“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”
- Jim Rohn
- Jim Rohn
Perhaps you are one of those people who are thinking just now, “You can’t tell me to be happy. I don’t have to be happy if I don’t want to be. Isn’t this supposed to help me find my true self? What if I’m just not a happy person?” If you are one of those people, think about this: not being happy makes you happy.
Aren’t you happy now?
“Happy” is an extremely subjective emotion. What makes one person happy will not necessarily please someone else. You have to define your own happiness, and strive to achieve that state whenever possible.
Happiness is also contagious. A little bit of joy goes a long way, and has a snowball effect- because when you are happy, it makes those around you happy; then they in turn spread the happiness to others. Finding happiness in whatever you do is a large part of generating a permanently positive attitude.
It is a waste of time to do things that will not ultimately make you happy. When you find yourself faced with an unpleasant task that must nevertheless be accomplished, setting your attitude to “happy” will ensure the task is accomplished with minimal stress and maximum results. Alternately, if you have the choice to do something, and you know it won’t make you happy, exercise your developing skills in saying “no.” Nothing can make you unhappy if you choose not to allow it to. This is the power of positive thinking.
“Finding your happy place”. Need some help locating your spring of happiness? Try a few of these methods for tapping into your happy place:
• Act like a child. Children are generally the happiest creatures on Earth. Engaging in the activities you loved as a child is a wonderful way to generate a sense of the carefree happiness you enjoyed. Blow bubbles, swing as high as you can, run across the grass just for the sake of running, do somersaults or jumping jacks, or spin in place until you get so dizzy you fall down. A regular dose of childlike joy is a healing balm for your soul. Be uninhibited!
• Build a treasure box. Material reminders of your happy place can be a wonderful jumpstart to your happiness reserves. If you have small tokens of vacations you enjoyed, pleasant notes from friends or loved ones, or significant items you picked up here and there “just because,” consider creating a box to keep them in so you can go through it whenever you feel an attack of the blues coming on. A great addition to your treasure box would be something that captures your favorite smells. Scent is the most powerful emotional trigger there is, and the ability to experience a smell with positive connotations can lift your spirits far more effectively than anything else.
• Love the little things. The importance of little things that make you happy cannot be underestimated. A favorite book, the sound of your child’s laughter, the scent of fresh popcorn or wet earth after the rain; any of the hundred small things you take pleasure in can be accessed to generate happiness. Keep a mental list of your favorite little things and draw on them whenever you feel a few kilometers from happy town.
• Laugh. Just laugh. You don’t need a reason, or even a trigger. Children on average laugh over 400 times a day as apposed to adults who laugh less than 20 times a day. At any given moment, no matter where you are or what you’re doing, just start laughing. Laughter can give you an instant mood boost that lingers for long periods of time and strengthens your resolve to be happy.
INLP Mind Coaching, Create the results you want in life, Personal Development, and Life Coaching
Copyright 2009 Mark J Holland.
All Rights reserved.
http://www.markholland.com.au/
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