I was recently sitting in the dentist’s chair thinking about my mouth. I don’t usually spend much time doing that, but that day, I was. And it dawned on me that personal development is really a lot like going to the dentist. Sounds strange, but not so much as you might think.

The Olympic Games are thrilling and compelling because they embody human excellence. They remind us of tha value of determination, dedication, will and stamina, refusing to allow life to get in the way of living it at its highest, pushing for what seems impossible, reaching amazing levels of human capacity. The passion and drive, hard work, sacrifice and blood sweat and tears in every step, every jump and even in every stumble, inspires us.

Not everyone’s depression is exactly the same. The causes of it, the way it’s felt and experienced and those steps and ideas that will ultimately help to lift the cloud of depression will be in some combination different for each person struggling with that challenge. So what I’ve done is to write a sort of suicide note … in reverse. There are reasons to choose to live that may be enough to spark that same desire in someone else. My hope is that it does.

Friendships are organic things. They live and grow and sometimes wilt and decay. They take something of us to maintain and nourish. Neglect can kill a relationship just as fast as it can a houseplant. At some level, we like to think there is nothing that could end a true friendship. But in the real world, there are many poisons that quickly sink deep into the bloodstream of even our most cherished relationships, infecting them with deadly toxins. Come in and see what those deadly toxins are!

Depression is a reaction to real problems. It signals the need to change something. While the need to change may be real and the call for action urgent, the overriding challenge is that depression often inspires inertia. But how you feel about your life, in most cases, can be changed, no matter how chronic the root of your depression is or seems. Come see how to begin that change today.

Depression is a thousand knives continually cutting at the fabric of the heart. It is the empty space of nothingness stretching mile after forsaken mile. It is darkness and despair and the endless echo of loneliness. It is oppressive and violent and vile. And yet there are ways of shining a light into that seemingly eternal darkness. There are ways to stop the deafening scream of emotional pain that shrieks in the inner ear of the depressed. Hope is available. Here’s the first step.

Our mottos become guide posts and verbal beacons along the road we travel. They are the street names on the map of life. They are the rhetorical equivalence of a compass to help us get our bearings and stay on course. They also reflect the heart of our hearts. They are terse statements of deep value, of what we aspire to be. They also help teach the fundamental ideas we want to pass on to others, especially our children.

Life has a way of hitting us upside the head at unexpected moments. Sometimes we stumble. Other times we fall and struggle to get back up again. Some people never do. Battered by circumstance, they become bitter and angry or depressed and despondent. An indescribable ache fills their hearts. A cloudy haze drapes their minds in indifference to anything but their own pain. Even their souls seem to become worn, ragged, ripped and broken. Others, however, seem to bounce back relatively quickly. There are reasons for that difference.

Do you struggle to make sense of life? Does happiness seem fleeting and distant? Is emotional pain eating you from the inside? Read my interview with Lori Deschene of Tiny Buddha and see why her site has such a huge following! Also, participate in a free hardcover giveaway of Lori’s new book, “Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions! Two books will be given out. Come see what all the buzz is about!

Pain is Life’s great master-teacher. It is the refiner’s fire, the heat that destroys the bacteria of life. It can burn off impurities, or it can consume and destroy. Our attitude, however, determines the outcome. But what do the trials and adversities of life teach us? What lessons are we to learn? What impurities does the heat of trial and tribulation burn off?

Have you ever felt sucker-punched by life? Have you felt like you were at your rope’s end? When we find ourselves buried under the weight of trial and despair, we are confronted with two mutually exclusive choices: 1) Lie down, and accept your fate, or 2) Scramble to your feet the best you can, stand as tall as you’re able, look your trial in the eyes and persevere. Come discover 5 ways you too can persevere in the face of your challenges and even become better for having endured.

Part II of How to Stay Happy on a Rainy Day. Is life raining down cold, bitter darkness? How can you find purpose in your trials? Change what you do, your thinking and your beliefs for greater peace.