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“Taking time out each day to relax and renew is essential to living well.” ~Judith Hanson Lasater With all that happens in life, knowing how to deal with extreme stress daily is important to restore harmony. People often ignore stress in their lives, until they experience major health issues. Does that sound like you? Do you ignore stress so that you can move forward with your to-do list? This is a problem. Daily de-stressing is the solution. It will not only make you feel better, but decrease your chances of developing health problems. If you don’t have much time each day to learn how to deal with intense stress, ten minutes of de-stressing can make a big difference. There are plenty of things you can do in ten minutes to bring your stress level down: put yourself in nature, go for a short walk, read something that uplifts your spirits, stretch, sit in silence, or write your thoughts on paper. Over the years, hundreds of people shared with me moments of happiness they were experiencing. With each one of these people, their happiness was short–lived because they needed to learn how to manage and better deal with their chronic stress. The happiest people on this planet are in the habit of de-stressing each day. They know that stress is like a root in the garden that has to be cleared away. These people see the root and quickly get rid of it. Make it a priority to keep your stress as low as you can. When you have more time, de-stress in larger ways: exercise, read, meditate, do something fun, immerse yourself in nature. It is your job to learn how to deal with extreme stress and keep your stress as low as possible each day. If you are feeling stressed out then this is a sign that you are not taking care of yourself. Remember, ten minutes of de-stressing can work like magic! If this post on how to deal with intense and chronic stress was helpful, you should check out the post, Nurture Yourself. The more you nurture yourself, the more you will decrease stress in your life. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2013. It was updated and refreshed.

When you hear about meditation for beginners, do you laugh and think that it would be silly to meditate? The silly thing would be for you to not meditate since it has so many positive benefits. Meditating is one of the very few activities that you can do in less than 10 minutes to completely help you de-stress, change your state of mind, and help you  feel incredibly peaceful. There is no right or wrong way to meditate. You can simply relax and quiet your mind.  There are many different styles of meditating Here are some of the most common ways, focusing/visualization meditation, listening, static transcendence, and mobile transcendence. If you are interested in learning more about these meditations, or many others, there are a plethora of books that you can read. It is important to discover what works best for you! Plus at the end of this post I offer you my 2 guided  CDs. You can listen to excerpts from each. One of the easiest meditations to practice is the focusing meditation Focusing meditation involves concentrating on something intently as a way of staying in the present moment and silencing your internal dialogue. You can try this little experiment. Light a candle and stay focused on the flame. When your thoughts wander, go back to focusing on the flame. As you do this, you will be controlling your thoughts and quieting your mind. Visualization meditation is another method Once you are able to do the focused meditation, you may want to try the visualization meditation. With this, you are training your mind to focus in a certain direction. Visualize yourself running on the beach and feeling great for five minutes. Gradually increase the amount of time doing this visualization. This is a great way to de-stress in a very short period of time.Meditating is a skill. Like any skill, the more you do it, the better you will be at it. Keep practicing until this becomes a natural part of your life. Meditation is one of the most beneficial skills that you can possibly develop (Tweet This!). This amazing skill is going to change your life forever once you master it! Here are two of my guided CDs you can purchasethat will help you start your practice. Embracing Inner Peace Meditation with Norma Campbell, LCSW, MSW, MAIf you are currently experiencing stress, going through a difficult situation, or are in need of healing, The Embracing Inner Peace Meditation CD can greatly help you. This CD is designed to promote healing and help you create deep states of relaxation and peace.  Listen to this Two Minute Excerpt.Embracing Your Intuition with Norma Campbell, LCSW, MSW, MAYour intuition is one of the greatest gifts you have been given. When you fully develop this gift, you will be perfectly guided toward doing what is right for you at any given moment. You will be confident in your decisions and move through life with more inner peace and joy. Embracing Your Intuition CD will help you to develop your intuition, so that you can experience the benefits that this gift has to offer. Listen to this Two Minute Excerpt. “If you meditate, sooner or later you will come upon love. If you meditate deeply, sooner or later you will start feeling a tremendous love arising in you that you have never know before. ~OshoEditor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2013. It was updated and refreshed.

“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; Gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.” —Eileen Caddy By now, you may have heard how important it is to have an attitude of gratitude. Do you have an attitude of gratitude? Do you focus on what you are grateful for each day? What are you grateful for? Do you have access to enough food, and do you have a roof over your head? Well, that is something to be grateful for. Do you have people in your life who love and care about you? How grateful are you for their love? Get in the habit of being grateful each day. Take ten minutes to start a list of what you are grateful for. Keep adding to this list as you focus on developing a solid attitude of gratitude.What Are You Grateful For?Fifteen months ago, I decided to try an experiment. I wanted to see how my life would change if I developed an attitude of gratitude. I began by focusing on the many things I was grateful for each day. By doing this, I was able to see clearly that I had a lot to be grateful for. I also started to see other people in a more positive light by focusing on many of their good qualities. My attitude of gratitude also helped me to quickly stop my negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. As a result, I am more peaceful. “Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” —William Faulkner If you truly want to change your life for the better, then begin today to develop an attitude of gratitude. If you are currently going through a difficult situation, this will be challenging for you. At this point, you may only be able to focus on a few things that you are grateful for. Once you are feeling better, why not make a commitment to focus on the many things you are grateful for each day? This will surely help you on your way to automatically thinking more positively and having more inner peace. Give it a try!If you liked this post, check out Positive Thinking: Healthy Resolution for the New Year it will help you change your thinking around for the better!Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2013. It was updated and refreshed.

  When was the last time you encouraged yourself? It is so important to boost your confidence, especially if you were not given praise or support throughout your life. Begin today to encourage yourself with a pep talk. If you always wanted to do something, but were afraid you might fail, tell yourself, “I can do it. I just need to take small steps each day to make it happen.”   “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” —Norman Vincent Peale 10 Best Ways  to Encourage Yourself When Your Confidence is Low Encouraging words that you can tell yourself every day: I am talented enough to do this. I am smart. I have what it takes to succeed. I will succeed! I need to just do it! I am good at this! It is okay that I am not perfect at this; I do not need to be perfect. I will accomplish my goals. I will accomplish what is in my heart. I need to take one baby step at a time.Yes, you CAN do whatever you put your mind to do! I believe in YOU! Print out this list and hang it on your mirror.  Take a look at it whenever your self-esteem is low or life seems difficult and you can use a boost.“You can always create your own experience of life in a beautifuland enjoyable way if you keep your love turned onwithin you–regardless of what other people say or do.” —Ken Keyes If you enjoyed this post, check out  How Often Do You Praise Yourself?,” to learn how praising yourself can powerfully transform your life by motivating you to accomplish all your goals!

“Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our needs first, then we can give from our surplus, our abundance.”                                                            —Jennifer Louden When you think of self-care, what comes to mind? Does the thought sound appealing, or do you cringe at the idea, since it would be selfish? Most people that I helped over the years felt they would be selfish if they took great care of themselves. There is nothing selfish about taking care of yourself. It is necessary in order to take care of others. What do you do for yourself each day? How are you making yourself a priority? If self-care isn’t happening in your life, then what can you delegate, so you make yourself a priority? Do you schedule time for extreme self-care on your calendar at least once a month? No Guilt for Self-Care If you feel guilty for putting your needs first, remember that the more you give to yourself, the more you will have to give to others. Many people that I helped over the years did not believe this until they started to notice that the more they gave to themselves, the more they were able to give to others in meaningful ways. As a result, their relationships were much healthier and more fulfilling. Take action each day toward self-care and get ready to enjoy life and your relationships more than ever! The truth is, in order to be happy and peaceful, extreme self-care is a must! For some, a day of extreme self-care may include: eating well, exercising, reading for twenty minutes, and meditating. For others, their day may include: a walk by the beach, doing something fun, eating well, and watching a good movie at night. Take five minutes to write your answers to these self-care questions: If you were to give yourself a day of extreme self-care, how would you spend the day? If you were to create a daily lifestyle of extreme self-care, what would you do for yourself every day? Good! Now you have some new goals that you can work toward! Begin today to practice extreme self-care! You deserve to treat yourself very well, at all times!

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” —Lucille Ball Over the past eighteen years, I counseled many people who told me about relatives who were very fortunate and had everything going for them in life–good health, a wonderful spouse, and great children. They wanted for absolutely nothing, and yet they were miserable. Every time I heard one of these stories, I was baffled, especially after I returned home from a trip to India, a few years ago. When I was in India, I witnessed a mother brushing her teeth and bathing her son in sewer water. After seeing true misery, I thought it was a shame that all those fortunate people that I heard about over the years who were not happy did not realize they could have fully enjoyed the good in their lives. First they had to heal some wounds and learn how to love themselves. Maybe if they had learned to love themselves they might have helped those who were truly less fortunate, which would have added to their lives even more. LOVE YOURSELF TO ACHIEVE HAPPINESS The real key to happiness no matter where you are in life is to truly love yourself. When you master this, you will take excellent care of yourself, make good choices, and no longer accept any form of mistreatment. You will pursue your heart’s desires and greatly appreciate your life. The initial step toward learning how to love yourself is willing to do so. If you are not willing to work toward loving yourself, then keep in mind that without self-love, you will not be able to love others. We only can give what we have! It is not possible to be happy without self-love.   “I think the most important thing in life is self-love, because if you don’t have self-love, and respect for everything about your own body, your own soul, your own capsule, then how can you have an authentic relationship with anyone else?” —Shailene Woodley When was the last time you treated yourself exceptionally well, where you were kind and loving to yourself? Perhaps this idea is new to you. You may be like me, your parents did not model anything about self-love and they did not teach you how to treat yourself well. Watch my video, Self-Love, and learn how to love yourself. I’ll show you ways to stop listening to that negative voice inside that says you are not worthy and have nothing to offer, how to take care of yourself and much more. NORMALIGHT’S  SELF-LOVE VIDEO SHOWS YOU HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF You can learn to love yourself, regardless of how old you are today! I have counseled many people who were never taught anything about self-love. Now in their fifties, sixties, and seventies, they are enjoying the incredible results of learning how to love themselves. I even counseled an eighty-four-year-old woman who for the first time learned how to say no and treat herself very well! It is never too late! Make a commitment today to start loving yourself, so you can start this new, rewarding journey.

One of the most important ways to be happy and live an extraordinary life is to think positive thoughts. When you learn the power of positive thinking and keep your thoughts focused on the positives about yourself, others, and your life, you cannot help but be content. “Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think.” —Dale Carnegie If it is new to you to think positively and be happy, this may be a challenge, but keep at it anyway. It does not matter how long it takes you to do this. The more you practice being optimistic the easier it will get and the sooner this will become a good habit. Negative thoughts and actions toward yourself and others will create inner turmoil. We have all had the experience of feeling good and then once a negative thought enters our mind, we feel lousy. At this point, it becomes a struggle to go back to being happy. The only way we can achieve this is when our positive thoughts win the battle, by stopping negative thoughts from controlling our lives. People who do not feel good about themselves are often consumed by fear, rather than freedom and yet they wonder why they are so unhappy. You have the power within you to begin today to work toward feeling great about yourself and your life. If you have trouble preventing negative thoughts from appearing, picture a “STOP” sign in your mind, then immediately replace your thinking with the power of positive thoughts to be happy in life. Once your thoughts are consistently positive, your life will never be the same! “It takes but one positive thought when given a  chance to survive and thrive to overpower an  entire army of negative thoughts.” —Robert H. Schuller 

“I think that success is having fun.”  —Bruno Mars To live an extraordinary life, you’ve got to have fun! It’s a way to experience true happiness. When you were a child, you enjoyed having fun. However, as you got older, you may have had too many responsibilities that took priority over having fun. Life can feel dull and like a burden, when it is all work and no play. Life does not have to be this way, if you simply make time to have fun. Is having fun mandatory for you when you have free time? If not, you can begin today to make it an essential part of your life. When was the last time you had fun? What were you doing? If you are not sure what is fun for you, then try new things. Just last week, I went to my first professional football game. I am not into football; however, since I tend to love anything live, I decided to give it a try. I had so much fun going to that game! Hearing a crowd of over 75,000 people rooting for their favorite team was a new experience for me, which I greatly enjoyed. I never would have guessed I would have had so much fun at a football game when I don’t even follow the sport. “Just keep taking chances and having fun.” —Garth Brooks Why not try something new over the next few weeks that may be fun for you? What would you like to try? Follow your gut when making this decision. If something intuitively does not feel right to you, then choose something that does. Just recently, I was invited to an adult Halloween party. Even though it was a nice invitation, this did not feel intuitively right to me, so I declined the offer. The fun you experience needs to be positive and feel intuitively right to you. If you are unsure of how to listen to your intuition, then you may benefit from reading my blog post Listening to Your Intuition. How would you feel if you had something to look forward to each week that greatly added to your life? Take time right now to schedule something fun for yourself. You are meant to live an extraordinary life filled with fun! Give this gift to yourself!

Most people are unaware of the good within them because someone along their journey told them lies that prevented them from seeing their good qualities. I certainly collected many lies about myself from my childhood. It took me many years to change my thinking and start acknowledging the good within myself. The way that I was able to get rid of lies about myself when I was seventeen was by asking a few people that I trusted and respected if they would write down five of my good qualities. I read this list over and over until I started to believe everything that was written. Once I started to develop some self-esteem, I then was able to see more good within myself and I stayed focused on the good within me. What I did can help you as well. Ask the people in your life that you trust and respect to write down five of your good qualities. Read this list as often as possible throughout your day. In order to live an extraordinary life, you must see and acknowledge the good within yourself. If you are unable to see your good, then you cannot fully be happy, enjoy your life, and experience great joy. “The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment. It is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.” —Orison Swett Marden Do you know that no one on earth is more worthy than you? Stop telling yourself lies that block this truth. You have many great qualities. You even have some fantastic qualities that you are unaware of at this very moment. When do you focus on your good qualities? If the answer is never, now is the time to change that pattern. In addition to acquiring your list from others, take a few minutes each day to focus on some things that you like about yourself. To begin, take the next five minutes to write down ten things that you like about yourself. Keep adding to this list each day for the next two weeks. When you begin to fully see the good that lies within you, your life will never be the same! If you found this post helpful, take a look at How Often Do You Praise Yourself?, and learn how praising yourself will help you meet your goals.