Live life with the knowledge that there is more good in the world than evil. The small positive changes we make each day make a difference for us, for our community and for our world.

Remember that we cannot begin again until some other chapter has closed. For the daffodil, the winter is on the wane. The end of one season brings the onset of the next new life.

It's only when you stop resisting change and make the best of the moment, "without knowing what's going to happen next," that the universe supports you to create inspired healing, wellness, and live-out-loud joy.

The story of humanity's soul has taken us from living in caves to walking on the moon. But there is much more of this story to be told. For one day, we will travel beyond our own tiny spot in the cosmos and begin yet another new adventure of discovery.

I've felt so good about the marginal, barely-measurable progress I've made in one month that I already have a 2014 "wish list" started.

Just one focused, positive thought, in fact, can serve as our escape vehicle out of a rut. By simply concentrating on a painting we love, for example, we immediately can shift our mindset from misery to one of gratitude.

Don't tune out, because the story of humanity is about to take a turn. Human beings are nothing if not master storytellers.

For more by Suza Scalora, click here. For more on happiness, click here....

If we genuinely want to end war, inequality, and abuse, then we need to end the war within ourselves and cultivate kindness toward all, equally. The enemy within ourselves can become our friend by transforming it into our ally.

Initiating a ritual is often difficult, but maintaining it is relatively easy. What rituals would make you happier? What would you like to introduce to your life?

Learning a sound strategy about how to strengthen the behaviors that support and nourish our wishes to be healthier, happier, and more connected puts us in a position of greater personal power.

If we come at New Year's resolutions with a teeth-gritted determination to change, we inevitably defeat ourselves. Why? Because when we assume a fighting stance, bracing ourselves against temptations, we actually limit the resources that we bring to our challenge.

Before you start making lofty resolutions that you know you won't keep, why don't you prepare to do it right this year? Use my three steps to set yourself up to win and make your resolutions stick.

Without change in ourselves we become stifled and stagnant; without change in the world we will not survive. Such impermanence means that every difficulty, challenge, joy, or success will, at some point, be different: This too shall pass.

I started thinking about this during brunch this past weekend when my friend Heidi talked to me about the trials and tribulations of trying to potty-train her 3-year-old son.

Everything you need to know about being fearless you can learn from watching children. They play with each other without ever knowing each other's names. They run, jump, climb, fall down and get right back up again. They are also our greatest teachers.

Most people don't even think that there is another type of risk, but there is: Good risk involves listening to yourself, hearing and connecting with the part of you that is begging for expression but is being silenced because of a fear of rejection, embarrassment, or failure.

Feelings and thoughts are not changed quickly, and anyone that tells you differently is a huckster. Lasting and meaningful personal change is not like having your oil changed at JiffyLube, as much as we might want it to be.

The surest way to succeed in keeping your health goals is by making small changes. Think in terms of manageable baby steps, like swapping the half-and-half in your morning coffee for fat-free or low-fat milk.

Our deepest fear is the fear of the unknown. Our present life may be stressful, demanding and challenging but at least it is familiar, whereas change implies unfamiliar, unknown territory.

Since changes are both inevitable and usually a sign of improvement and progress, you'd think that most people would be in favor of them, rather than rallying in protest. Why all the fuss?