Hitler could have been happy exterminating the Jews and how terrorists can gleefully perform their suicide bombings.

Value subjectivity also explains depression.

Ever wonder why wealthy, famous and sexy people attempt suicide? The answer is value subjectivity.

People can choose to value or disvalue any aspect of their lives. And people do this rather arbitrarily, although, many use cultural values as guides. Using cultural values, though, can create as many problems as they solve.

HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS!!!

The good news is that if (and this is a big IF) you can accept the reality of the subjectivity of value, then there are common sense things you can do to make yourself happier.

If you recognize that your positive and negative value statements are largely arbitrary, you can more easily change them, and be happy most of the time.

Type: Video in *.wmv format (Windows Media), 2.5 minutes long

Cost: $0.50  (only 50 cents!)

In essence we have a temper tantrum in our minds.

We argue how can reality be so unkind as to exist differently than we we strongly desire?

You can stop the temper tantrums in part by stopping you use of the words Must, Should and Have Too. Replace these words with less extreme words like Prefer, Wish, and Would Like.

The website is about the 80-10-10 low-fat raw vegan diet. This is the link:

http://rawfood811talk.com

Feel free to visit.

Take care and be happy.

Remember the nursery rhyme – ‘The more we get together – the happier we are?’

It would appear that society is going in the opposite direction. A recent study found that people spend 34% of their spare time by themselves. Time spent with family and friends dropped 58%.

We are socializing less – no time, no inclination.

We are more stressed – with work and personal responsibilities

We are less active physically – everything is available at the press of a button, in our kitchens, entertainment areas etc.

Perhaps this is also the reason for the degree of stress in society, which is showing up with some very negative results, and which is being aggravated by having two spouses working, and less time available to spend with the children.

All this flies in the face of the perception that money and conveniences can buy happiness. More than wealth, income and conveniences is the need for social interaction, because we are a social species.

With the lesser social interaction, we also face concerns of less personal safety, security and trust. All pointing to the need for more social interaction, sharing and consulting with others, and making a break from then rut and routine we are in.

We need to socialize more! – That is face to face instead of, or in addition to the Internet social networking.

We need to generate more humor and laughter! – Instead of relying to be entertained by the electronic media.

We have to enjoy life instead of enduring it!

Gerry Hopman is an Author, Humorist and Humor Motivational Speaker, who believes that humor and laughter are essential to finding and maintaining balance in life and career.

To stay informed about the countless benefits of humor and laughter visit Gerry’s website www.humor-laughter.com , sign up for his monthly newsletter ‘The Humormeister’s Forum’ and receive a FREE e-book ‘Manage your stress with humor and laughter.’

AndrewB presents Biggest Productivity Tip posted at Personal Hack, saying, “Productivity tips are everywhere. Anywhere from productivity videos to productivity blogs to productivity books. Everyone wants to be more productive yet I rarely ever hear this big productivity tip mentioned.”

AndrewB presents Desire Without Attachment To Outcome posted at Personal Hack, saying, “Desire without attachment to outcome might sound like a paradox at first. How can you desire or want something and yet not care about whether you get it or not? While desire without attachment is an old personal development concept, I myself haven’t came across any great explanations of it, and therefore it took me a while to understand it.”

Ella Moss presents 2008 August � Zodiac Times posted at Zodiac Times, saying, “inspirational poetry of Of God and Her is truly worth reading”

Rebecca Newburn presents August Thriving in the Burbs Newsletter posted at Thriving in the ‘Burbs, saying, “Thriving in the ‘Burbs has a downloadable, customizable monthly newsletter that you can tailor to your community and locale. It’ll help you support your community in going green by organizing people to make sustainable lifestyle choices, such as installing clotheslines. Learn how to thrive in challenging times and do it in community.”

Jennifer Johnson presents Surviving the PTO posted at MommyABCs.com, saying, “PTO, Kids school, be nice”

AndrewB presents Can’t Stop Eating? 3 Tips To Get Your Eating Under Control | Stop Binge Eating posted at test, saying, “Ever feel helpless around food? Maybe it’s a certain food. Maybe You can’t stop eating your favorite junk food. Maybe you can’t stop eating your favorite fast food. Maybe you are just eating too much and want to get your eating under control. Either way these tips will help you get your eating under control.”

Chris Edgar presents Too Smart To Be Happy: How We Get Attached To Negativity posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, “Although most people wouldn’t admit to wanting to feel unhappy, many of us have adopted patterns of thinking and behavior seemingly designed to keep unhappiness in our lives. When someone makes us aware of the ways we’re bringing negativity into our lives, often just having that awareness is enough to start loosening the grip our habitual patterns have on us. In the interest of fostering this kind of awareness, I describe several common ways of acting and thinking we use, often unconsciously, to keep unhappiness in our lives.”

Stephanie Bryant presents Road Rage: Going on the road got rid of my anger posted at U.S. Travel, saying, “My happiness was always hampered by an undercurrent of anger.”

texasdave presents Tournament Holdem posted at Tournament Holdem.

Dr Martin W. Russell presents Working Through A Problem posted at Dr Martin W. Russell.

AndrewB presents Hard Work or a Secret Formula? posted at Personal Hack, saying, “Ever wonder if success is a result of consistent hard work or a secret formula? This article sheds light on what really is behind success. Please give it a quick read and leave a comment, thank you =D”

AndrewB presents 5 Instant Energy Tips posted at Personal Hack, saying, “Want instant energy? You know when you have one of those days where you get so much done, and feel energetic all day? Well these tips will help feel more energetic and productive right away.”

Kevin/Keira presents How to Eat Out Without Feeling Guilty posted at Weight Ladder.

David B Bohl presents Is Enough Ever Enough? posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “Do you ever find yourself complaining that you need more or want more of something? Time, money, love, space, material possessions, happiness-what’s your “never enough”?”

Great Management presents All Managers Are Customers Too posted at The GreatManagement Blog, saying, “Whatever business you are in, you will find that there is one key cause of your success.”

AndrewB presents Success Secret Revealed posted at Personal Hack, saying, “Ever hear how many of today’s millionaires claim to having stumbled upon their business idea, were lucky and got rich? Well in this article I explain how you can stubmle on such great ideas to sky-rocket your success =D”

Nara presents Why Some People Choose Divorce After Infidelity posted at Surviving Infidelity, saying, “If you’ve recently been the victim of an unfaithful spouse,you’ve probably been inundated with stories of couples who have reconciled and moved on with their lives.”

David B Bohl presents 5 Steps To Move From Concern to Content posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “Here are some strategies I’ve discovered over my years of coaching that can help you experience more contentment in all areas of your life.”

AndrewB presents From Lame To Fame – 5 Steps posted at Personal Hack, saying, “Most of us are born with average resources yet a very few of us manage to become great. In this post I give you 5 steps to go from lame to fame Please give it a quick read and leave a comment, thanks.”

Sandra Ahten presents The Reasonable Diet posted at Sandra Ahten, saying, “Learn How can we make healthier dieting and weight control a source of pleasure instead of duty? How can we, as Thoreau suggests, take it upon ourselves and bring happiness to this area of our lives?”

Heather Johnson presents Guest Blogger Post, by Heather Johnson of Nursing School Search posted at Chrysalis Angel.

mediamonkey presents How to improve your Health: Healthy tips and tricks posted at How to: tips, tricks & recipes, saying, “Small changes to your lifestyle will benefit your overall health in the long term. Once you begin to feel the benefits of your lifestyle changes, you will want to include even more healthy habits. Here are 5 easy steps you can take towards leading a healthier lifestyle.”

Alfa Mercado presents Moving Boxes for our Troops posted at Moving Day.

Ben Shewmaker presents Taking the Time Out to Plan the Day posted at Life Begins @ 26.

Jose DeJesus MD presents Clearing Your Mind and Getting Things Done posted at Physician Entrepreneur, saying, “Many people complain that they don’t have the time to effectively get all the things done in a day that they are being challenged to accomplish.”

Chris Edgar presents The World Is In Your Stomach posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, “As psychologists are increasingly recognizing, our perceptions of the world greatly depend on the sensations we’re experiencing in our bodies. The quality of what we’re feeling — whether it’s pain, tightness, relaxation, or something else — shapes how we see the world. This article is about how we can work with our bodies — through breathing, movement, relaxation and so on — to change our beliefs.”

MSC presents Persuasion, Harvard, and Happiness posted at Subliminal Persuasion, saying, “Highlights what happiness is and how to get more of it- includes a great video of Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness.”

Mike Wheeler presents Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation posted at Brain Stimulant, saying, “Not sure if this is relevent as the post covers neurotechnology called transcranial magnetic stimulation to alter mood.”

TheLifeLessTraveled presents DonnaLyn Uses Cancer As An Opportunity To Help Others posted at The Life Less Traveled, saying, “Learn how dynamo DonnaLyn, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2006, combined her energy, humor, knowledge of fitness and enthusiasm for people to become a professional speaker–reaching out to inspire and empower “folks that face chronic illnesses with more hope, more passion and more pleasure even during adversity.”"

Shamelle presents 7 Career Advancing Tips To build An Impeccable Relationship With Your Boss posted at Enhance Life.

Marsha Hudnall presents Accepting What Is posted at A Weight Lifted, saying, “Accepting What Is I just kissed my high school senior as he left for his first day of his last year of school (next year, it’s college, not ’school’!). That’s after putting my daughter on a plane last weekend, off to her second year of college. And we’re taking our Belgian ’son’ (my daughter stayed with him and his family for a year in high school) to send him back to Europe for his first year of college (or whatever they call it in Belgium). It is definitely a week for endings and beginnings. And, for me, the best way to weather the change is to accept it and make the best of it. I could find a lot of things to be sad about, but instead, I’m looking at the positive — how I choose to look at life as much as possible. This time mirrors the ups and downs we all go through in life, with just about everything. Certainly, with how we do in taking care of ourselves, trying to live a healthy lifestyle and be the best we can. When it comes to healthy weights, if we can take a step back and be more accepting — loving ourselves and our bodies for what they are instead of aiming for unrealistic goals and taking care of ourselves in that manner — we’d surely find healthy weight loss if it’s in our cards (that is, if we are indeed at unhealthy weights) and we’d definitely find greater peace with eating and physical activity and life. It mirrors, too, the change of seasons we’re facing right now in Vermont. Fall has come early, it seems. Cool mornings, moderate days, cool evenings foreshadow the time most of us kinda dread until it’s here — winter. But when it gets here, I for one find it lovely. It’s just getting there — the change — that hurts a bit. Accepting what is would help me get rid of the hurt, I am sure. Karin Kratina, a consultant for our healthy lifestyle program, and a great thinker in this area, has sent in one of her periodic e-letters a list of quotes that help us with acceptance. I share a few here, and encourage you to visit Karin’s website for more great insight into healthy living. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr. Seuss “Each individual woman’s body demands to be accepted on its own terms.” ~Gloria Steinem “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” ~E.E. Cummings “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~E.E. Cummings “Is life not a hundred times too short for us to stifle ourselves.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche “Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.” ~Michel Eyquem de Montaigne”

Caroline Middlebrook presents You Should Never Worry About Anything – Ever! posted at Life Should Feel GOOD!.

Brain Blogger presents Is Seeing Into the Future More Than an Optical Illusion? posted at Brain Blogger, saying, “Most humans do not have the power to predict the future, but we can see it. At least we can see one-tenth of a second of it.”

Indian presents 5 Marriage Compatibility Essentials posted at DecisionCare, saying, “Marriage Compatibility is viewed essential for happy marriage life. There are five essentials that every love match and soul mate must know and follow.”

Alaia Williams presents Shift your attitude. What you say to yourself matters. posted at One Organized Life Blog, saying, “Don’t let negative self-talk hold you back. Changing the way you think and opening yourself up to the possibilities can (and will) improve your life.”

Shaula presents Lost Days posted at Your Mileage May Vary, saying, “One of the keys to happiness is letting lost days be good days.”

Mike Solara presents Improved Listening = Improved Self posted at Mike Solara.

mcbrewster presents livelifeblessedblog.com: August 2008 Archives posted at livelifeblessedblog.com, saying, “Offer guidance and spiritual advice on how to live your best life now!”

Lexi Sundell presents Wildest Party Shoes Ever Created! posted at Energies of Creation, saying, “Have you ever been surprised by a pair of neon red trout shoes?”

Donald Latumahina presents How to Become a True Friend posted at Life Optimizer.

Stefanie Hutson presents 25 Incredibly Simple & Creative Ways to Act Charitably posted at Vat19.com slash Blog.

Peter Murphy presents How to Kick a Lack of Motivation Forever posted at Get Motivated Stay Motivated.

Applying the Law of Attraction presents 3 Steps to Know What You REALLY Want posted at Applying the Law of Attraction Membership Library, saying, “One of the very first steps in working with the Law of Attraction is getting clear about what you want. It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Yet, millions of…”

Ms. Cheevious presents How to Deal with Flaky People posted at Ms. Cheevious, saying, “Ever get frustrated with how flaky people are these days? Even Ms. Cheevious falls victim to the Flakes of LA – but she is no worse for it! In fact, she finds her luck only gets better as people flake out! The Moral: Don’t let the flakes get you down, and simply enjoy every moment!”

AndrewB presents Get Off Your Butt posted at Personal Hack, saying, “In this post I share the methods I used to shed 50 lbs of fat, create powerful business connections, attract clients into my business, and build traffic to my website.”

Stacey Hoffer Weckstein presents Arriving at the Moment of Your Dream posted at createabalance.com, saying, “Can you capture that moment when you knew you had arrived at one of your dreams?”

Stephen presents Your Imaginary Boundaries are Making You Unhappy posted at Balanced Existence, saying, “Your imaginary boundaries are the reasons why you feel hate, greed and jealousy. Why you think everyone is stupid as if you were perfectly incapable of your own special brand of stupidity. Why all you see is bits of straw in everyone else’s eyes while you are blinded by the rafter in your own eye.”

Kim Greenblatt presents profitable � Rett Syndrome Moment – Arianna Speaks posted at profitable, saying, “In Rett Syndrome, girls lose the ability to talk as one of their symptoms. Sometimes if you are a parent of a child with Rett Syndrome, the neurological components are in place, the universe seems to open up and miracles seems to happen. See Arianna Greenblatt talk at Kim Greenblatt’s blog, profitable.”

Alvaro Fernandez presents Resources for Brain Health Across the Lifespan posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Needed for happiness: to maintain brain health.”

Bill Urell presents Social Drinker, Alcohol Abuse, or Alcoholic: Where Do You Fit In? posted at Addiction Recovery Basics, saying, “Do you know the differences and a social drinker, alcohol abuser and alcoholic? Do you possibly fit in? You will know after reading this article.”

Erin Pavlina presents Are You Afraid to Be Rich? posted at Erin Pavlina’s Blog, saying, “I thought that rich people were all greedy, and that most of them had probably sold their soul to the devil in order to attain their wealth. I had some pretty negative and limiting beliefs about wealth.”

David B Bohl presents Beating The Culture of Fear posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “You hear it on the news every day, the list of things you’re supposed to be afraid of today. Whether it’s killer cholesterol in your food, hidden terrorist cells or menacing muggers on the street, it seems that you can hardly draw a breath these days without the risk of inhaling a fatal dose of fear. But is there, really, all that much to be afraid of?”

Great Management presents Enhance Your Chance Of Success posted at The GreatManagement Blog, saying, “GPS usually stands for “Global Positioning System” But better still it should stand for “Growth Plan for Success.” You need a plan to reach any stage of success, and success usually is a result of personal growth. So what should you consider for your plan?”

Britannica Blog presents Why Men Cheat: Is It Really All About Sex? | Britannica Blog posted at Britannica Blog, saying, “The question of fidelity in marriage has now become forefront in the minds and writings of many journalists, clergymen, and psychologists alike. Is sexual impulse really the driving force behind men who have extramarital affairs?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of happiness carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: happiness carnival, blog carnival.