Me and Christa doing the Laughter Yoga exercise HaHa for the TaTas!

What is mojo, anyway? I polled my friends, relatives, and Twitter/Facebook buddies, and here's what they said. Vera's answer was so beautiful, she got her own blog post. Only you know what mojo is to you. The answer is within you, and you'll need to forge your own unique, special, never-charted path to finding your mojo. But I can share a few tips for what helps me get my mojo back.

1. Always buy whatever kids are selling in a roadside stand. The lemonade is usually darn good, and if nothing else, you’ll leave grinning from ear to ear.
2. Pay it forward. Once a week (or more often if you’re so inspired), pick up the tab for someone at the taco shop, pay someone’s toll for them, or leave a twenty with someone who needs it. It’s good karma, and it might even inspire someone else to find their mojo.
3. Drink green juice. It’s the healthiest food source on the planet, and your body will thank you.
4. Surround yourself with children. Even if you don’t have kids of your own, go to kid events and watch what they do. Why did we quit making flower wreaths and dancing around maypoles when we grew up? Give your inner child a place to play.
5. Keep a 3 question journal. Every day, ask yourself these three questions: What three things did I appreciate today? How did I Own Pink today? What inspired me today? I swear, it can change your life. We may not be able to change our circumstances, but we look at life with fresh eyes.
6. Get outside and exercise. Not only will exercise fill you with endorphins and other mojo-full goodness, it will also instill you with confidence, strength, physical health, and an opportunity for inspiration. I get my best ideas when I’m hiking in nature. How do you get yours?
7. Pray for others. Call upon JABA (Jesus/Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, Athena, etc) to help out your fellow Pinkies and the world. Prayer is powerful, and it is in these places of connectedness that we find true healing.
8. Give hugs liberally. Did you see the Free Hugs Campaign video? I so want to do that. But you don’t need a video camera or a sign. Just give hugs, whenever someone looks like they need one. Or just because.
9. Keep your eyes open for inspiration in unexpected places. It’s good for the mojo.
10. Run around the house naked, singing at the top of your lungs. (Close the blinds first. Otherwise, the little men in white coats might show up a straitjacket.) It helps you Own Your Body, let loose, and laugh, which is always good for the mojo.
11. Gather together with your girlfriends. You’d be surprised how good it can make you feel, if you select only the friends who inspire you, rather than the ones who deplete you.
12. Make a list of what you need in order to find more joy. It’s hard to get what you need if you don’t have a clue what it is. Be very specific. Pray. Send out loving requests to the universe for what you need.
13. Make an Owning Pink playlist and upload it to your Ipod (or make yourself a mix CD). Then put your headphones in, close your eyes, and JAM to girl power tunes!
14. Donate your time or money to a favorite charity. Not only will you be doing good in the world, you’ll also feel good about doing it. My new favorite charity: Spirit Jump,a program that directly connects the gift giver with a person battling cancer. Check it out and become a Spirit Jumper. Or find a charity that really speaks to what matters to you.
15. Express yourself. Whether it’s painting, writing, gardening, cooking, setting a beautiful table, or dress yourself with mojo, find a way to create. Just do it!
16. Laugh liberally. Even if you don't feel like laughing, fake it 'til you make it. Your body doesn't know the difference between real laughter and authentic laughter, and it gets all the benefits either way. You'll probably feel so goofy faking it that your laughter will turn real. Especially if you laugh with your girlfriends. Try the one Christa and I are doing in the photo above- HaHa for the TaTas. You feel so silly you can't help giggling (Giggle On, girlfriends!)

How do you get your mojo back, Pinkies? Please share your experiences. What works for you most likely works for other Pinkies, and the more we share, the more we learn.

Pinkies up!

Lissa

PS. I’m off to Ohio today to co-lead an Owning Pink workshop with Mom, called Owning Joy After Loss, which will be for women who have lost someone they love. We’ll be writing, doing guided imagery, dancing, doing Laughter Yoga, telling our stories, sharing a lot of girlytude, and generally finding our joy. Please send lots of healing juju our way. And remember- in the words of Carmela Carlyle, my Laughter Yoga instructor, “Happiness is fickle. Happiness is fleeting. Joy is a choice.”