Life Ideas, Illustrated: 16 Ways to Be Happier!

Here is an easy 3-minute trick that really works to stop the temptation of snacking late into the night, after dinner is over!

This may be the most practical (or shocking, depending on your perspective) article on my whole site. After 20 years of drinking multiple cups of coffee every day, I finally quit -- and lived to tell the tale and write down this tutorial for how you can do it, too -- plus see the perks (no pun intended) of cutting out those cups of Joe.

What does doing art make you happier and calmer, even if you just do stick figures? Learn 8 scientifically-backed reasons, plus ideas on how to incorporate drawings into your daily life.

"Metacognition" means "thinking about your thinking," and when done correctly, it is THE effective strategy for improving nearly every life situation. See examples and instructions here.

There's some simple and funny math that this cartoon story illustrates which lays out the time it takes to apologize and fix a problem, versus the time it takes to avoid it or cause further drama about it. I wrote this originally to address certain behaviors in my son (he enjoyed the story and quotes it now!) but many readers have written in that they think it applies to many adults, too! All of us at one point or another, in fact.

The concept of a "liminal space" is essential in order to understand why we sometimes feel an odd "in between" sensation. You'll never look at your life the same way after seeing these illustrations.

This article is far and away the most popular one I've ever published on this site. The comments section is fascinating, and shows that there are MANY people out there (like me!) who see colors like purple and yellow during meditation, Reiki, massage, acupuncture, or bodywork. Are you one?

This is my follow-up article to the one about seeing colors during meditation, and explains the concept of chakra colors and healing in more depth.

"Context" refers to the situation and surroundings around someone, and it changes everything. Learn more about this life-changing term here.

Art enhances our world and society -- and daily life -- more than we even realize. It can even transform a city? See real examples here from around the world, including suggestions for fabulous new artists to follow.

Making irrelevant comments can leave people confused and frustrated! Learn how to stay relevant here.

Sometimes kids need a little adventure inspiration to eat those good, crunchy fruits and vegetables. I wrote this story to inspire my two young kids to grab for the broccoli and applies -- and it works!

Learn how to get into a relaxed, happy art flow with these easy steps to creativity and drawing confidence.

"Foreshadowing" refers to hints of something that will come in the future. Though it's often taught in the context of literature and movies, it's all around us in our real lives, too! Learn how to notice those hints which flit around us, guiding future paths and sometimes even giving important warnings.

Teaching isn't just about worksheets -- there's so much more in terms of inspiration and character formation in education! See examples here.

I don't know about you, but spelling the word "dilemma" correctly has caused a lot of anxiety in my life! For this reason, I created this funny cartoon memory trick to remember the correct letter order. I haven't misspelled is since!

Let's close this article roundup with a funny cartoon story that might inspire you to be your true, free, fully-self-expressed self, as inspired by... a pink octopus.