Success Advice
How A Pair Of Rainbow Socks Changed My Life

“How can I trigger a state of happiness after all of this pain?” said my inner voice. This was a reoccurring thought of mine for the last year.
Back in the early part of 2017 — when everyone was trading cryptocurrency big time, enjoying the demise of Twitter and watching Star Wars — I was going through a challenging period in my life. I’d hit rock bottom because of multiple, consecutive, breakups.
Due to my side hustle of blogging and personal development, thankfully, I had the tools to get out of this dark place. I’ve recovered now and I’m conscious that not everybody does though.
During one of my lunch breaks on a sunny Friday afternoon in Melbourne, I decide to buy some socks. Normally I like to buy an ordinary black pair and I usually go with the brand Pussyfoot. Okay, it’s a really wimpy name for a manly man looking for some socks, but what the heck.
Next to the black socks I usually buy was a rainbow pair. My mind went back to that recurring inner voice that was looking for quick ways to trigger happiness.
On the front of the socks was a simple sentence that read:
“Happy Socks”
Could happiness be so simple?
Could I really trust a sock company with my happiness and to help be part of the reason I get out of this very dark place? I’m a dreamer, so I pondered that thought for a while.
I looked at those socks and imagined all the happiness I was missing out on. The colors took me to another place far, far away from all the so-called problems I thought I had. In that brief moment, I gave myself permission to dream again, to be happy.
I then looked at the time and I realized I had to get back to the office. I grabbed the Rainbow Socks and paid for them without thinking another moment. I had no idea what I’d just done.
So there they were…All shiny and new with their bright fluro colors waiting for me to put them on and wear them to work so bravely.
I wore those socks proudly, all the way to work. On the walk, I remembered something I had read in a book about a psychology term known as “pattern interrupts.” In layman’s terms, it means to stop a negative thought pattern with something that triggers a different state of mind.
The beauty of these pattern interrupts is that they are often very simple. The simpler, the better. I’d used them before and they had worked a treat. Then I thought to myself triumphantly:
“I’m going to use these Rainbow Socks to interrupt my negative thoughts and change my life”
It was clear to me that focusing on all the dark times of the last twelve months was not going to get me where I wanted to go.
My goal with these Rainbow Socks was to trigger states of happiness whenever I needed them.
These socks reminded me that even the most basic thing could make me happy. Happiness doesn’t require lots of money or hard to reach goals. We can train our brains to be happy with something that is meaningful to us, and only us.
For me, that was Rainbow Socks. For you, it might be a rainbow smoothie or a double mocha frappuccino. The method in which you interrupt your negative thought patterns and trigger states of happiness can be anything.
To the outside world, I looked like a clown with Rainbow Socks; to me, I felt happy.
The bright colors made me feel good. Each color represented something different.
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- Red represented the love I have for my fellow human beings
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- Green represented the beautiful rainforests I visited in Queensland
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- Yellow represented the sun on my face while staring up at The Golden Gate Bridge
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- Blue represented my love of the ocean and my trip to the Abrolhos Islands in Perth
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- Pink represented my dream of finding “the one”
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- Navy blue represented how I felt when I wore my favorite suit
- Black represented the dark times and how all the other colors made it seem insignificant
Slowly but surely, each time I wore my Rainbow Socks I remembered to be happy. People commented on them and the majority seemed to get the same happy feeling. The minority made fun of my Rainbow Socks and that’s okay. Not everyone is supposed to understand my way of happiness.
Each of our paths in life are different yet they’re exactly the same. Our life challenges are no different. While the flavor of our challenges varies, the overarching recipe is the same.
All any of us wants is to be happy. My question to you is “Why does that need to be so hard?”
Why can’t something as silly as a pair of rainbow socks remind you to be happy and remind you of the good times?
***My Goal For You***
Now that you have read this post, I want you to do one thing for me; find what your little happiness hack is and start using it regularly. If you don’t know what yours is, experiment. Go back to when you were a kid and you didn’t care what people thought of your socks.
In this little happiness hack I’ve shared with you, lies a strategy for you to change your life. Ponder that idea for a while. Through all of the darkness, you have the ability to be happy inside of you already. Unleash it for the world to see.
If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net
Success Advice
5 Things You Can Learn From The 5am Club by Robin Sharma

It has been said by Robin Sharma, “5 AM is the time of least distraction, highest human glory, and greatest peace.” This also happens to be the central idea or the core value he has discussed in his book, ‘The 5 Am Club.’ Speaking of early mornings, at what time do you wake up? Are you annoyed by the fact that you wake up on the edge of time and then rush to work in haste?
The life lessons put forth by The 5 AM Club are exactly the learning and motivation you need to challenge your complacency. In your race against time, you may not have the time to read this fabulous book. So, we have summed up the key book’s takeaways for your convenience.
1. The vigor of waking up early
This is what the book’s most fundamental advice to everyone is. Waking up at 5 am every day can work wonders to avert failures and make success a natural habit. When we wake up at 5 am, we have more time on our hands than others. Besides, this is when we have minimum interruptions and maximum powerfulness of the mind.
To add, the early morning peace is priceless! You can schedule your most important tasks of the day between 5am, and 8am. This book teaches us in the simplest way, how we can train our mind and strengthen it to deliver the highest productivity by waking up early. This energy that you have when you wake up in the morning and the few additional hours in your day are what serve as perfect ingredients for success.
“The secret to productivity is simplicity.” – Robin Sharma
2. The power of finding the right balance in life
The book talks about a precious lesson of finding the right balance within. We often talk about the need for mindfulness and achieving the right mindset to perceive things. But this book goes a few steps ahead of our usual approach to life. It highlights the vitality of mindset and introduces the concepts of heartset, healthset, and soulset.
These terms may seem new, but they are self-explanatory. The idea of heartset endorses the essentialness of emotional stability and well-being. Next, the perspective of healthset indicates the need to look after physical health. At last, soulset is an attribute of spirituality. As explained in this book, success prospects can be enhanced big time by achieving the right balance between these internal virtues.
3. The iconic 20/20/20 modus operandi
What is the first thing you will do if you start waking up at 5 am every day? Did you ever spare a thought about it? This book has the answer to this question, and you will be convinced that it is a great way to begin your day!. The author suggests that you should split the first hour of the day into three equal parts of 20 minutes each.
In the first 20 minutes of the day, you should prioritize your physical fitness and exercise. In the next 20 minutes, you should energize your soul and spirit via self-reflection and soulful meditation. This will prepare you for the rest of the day and will enable you to bolster your commitment and focus. In the last 20 minutes of the first hour, you should read and learn. But what are you going to read about in those 20 minutes? Read about successful people and their inspiring journeys to the pinnacle of success.
4. The significance of a proper sleep schedule
In this book, there is a mention of ‘a ferocious global sleep recession’, which is intriguing and enlightening. It hints at the state of sleep deprivation that this world is sinking into gradually. We often associate success and hard work with the notion of staying up all night and testing our endurance beyond limits. But that is not the right approach to accomplishing success, or rather, it is a flawed methodology.
Sometimes even if we do not have any critical work, we keep whiling our night time on social media or television. What are we gaining from it is the real question, and I am afraid the answer is nothing! We learn from this book that it is critical to look after your sleep cycle and start your day at 5 am afresh. Sleep and rest are indispensable for mental and physical well-being, or your productivity will decline.
5. The art of evolving
The book sheds light on the need to be spiritual and master self-reflection. However, do you realize the purpose that the routine of reflection each morning serves? The idea is to keep learning, keep reflecting on the mistakes and keep evolution an ongoing process. You should evolve every day and strive to be a better version of yourself every day. So, one of your primary goals after waking up should be to reflect on your actions and missed opportunities of the previous day.
To recapitulate, The 5 AM Club is a must-read book if you are a passionate reader. It has the prowess and charm to refurbish your perception of life altogether. Even if you cannot read the book for some reason, make sure you incorporate the above key takeaways into your life. By starting your day at 5 am, you can rediscover your lost soul and enthusiasm, and you would not have complaints to make about the lack of time. If you can own your mornings, you can go places on the ladder of success, for excuses are only for those who are not committed to their goals.
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Carol Alvarenga
Jul 6, 2017 at 8:36 pm
I loved this pair of socks 🙂
Congratulations on your trigger to move on! :}
Judy
Jul 5, 2017 at 6:57 pm
On inauguration Day here in the U.S., when He Who Shall Not Be Named was being inaugurated as our 45th President, I made a promise to myself that I would keep something with rainbow yarn on my knitting needles for the full term of his Presidency (may it be short). I’ve completed two paris of rainbow socks and am about to start on a rainbow jacket/sweater for my granddaughter.
I can’t see how to post photos on this site/comments, so you’ll just have to trust me on this. You’re right, it works.