More about Happiness

Everyone wants to be happy and deserves to be happy.  (That may be up for discussion).  Happiness is very elusive and fleeting.  One can be extremely happy one minute and unhappy the next.  The good thing about Happiness is that there are ways to achieve and enhance your happiness.  Much like maintaining good health, there are things we could do to make sure we enjoy some degree of it.

I often look for self-help articles to learn how I could better enjoy my life and today I found an article entitled Train Yourself To Be Happier. There are some very good points that I and maybe you could use in our quest for Happiness.  I would like to list a couple that I found applicable but try and read the article for yourself,  it’s worth the time, unless of course you have found your own recipe for lifelong happiness or have no time to be happy.

Keep your distance from Debbie and David Downer. People who gossip and complain incessantly are sources of negative energy. “Instead, aim to surround yourself with good energy and people who have the outlook and vitality that you are seeking,” says Jonathan H. Ellerby, PhD, spiritual program director at the Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, and author of Return to the Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awakening. 

My take: I liked that one.  There are always a lot of those around whether you need them or not.  You can’t help feeling the positive energy draining right out of you when they are around.  The worst part is I don’t know how to escape these types.

Don’t wait until your life is in order before reaching out to help others. Someone who’s just lost a job might think he’s got nothing to give at the moment. But in fact, volunteering or helping out a friend — especially when we’re feeling distressed — is an amazing way to enhance our overall mood. “Helping others gives you meaning and purpose beyond your own life. It also distracts you from your own woes,” says Dr. Peterson. “It’s a standard therapy technique. Depressed? Go work in a soup kitchen and you’ll understand what problems really are.

My Take:  Oh yeah, don’t we all wish that we could win the lottery so we could donate, give to the poor or do charity work? We all could subscribe to that one.

Don’t rely on others to validate your physical beauty. The rush that we get from seemingly positive comments like “Your hair looks great!” or “Wow, you lost a few pounds!” is fleeting, points out Catherine Baker-Pitts, PhD, a New York City–based psychologist specializing in cosmetic surgery and body image issues. She says that when the aura fades, some of us get depressed and start seeking out this validation again. Her advice:
• Gravitate toward people, activities and interests that feel nourishing, not punishing.
• Look at yourself with rose-colored glasses, and emphasize your own competencies rather than dwelling on critical observations.
• Connect with how you feel in your body and what your body can do for you, rather than treating it as a mannequin to be looked at in a shop window.

My Take:  Another gem.  We crave compliments and even though we think we are looking not-too-bad, we are never fully satisfied until someone tells us that we do look good. Right?

Each morning before you get out of bed, do two things:
1. Focus on something that you’re going to do that day that holds meaning for you and think about how you will do that. Let’s say you want to weed your garden. Even if you can devote only 15 minutes to it today, think about how that will help the garden look better and allow it to thrive.

2. Next, be appreciative of something and hold that thought for 20 seconds. (Do it again before lunch and at night before sleep.) “Even in difficult times, we can find something to appreciate,” says Dr. Baker. Be sure to build up your inventory, and don’t overlook something as simple as being appreciative for your cozy slippers or the soothing sound of rain tapping on the window.

My Take:  I just like this one as it is simple and I do that sometimes. It really helps to put me in a good place mentally.

These are only suggestions for Happiness. You may already have our happy places and if so, good luck.  If not, reach for it today.  I wish you Happiness!

Note:  After publishing, I was discussing the blog with my wife and she said it was missing the spiritual side of obtaining happiness.  I had already thought of that but I have an earlier blog on Happiness that already addressed that.  The Time To Be Happy Is Now .

Related articles

• Simple Things That Make Your Life Happier (healthyliferecipes.wordpress.com)
• The Time To Be Happy Is Now (myvuze.wordpress.com)
• Elusive Happiness (teachingsofmasters.wordpress.com)
• The secret to happiness is… (qwestore.wordpress.com)
• The Foundation of Happiness (psychologytoday.com)
• Am I Happy? (bepaulin.wordpress.com)
• The Happiness Manifesto – Part 5 – Give (sbwealth.wordpress.com)
• Negative energy has no place in my life (worldofhina.wordpress.com)
• ~ True Happiness ~ (heartfeltpoemsandinspirationalthoughts.wordpress.com)

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