Happy Lunar New Year to you!

I've recently gone through the gauntlet of emotions, feeling the highs and lows of the changing season. The internal dialogue in my mind has either been my friend or my antagonist. It's been quite eye-opening.

I've got an interesting set of stories to share with you on what it takes to master perspective in your life.

I recently met again with one of my old nemeses…MAIL. You read that correctly. I've had a long-standing feud with mail - both physical and digital. I've found myself buried in letters, direct mail, and credit card offers from the past four years, and I just never wanted to deal with it. My brain literally finds something immediately to do instead of facing the mail. As the Chinese Lunar New Year was approaching, I realized that if I didn't face this old nemesis, I would be in the same situation the next year. All the old deep stories came flooding the surface, including memories of my mom's office drowning in mail and magazines....

How appreciation can become a gateway drug to feeling good...

The adage, "What you give, you get," is so true, especially regarding appreciation. Practicing appreciation can instantaneously shift your perspective and change your entire outlook on life for the better.

Appreciation is an important precursor to gratitude because it opens the door to the act of thanksgiving. However, you can't express gratitude until you've experienced appreciation first. 

Appreciation is a gateway drug to seeing the good things in your life. When you focus on the good, the more of it you'll see. It becomes the filter for how you see the world, which means… you're permitting yourself to choose a perspective of joy, happiness, and possibility. 

When you anchor the foundation of appreciation in your life, you can easily express gratitude to others. You know what this gratitude is based on; it becomes a state for living authentically and in the moment. 

And when you pay it forward by...