6 Spiritual Tips for Staying Sane!

Thrive!

We live in challenging times, writes Dr. Howard Samuels. However, he says you’ll make it! Here are six tips that he hopes will help you cope … and thrive! First, he suggests, always have an …

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE – “It's easy to lose sight of the important things in life. I mean, if you turn on the television, you are bombarded with commercials that tell you that only this product or that product can make you happy. But, the sad truth is, although things are nice, they aren't what you need to feel good about yourself; and they certainly aren't what you need to feel happy. For me, it's family. That's what I'm most grateful for. When you get down in the dumps. find a quiet place and figure out what You are most grateful for, and hold onto it whatever it is. Find your center in the eye of the storm. The quickest means to that end is always Gratitude.

Photo by New York and Tel Aviv-based photographer Atalia Katz.

Thrive!

INVENT OPTIMISM– "I'll admit, I'm not good at processing bad drivers on the road," writes Dr. Samuels. He’s the author of Alive Again: Recovering from Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. “More often than not, I'll have my kids in the car when someone decides to cut me off or make a left-hand turn from the right-hand lane and it's enough to make me want to shout obscenities. Instead of reacting, my kids have become fond of inventing reasons for the interruption of my serenity. "He's late for his son's baseball game!" my daughter will gleefully exclaim. Or, "He has to get to the hospital because his wife is having a baby!" my son will report. My personal favorite, however, is hands-down, my youngest daughter's, "She has to get to the bathroom and she’s running out of time!” Haha. These tiny glimpses into the lives of other people are a great way to diffuse frustration and anger with other people. The point is, there are eight billion of us swarming all over the planet, and each and every one of us has stuff going on.

^{Photo by}^{Atalia Katz}^.

LIGHTEN UP– I used to hate parties. I used to be the guy who went to holiday parties and used them to underline the fact that I was single. You shouldn't go to parties to feel even more alone. Parties are about people coming together to laugh and eat and exchange ideas. And I realized really early on that I couldn't spend the rest of my life not knowing how to deal with social situations; I had to put my hand out and try to be the example I wanted to see. I had to reach out to other people and discover what their unique experiences were, and do you know what I found out? I discovered that I wasn't as alone as I thought I was. Shouting over the holiday music and sipping egg nog with friends and business associates, I learned how to live in the moment and laugh at anecdotes and wives tales. Holiday parties can be hard. But so was your first day at school, and a lot of our first dates. It's hard to want people to like you. But spirituality is about removing yourself from the equation. This way, you can focus on what the other person's first impression is. Because, when all is said and done, parties are really all aboutconnecting with other people.

^{Photo by}^{Atalia Katz}^.

Thrive!

NEVER FORGET THEIR NAMES– While we were growing up no one told us that ‘Father Knows Best” was just a television show and that ‘The Cosby Show’ was actually just a bunch of writers sitting in a room playing make-believe. Our parents weren't given owner's manuals when we were born – they were just men and women who found themselves saddled with children that society demanded they care for in a specific way. The trick to forgiving your family lies in acknowledging that you are an adult now, and that you are capable of making your own decisions that have nothing to do with the insanity you grew up around. Is your dad domineering or controlling? Is your mother passive-aggressive? So what? In and of yourself, you are perfect, and everything is unfolding as it should. Liking your relatives and forgiving them go hand in hand.

^{Photo by}^{Atalia Katz}^.