Happiness is every individual’s opportunity for the taking. While there is no magic formula for achieving happiness, there are many strategies you can adopt in your life to create your own happiness. Because as we all know, happiness comes from within.
A sustained state of happiness is beyond simply feeling content; it involves a heightened sense of mental and physical positivity. It is all about feeling good, and it has been proven that happy people lead healthier, and more fulfilling lives. Let’s explore how to start The Happiness Project: You.
The Fundamentals of Happiness
Happiness is not an exact science, but there are key activities and behaviours that have been consistently shown to underpin the lives of happy individuals. Let’s start with the fundamentals:
Sleep: Snuggle down and get the right number of uninterrupted hours each night that your body needs. Sleep enables your body and mind to rejuvenate so make sure you organise your schedule so that adequate sleep is a priority, and wake up in the best frame of mind for a happy day ahead.
Nutrition: We all know the drum – a balanced diet (refer to the Healthy Food Pyramid if you need a visual reminder) fuels the body and mind. Remember the saying, ‘You are what you eat’? In happiness terms, you don’t want to be a burger and fries. Staying properly hydrated by drinking plenty of water, as well as keeping alcohol consumption at a minimum also falls within this category. Smoking is obviously another health no-no (Let’s talk if you need some help quitting!).
Exercise: Half an hour of moderate exercise each day will keep you at your peak. It is proven that exercise releases healthy endorphins that make you feel better. In fact, exercise is one of the best remedies for stress and anxiety. Even if it’s just a walk around your neighbourhood, schedule regular exercise.
While a critical base, the fundamentals don’t always elicit enough of the mental and emotional sustenance we need to achieve complete happiness. Sometimes we struggle with finding the motivation to consistently apply these fundamentals. This is where practices such as meditation and ‘self-talk’ can yield incredible life happiness changes.
Unlock The Happiness Within
Regular meditation has been scientifically proven to have mind body benefits. Just ten minutes each day can transform your sense of balance and inner harmony.
- Reprioritise. That’s right, refocus from chasing short-term pleasures and instead, work daily towards achieving long-term happiness. Consider how much time and money you devote to the accumulation of physical goods like cars and clothes, and instead devote some of your finite resources to your inner self. You are worth it!
- A phrase used in positive psychology, “negative emotions are like Velcro to the mind while the positive are like Teflon”. This means we remember negative events easily, while positive events are more difficult to retain. Rick Hanson in his book ‘Rewiring Happiness’ provides this useful tip to help retrain our mindsets.
When something good happens, think about it for 15 to 20 seconds. Each time something good happens, do the same again. When something unfavourable happens, instead of thinking about the negative, replace the original thought with something positive that you have already stored in your memory.
The following are two additional tips I have developed for regular practice, as well as an exercise for ongoing reflection, that I recommend to clients:
- Before you get out of bed in the morning, take 20 seconds to think about three things for which you are grateful. This is a sure fire way to start the day positively.
- Smile, as much and as often as you can. Smile fully with your eyes, as this will transfer the happiness on your face to your unconscious mind. Make it a havit to smile at a conscious level every day, as often as you can.
The Sea of Ticks Exercise
- Write down the top six things that make you happy.
- On a piece of paper or in your diary, record everything you did in the past week, even time asleep, to make up 24 hours in each day.
- Mark a tick against each activity that falls into your top six things that make you happy.
Is there a sea of ticks?
In areas where there are not, reflect on why this is so, and how you might go about increasing your happiness activities in the future. Reflect on this regularly and aim to make positive changes each week. Before long, the sea of ticks will become an ocean and you will feel the difference.
Happiness does not have to be elusive. Combine the fundamentals with regular meditation to achieve happiness, and live life to your full potential. Happiness is your sovereign right.
There is no time like the present, let’s get started. I would be delighted to hear your progress, answer any questions or talk through some additional strategies to increase your happiness.
Until next time, be Happy
Deb
