I whole heartedly agree with the Irish Proverb.  2 things that help us more than anything at all are having fun and being well rested.  Right now I battling a really bad cold and I am trying to use both of these to beat it.  Wish me luck - my nose is red like Rudolph's and as sore as a baby's bottom!

I don't think we have to use this formula only when we're feeling sick.  I think it is a formula that works every day in our life.  In fact it is best used as prevention.  I got my cold because of too many meetings, too many later nights, not enough routine and sleep so I couldn't fight off the cold that Gentry was so kindly sharing.  So find your formula of fun and sleep and use it regularly to keep your life in balance.  That keeps us motivated to keep losing weight, to keep getting healthy.  When you find what works, stick with it, and when something doesn't work, try a different approach.  I have lots of ideas so if you need help with new ideas, let me know!

Here is another way to feel great and it sounds like it's almost instant.  We all love that.
REALAGE Tip
Feeling Good: It’s Not a Stretch

Who wouldn’t want to feel more energized and have a smile on their face all day? But short of popping some "happy pills," it seems there’s no easy way. Until now. Enter yoga.

Yep, some simple yoga-style stretches and poses could do the trick. People who did them for 5 weeks reported a lift in their moods and more spring in their steps.

Positive Poses
A type of yoga that focuses on mood-boosting poses seemed to be particularly helpful in raising spirits in a recent study. In fact, people’s moods not only generally improved about halfway through 5 weeks of doing Iyengar yoga, but posers also felt a bit better after class, too. Talk about instant gratification.

I don't know much about Iyengar yoga but it would be easy enough to find out and concentrate those moves into your daily or weekly yoga practice.  Once you are aware of their mood improving properties and do the moves with that intention I believe you will see your mood improve.

And another RealAge tip to help us deal with stress is doing something that I know now is very important.  Can anyone guess what that is?  It's a type of exercise.  I'm sure I've wrote about it before....

How Dumbbells Make You Immune to Stress 

Crazy commute? No problem. Mile-long to-do list? Bring it on. Mini work crisis? Easy.

Just make dumbbell your middle name and you’ll be practically immune to these kinds of things. Why? Because people with decent muscle mass have an easier time recovering from mental stress.

Pump Up the Jam
Whether you use dumbbells, resistance bands, or your own body weight to build muscle (think push-ups), you’re one step ahead of the stress game. Having a lean body mass (more muscle, less fat) helps your body normalize blood pressure more quickly after a mentally stressful event, because a fit body does a better job of ridding itself of sodium. And that takes a big load off of your heart and arteries when you’re under the gun.

QUOTES
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.               -Thich Nhat Hanh

Is is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.  Greek saying