I was sitting by the ocean this past weekend, and was rather pensive.  I find that when something hard happens in life, the event can often become one's main focus.  Sometimes you can magnify the event, so much so that it can seem to occupy most of your thoughts.  However, sitting by the water made me realize that there are so many things in this life to be happy about!  All you need to do is to shift your focus and remember all the reasons why you should be happy!

"You won't strain your eyes if you look at the bright side of things" - Winston Churchill

Therefore, I made a list of the 70 reasons why I should smile.  Smiling is amazing for you and has many healthy benefits.  There is also a book called "14,000 Things To Be Happy About" and you can visit the site and make your own list.   I came up with 70 things that bring a smile to my face.  Check out my list below:

70 Reasons Why I Smile:

Being Loved

Loving Others

Presence

The special people in my life

Being Healthy

My life

Family

Friends

Faith

My Pets

Having Fun!

Animals

Being a Goof

My education

Memories

My graduate degree

Laughter

Smiles

Helping Others

Promoting Positive Change in the world

The Sun

Water

Sport

Competing

Turning my vision into reality

Authenticity

Deep conversations

Going to the Cottage (Lake, Bonfires, Swimming, Company)

Reading

Inspiring Others to Speak up

Writing

Blogging

Sharing with Others

Connection.

Road Trips

Biking

Rowing experiences

My undergraduate degree and all the memories

Swimming

Long Walks

The Beach

Travelling

Meeting New people

Being Myself

Loving myself

Listening to Music

Concerts

Taking Random Photos

Watching Movies

Being Creative

Making Collages

Baking

Trying New Things

Canoe Trips

Family Dinners

Coaching

Chatting with friends

Telling stories

Communication

Positivity

Boat Rides

Quotes

A touching song

Magazines

A warm cup of coffee

Getting my hair done by my fantastic hairdressers

Being with friends who know you so well

Dreams coming true

New possibilities

Standing Tall

(That is all I can think of for now! I know there are MANY more.)

What are some of the things that make you smile? Go ahead and make your own list. I challenge you to see if you can come up with 14,000 reasons to smile :)

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

See you at the beach!