Your ‘inner gremlin’ wants to give you a dose of negative thought processes that pull you into a downward spiral. Don’t let him!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Build, therefore, your own world.” Those treasures of your own life and history are part of your world; an important part.

I have found that at some point in life, connections start to form when realizations come about stitching together past thoughts with the present.

You can never dim your light to make someone else feel more comfortable. Your gifts and your light are yours alone.

What does it mean to love yourself? It doesn’t mean being full of yourself or thinking you’re better than anyone else. Self-love means respecting yourself.

Try to incorporate some of these suggestions into your daily life. Little by little, I believe you’ll see improvements in how you approach each day.

What helps you with the following?

• Releasing endorphins

• Improving brain functionality

• Stimulating creativity

The answer, believe it or not, is—--Play!

The spirit and practice of play also keeps you energetic and feeling youthful.

Studies support these findings, plus the improvement of

memory and the stimulation of the central cortex.

Stuart Brown, MD, has spent decades studying play. He has a book, aptly called ‘Play,’ and a Ted Talks on the subject. He has broken play down into several components:

• Rough-and-Tumble Play

• Ritual Play-both board games and sports with set rules and structures.

• Imaginative Play-arts, storytelling, acting, improv, and coloring are examples

• Body Play-Examples include yoga, Pilates, hiking, whitewater rafting, surfing, snorkeling, and carnival rides

• Object Play-Includes building with Legos, blocks, building kits, and Jenga blocks

Other ideas for play are going to a playground with kids, blowing bubbles, and indulging in childrens’ games such as Hopscotch and Jacks, and childrens’ board games.

Play is a great way to ‘get lost’ in the enjoyable chosen activity to tune out the rest of the world for a while.