There comes at least one point in everyone's life that you say "I just can't do this anymore!"  What you do next decides whether you will move forward, backwards or stay at the very same stage in your life.

​The people who decide at that point enough is enough, think about finding a way forward.  They acknowledge there is in fact a problem that requires change, ponder and problem solve to find a solution  and try to find an effective way to implement that solution.

​They say to themselves "How can I stop this from happening again?"

​For some of us it's just not that simple.  Some of us find ourselves saying those words "I can't do this anymore" all over again in another few months.

​Some of us feel that we are not in control of our lives enough to change it.  We feel duty bound by society, family or financial pressures to just carry on as we are even if it is making us really unhappy.

​I'm here to tell you that if you are one of these people who finds themselves struggling with a situation that is making you unhappy with your life, you CAN learn to move forward from your problems.

​You are NEVER too late to start changing anything in your life.

​If you find yourself encountering the same issues time and time again and it making you unhappy then change it!!

​We are not bound from any universal law that says we have to live with situations that push us to the edge and make us feel miserable/unhappy/inadequate and or unfulfilled.  Quite the opposite.

​YOU and only you can choose what and how day to day.  Take your power back, ask yourself now "How can I make things better for myself?"

​It can be a small change at first, small changes make a big problem seem more manageable and you will have more chance of standing firm with yourself in times of challenge.

​You are the one who decides what your life will be like in the future.  Plan to make yourself happier and more fulfilled!  You will be glad you did!! :)

Can you remember the last time you watched a video on  the internet that made you laugh, really laugh?  Chances are it wasn't too long ago either!

Everyday I see my news feeds from Social Media fill up with videos. Some are only mildly amusing to me, but, now and then I find one that really makes me laugh.

Keeping your sense of humor and remembering to tune into it can really help you through the tougher times in life.  It can even help you cope with the difficult times.

When times are hard in your life and you are struggling to cope, allowing yourself to laugh at something no matter how small or insignificant, can have a huge impact on your physiology.

Sometimes when we are going through a difficult phase in our lives, we can forget what it like to find something funny. or feel like we shouldn't allow ourselves to find something amusing. But keeping your sense of humor can be key to helping you cope with these difficult times.

Physiologically, when we laugh at something we can cause huge changes at a cellular level that can help us relax and realize that life isn't always meant to be serious even during the tough times.

Life can be tough but it is important to boost you mood when you feel like life is getting you down.  Remembering that a sense of humor can help lighten the burden you are carrying is key to moving forward towards that feeling that you are coping again.


Laughter has a powerful effect on the body causing the following changes:

Laughter reduces the stress hormone cortisol which weakens immune response.  

The immune system is boosted by activating natural killer cells and T lymphocytes.

Blood pressure and heart rate levels drop after laughter.

Endorphins (the body's natural painkillers) are produced.


Muscle tension in the face, chest and abdomen is reduced by the contraction and relaxation of the muscles during laughing.

All too often we forget to embrace the laughter still in the world during the difficult periods of our life.

So now that you know all the health benefits to laughter how do you incorporate it into your life? Here are some tips to incorporate laughter and remembering to use you sense of humor into your every day life. 

Find what you think is funny

Not everyone finds the same things humorous, find what works for you.  If you love watching cats doing epic fails or falling asleep in random places then go find the videos on the internet.  There are so many different clips out there nowadays with the internet at our fingertips.  Make a point each week to schedule some time just enjoying watching things you find funny.  You will find that it will be a welcome distraction from whatever is going on in your life right now.

Don't just wait for them to appear before you on your newsfeed.  Go find them when you have a spare moment.  Give yourself a giggle break even if only for a few minutes.  You will find you go back to your day a little brighter.

Don't think that because you are going through a difficult time that you don't deserve to laugh.  Life is so serious that we sometimes forget to enjoy it.....for weeks, months and even years at a time.

Think back to your childhood and some of the crazy, funny things that you remember doing.  Bring back that memory and relive it.  Remember what it was like to be a child and carefree in that moment.  Embrace that feeling, it's a little welcome escape from the seriousness of life.  All too often we don't allow ourselves to be silly, happy and laugh!!

Next time you are in a tense place with a family member think about something you did together that was funny and allow this feeling to permeate your body and mind, this helps to reduce your anger and frustration. 

Finally I hope this inspires you to bring back your sense of humor into your life today.  We all deserve to life happier more fulfilled lives. 

This summer I was lucky enough to go back to my home country of Scotland with my husband and 2 children who are 9 and 7.

I decided to go and visit my father's grave which is on a beautiful hill top with hardly any houses around.  I always find this difficult because my father's passing was quite unexpected and I was five months pregnant with Ethan my first child when he passes.

The graveyard is very small and the road leading to it and from it is a single winding track with passing places here and there for if you meet any other cars which you seldom do.

When we were leaving and driving down the track to reach the main road there is a narrow hairpin corner which we turned down and saw three beautiful horses at the gate on the roadside.  My children asked that we stop and stroke the horses, so we did.  My children have never seen horses so close out in a field and were in awe of how beautiful they were.

Suddenly from across the glen somewhere came this eeeeeooooooorrrrrrrr!!! booming across the fields.  I thought nothing of it until I heard the running of little feet and a car door slamming.  'Alyssa??" I called but all I could hear was her older brother snorting with a laughter that was preventing him from breathing.  

My daughter hearing the call had panicked not knowing what it was, had legged it out of there as quick as her little feet could carry her and was in the safety of the car while her brother tried to recover from his hysterical laughter.

According to my Daughter Alyssa, it was scary because she thought it was a bull or a monster or something!! What on EARTH???

I explained that it was a donkey braying and far away too so she was in no immediate danger!  Through my laughing I was crying.

'Well mom I have never heard a donkey eeooyyying!!" she said quite matter of factly with her hands on her hips, after I had persuaded her to come back out of the car.

Ethan her brother had another laughing fit at night as I tucked him into bed.  He told me that had been the funniest thing he had seen as he recounted the experience through his laughs.

Laughter can help us through the tougher times.  After all I believe we were given the gift of laughter to help us get through life.  Can you imagine how dull life would be if nothing gave you any pleasure or laughs or giggles??

In today's busy world we are bombarded everyday by images of what our perfect life should look like.  You only have to turn on the TV to see the latest products promising us skin that's ten years younger if we use their cream. 

​When we see these images around us everyday we can start to feel discontent in our own lives.  Sometimes it can feel like everyone around us has a much better life than us after we have browsed Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.  Everyone's lives look like a party and it can make you feel like your life is boring and dull.

​When we are not satisfied with our lives, we have a tendency to look at all the negative things in our lives.  We can start to live inside our heads instead of staying in the  present.  We start to get frustrated and feel down about how unfair life is.

​We are all guilty of this at times and it can be hard to break the cycle once it starts.  It's hard to find the positive when we are so quick to point out all the negatives to ourselves.

​Gratitude is a good place to start to break the negative cycle.  You can begin slowly and start to feel better quickly.

​Gratitude is being grateful for all we DO have in our lives.  It doesn't have to be big things.  We can start by being grateful for having running water when so many don't.

​I practice this everyday to help keep my mindset positive on a daily basis and works best when incorporated into your daily routine.

​The more grateful we feel for what we have, the more we find to be grateful for.

​I'm not a morning person and can be prone to being negative first thing so this really helps me out.

​I start as soon as I wake up, I think about one small thing I'm grateful for each morning.  It can be the coffee my husband brought me.  It could be the weather if it's a sunny day.

​Each morning I try to think of 5 things I'm grateful for.

​Try it out and see for yourself how it can change your mindset.

When we stay in a positive grateful mindset there is no room to let your mind wander into a negative spiral. Stress diminishes and we start to feel more relaxed.