If you want to master a sport, you have to consistently practice the skills to excel at that sport. If you're going to master an art form, you have to consistently practice the skills to excel at that art form. If you want to master happiness, you need to consistently practice the skills to excel at being happy!

This week, I'll be honoring the 7th anniversary of my mother's passing. Whenever I come up on her birth date or death date, I can't help but think about what she (and my father, also gone) would think about my life now.

Yesterday was Doug's and my first wedding anniversary. We have been stressed getting another condo ready for Airbnb, so we decided a weekend getaway would do us some good.  

As I approach my two mark on being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, I think of all the changes I made in my life.  I had already given up gluten, dairy, and soy, as they cause severe pain in my entire body.  I had given up nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, and ALL peppers), which caused severe indigestion.  

Every day, my social media and email are bombarded by "panaceas," universal remedies and programs that are supposed to fix every ailment and woe known to man. I'm under an endless solicitation of exercise programs, patches, liquids, potions, pills, and powders that are supposed to make me feel better, live longer, and be healthier.

Last night, I flew into Las Vegas as a presenter at The Performing Hypnosis Summit. Since being diagnosed with Hashimoto's, I have had to cook all of my meals to avoid eating foods that could trigger my inflammation. Currently, foods that trigger my inflammation are gluten, dairy, soy, nightshades (peppers), and refined sugar.

I had to put down our glo betta fish, Macauley, Monday night. Doug and I found him in an abandoned house two years ago, floating around in a dirty little aquarium. Doug was listing the house and was so busy taking pictures that he didn't even notice the aquarium sitting on the kitchen counter. I did, looked in, and saw the sweet little neon yellow guy with big black eyes staring back up at me. I don't know how long he'd been there.

If you've ever heard me say "Make sure you make a deposit in your happiness account," I got this from my friend and mentor Dr. Kenneth L. Rigsby, LCSW, MSW, MEd, EdD. I had about 2 years of wear and tear on my soul between taking care of my mother and my divorce, and this one statement gave me some peace of mind when I needed it most.

I hate when I....

I'm so bad at...

I'm too skinny/too fat...

These are some of the language patterns I hear daily from my clients. They are telling me the words they've repeated to themselves for much of their lives. And they wonder why they're not happy! The problem is that they are only aware of how they talk to themselves once I point it out. In most cases, my clients have grown up in a toxic environment, with those words being repeated over and over. Then those words eventually became a reality!  

2024 is looking amazing! I was selected to teach my Comedy Writing for Stage Hypnotists at the Performing Hypnosis Summit in February. In July, I'll teach my first 3-Day Certification of The Hilarity And Hypnosis Approach (HAHA!). This class is truly the culmination of my life's work as a comedian and a hypnotist.

I saw clients, managed my ever-changing thyroid health scenario, participated in 15-20 community events, and did all the other miscellaneous things that needed to be done with our other business. And I'm not telling you this because I'm bragging about what we did this year.

I'm telling you this because I'm worn out.

Worn. The. F**k. Out.

As a result, my New Year's resolutions are very, very different this year!

When I moved to Paradise Lakes, I heard rumors about retired hypnotist Dr. John Gullo living in the neighborhood. When I became President of the condo association, our paths crossed at the office, and he complimented me on the job I was doing for the association. A few months later, he sent me a few articles he had written about hypnosis