Happy New Year!

It's 1-1-11, so whatever you think about good luck, these numbers seem to indicate that we are all going to have a great year! Of course, when you wake up every morning expecting to have a lucky day, the chances are dramatically increased that good things will happen to you all day long!

Welcome to "Celebrate Wellness!". This is a blog that I am creating to discuss wellness tools -- both yours and mine. Ever since I developed my WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) back in 2002, I have become an avid collector of wellness tools -- the more unusual, the better. Even before then, I was doing stress management workshops and was interested in fun and creative ways to reduce stress. I have noticed that most of the things we do for coping skills, and to reduce stress, are either free or low cost, and are often amusing and creative! In WRAP terminology, wellness tools can be used for "action plans" that help reduce or eliminate "triggers", "early warning signs", and other indications that things are not going well. Wellness tools have a lot of power and can help keep us in balance and feeling equipped to handle life's ups and downs. I believe that it is a great idea to be actively using wellness tools all the time, so when rough times hit, you can increase your level of wellness tool power easily.

The first wellness tool I want to share with you is so simple, yet it has an enormous amount of power. I use this on days when I am feeling a little low on energy, or a little down, and I want to lift my spirits. I simply count 10 good things. They could be a woodpecker at the birdfeeder, a friendly phone call, a great quotation, a silly joke -- I just keep counting until I get to 10, and by then I am usually perked up and in a better mood to coordinate my day. On a day when I am really having a rough time, I might count 20 good things, and if it is a really hard day, I will write those good things down as they happen. This is absolutely one of my best wellness tools. It's free, effective, and has worked for me over many years.

If you want to share any of your stress relievers or wellness tools, just click on "comment". Looking forward to a year of new beginnings, opportunities, and great ideas!