how to be happy

this post is for all of you who had a bad day, and if you didn't today, then you can refer back to it if you ever need to :)

for some reason last year i decided to be happy, and that really changed my life. i don't know why or when it started, but all of a sudden every problem i faced seemed smaller and i saw only good in everyone and everything. optimism is so amazing and it can turn everything in your life around for the better if you let it. (sorry for sounding so preachy.)

here's my strategy to happiness.

first, you have to love. everything. it sounds so stupid but it really works. hate is such a burden and it just brings you down. plus, it's pointless and hurtful. so when you feel hate coming on, replace it with love.... find the bright side of that situation, person, or thing, and focus on that. or you could just ignore hate, that works too.

you also have to love yourself though. that's REALLY hard, at least for me, but if you don't love yourself then you can't really love anything, really. for me, i have issues with my appearance. but nothing's going to change the way you look, so why hate on it? everyone looks different, and everyoneee dislikes something about their appearance. not even celebrities are perfect. the things they don't like about themselves are things you probably don't even notice about them. which brings me to my next point: you're the only one who sees your flaws as flaws. no one else stares at you in a mirror like you do yourself, and you certainly (well, hopefully) don't walk around staring and judging everyone else's flaws. so instead of focusing on something you don't like about yourself, accentuate and focus on your best features.

a great way to feel good about yourself is to make other people feel good about themselves. try giving out a few compliments each day at school, and see how happy you are afterward :)

another tip is to let things out. don't keep all your emotions inside of you, growing worse and worse. talk to your parents, siblings, friends, or even write in a diary. any form of expressing your feelings is great. (besides violence, obviously:)

eat healthy. you can take baby steps or just plunge right into it, but getting all your nutrients without the mcdonald's and junk food makes you feel sooo goooood :) your body feels good (and is thanking you) and YOU feel good for eating so healthily. just make sure you're not starving yourself.

do what you love and what makes you smile uncontrollably. for me, it's things like watching spongebob and ridiculous funny things like that. it's also playing guitar, dancing like a crazy person to my favorite songs, eating my favorite foods, and playing with my puppy. find what makes YOU really really happy and do at least one of the things you've found daily. :)

here's a list of 94 songs that make me smile, and hopefully will make you smile too. some of them are ridiculously cheesy and/or not be your style, but they're worth a shot :)

Stonger (Back On The Ground)- Nick Jonas & The Administration

Shining Star- Jump 5

The Anthem- Good Charlotte

Shut-Up And Smile- Bowling For Soup

California- Metro Station

Keep It Real- Jonas Brothers

Fallen For You- Drake Bell

I Want You To Want Me- KSM

Bounce (feat. Big Rob)- Demi Lovato & Jonas Brothers

I Just Want To Celebrate- Rare Earth

I'd Do Anything- Simple Plan

Wondering- Good Charlotte

Dreamer- Hilary Duff

Dental Care- Owl City

Up!- Shania Twain

Choo Choo- Diane Birch

I Should've Been After You- Rooney

All I Can Do- Jump 5

I Can't Wait- Hilary Duff

Stay Away- Rooney

Popular- The Veronicas

Play My Music- Jonas Brothers

Us Against The World- Play

Hoedown Throwdown- Miley Cyrus

Na Na- Superchick

Party- Demi Lovato

Underdog- Jonas Brothers

We Rock- Camp Rock Film Cast

Rock With You- Honor Society

Shakin'- Rooney

Jack- Pixie Lott

Who Will I Be?- Demi Lovato

No Average Angel- Tiffany Giardina

Come On Eileen- Dexy's Midnight Runners

Why Not- Hilary Duff

The Way You Make Me Feel- Michael Jackson

Don't Come Around Again- Rooney

Sing For You- Honor Society

Year 3000- Jonas Brothers

Why Can't We Be Friends- Smash Mouth

Read Between The Lines- KSM

Crush- Selena Gomez & The Scene

Infatuation- Jonas Brothers

I Am- Hilary Duff

Lifestyles Of The Rich And The Famous- Good Charlotte

Everybody Wants Ya- S Club 7

Party In The U.S.A.- Miley Cyrus

Spiderwebs- No Doubt

Conspiracy Theory- Nick Jonas & The Administration

Smile- Lily Allen

Supermodel- Taylor Dayne

Welcome To The 60's- Nikki Blonsky & John Travolta

You Make Me Feel Like A Star- The Beu Sisters

Time For Me To Fly- Jonas Brothers

When Did Your Heart Go Missing- Rooney

What Dreams Are Made Of- Hilary Duff

That's Just The Way We Roll- Jonas Brothers

Drama Queen (That Girl)- Lindsay Lohan

As A Blonde- Selena Gomez & The Scene

Makes Me Happy- Drake Bell

Summertime Anthem- Jonas Brothers

The Bird And The Worm- Owl City

Fergalicious- Fergie feat. will.i.am

These Words (I Love You, I Love You, I Love You)- Natasha Bedingfield

Mandy- Jonas Brothers

Signed, Sealed, Delivered- Stevie Wonder

Number One- Skye Sweetnam

What Did I Do To Your Heart- Jonas Brothers

Don't Come Around Again- Rooney

Out Of This World- Jonas Brothers

Unwritten- Natasha Bedingfield

The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)- Atomic Kitten

True To Me- Metro Station

Got Me Going Crazy- Jonas Brothers

Hey We're Gonna Be Alright- Nicholas Jonas

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough- Michael Jackson

Size Matters- Natasha Bedingfield

All Your Reasons- Matchbox 20

I'm Gonna Getcha Good!- Shania Twain

Crazy Kinda Crush On You- Nicholas Jonas

Much Better- Jonas Brothers

Lollipop- Tiffany Giardina

Hello Goodbye- Jonas Brothers

BB Good- Jonas Brothers

Did You Hear About Us?- Lalaine

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun- Miley Cyrus

Sorry Sorry- Rooney

She Said- Brie Larson

What I Like About You- Lillix

1,2,3- Nicky Cleary

I'll Believe You When- Matchbox 20

Start The Commotion- The Wiseguys (feat. Greg Nice)

Tonight- Jonas Brothers

You Can't Stop The Beat- Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron

hopefully this helped someone :) i did my best.

p.s. i need suggestions what to write about.... :)

xoxoxoxoxo sara