My friend Megan has a “Keep Calm and Carry On” framed poster–a saying that’s now pretty popular. When she bought it, I hadn’t ever seen or heard the phrase before but instantly loved it because it’s SO TRUE and something I need to tell myself on a regular basis.

Then this morning I came across the Keep Calm Gallery and fell in l-o-v-e. Here are some of the items I’m drooling over.

These little posters are perfect inspiration. Am I right? Clearly I’m not the only one who needs these reminders or else they wouldn’t be mass producing them. How many times has someone told you “don’t sweat the small stuff” or “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”… In my case, TOO MANY TO COUNT.

Now, we can hang these up around our office, home or wherever our little hearts desire.

Remember–take things as they come, keep it simple, drink wine with dinner and be okay with failing every once in a while.

- L

For the past few days (maybe even for the past week) I’ve been going through the motions of everyday life. Same work routine, gym routine, meal routine, etc. Needless to say, it was kind of getting old. I know you know what I’m talking about, right? Well today’s different. Today during my lunch break, I went out of my comfort zone, did something different, went somewhere new. And guess what, it felt great! How nice to break away from the busy (and sometimes monotonous) schedule that is life.

In the middle of all of this, I happened to run into an old acquaintance who I hadn’t seen in quite a while. He and I recognized each other right off the bat and got to chatting about our day and briefly, life in general. And then this got me thinking. I had made the conscious decision to brighten my day and then it got even brighter. How nice! The truth of the matter is, you can’t know when you’re going to run into someone but when you do, your mood might be the most important thing.

If I had been that person trudging along with a frown, my acquaintance probably would have simply said hello and walked away (or maybe not even said hello at all). But thankfully both he and I were in great moods. He may or may not have had the worst morning ever. How would I know?

This probably goes without saying, but we can oftentimes get so wrapped up in going here, going there, doing this, doing that, being in a hurry, a rush and on time that we can forget to wear a smile. I know, I know… but really! Even if you’re having the worst day ever, are sick and tired of waiting in line, hate sitting in traffic, are running late to your hair appointment, forget to call your friend back, miss a workout or are so tired and hungry that you just want to scream, take a deep breath and put on a smile. You just never know who you might bump into. Plus, your day will probably be a whole lot brighter.

- L