If you ever felt you would like to have more positive experiences in your life and stimulate your own creativity, you can start by focusing on feeling happier. Haven’t you noticed how good things happen to you when you are feeling happy? Ever notice how when you start complaining you turn into a “crap magnet” and end up with more and more to complain about?

Rather than seek out that perfect car, home, job, or partner to make you happy, start by being happy with what you already have. When we recognize that happiness comes from within ourselves versus from external factors, the goal of being happy becomes much more achievable.

Some key characteristics of happy people are that they are grateful, kind, and willing to be of service. The Dali Lama tells us that service can be as simple as holding a door for someone, or offering a smile; you don’t have to join the Peace Corps. Gratitude can begin with small things like a warm bed or sunny day. Once we find one thing to be grateful for the list tends to grow.

This week we talk with Mike Ferry, author of the book “Teaching Happiness and Innovation”. Mike offers simple exercises and foods you can incorporate to promote happiness and support brain function.

Tune in as we learn how to better move toward having experiences that bring a smile to your face. As always, you’ll find lots of recipes, healthy eating, and cooking tips on Chef Tom’s blog, The Confidence Diet.