The next step we are going to look at to help you get your life on track is…
Discovering Happiness in Your Life
Happiness is a choice. It’s true. You can choose to let life’s circumstances get you down or you can choose to be happy no matter what challenges life brings.
Happiness is already within each one of us and we are born to be naturally happy! For example, have you ever noticed how infectious a baby’s giggle is (that’s one of my all-time favorite sounds!)? So… why is it that, as we get older, we forget where to find happiness within ourselves and, instead, allow outside forces to determine our level of happiness?
You can determine your own happiness by following these simple strategies:
- When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Cliché, I know, but it’s so true. You don’t have to let life’s troubles and problems get you down. Yes, there will always be troubles because no one is perfect, but you can choose your reaction to situations. Look at the positive side of things and work hard to see the good in people and circumstances.
- Find something you love to do and do it. Do you have a lifelong dream or desire? If so, start working toward it. Taking baby steps towards a dream or goal will help you feel like you’re accomplishing something. You’ll find drive and determination to reach that goal when it’s something you love to do.
- Do you have a gift or talent you’re not using? One reason so many people are unhappy is that they’re not doing what they’re called to do with their God-given talents. Each and every one of us has a purpose in life. You have natural gifts and talents to help you achieve your purpose, so use your gifts effectively!
- When you’re feeling down, don’t wallow in your sorrows by yourself; do something about it. Call a friend who you know is positive and cheerful. Talk about your feelings and listen to their advice. So often, people allow themselves to go deeper and deeper into self-pity or depression because they think it has to be that way. The truth is, you don’t have to be sad and you shouldn’t be. You can decide to be happy. You just have to make up your minds to do so.
- Think about all the things you have to be thankful for. Often you get so caught up in what’s wrong with your life that you forget to look at what’s right and good. Take a step back and reflect on your life. How far have you come from, say, six months ago?
- Do you have children or family to be thankful for? Yes, they may not be everything we’d like them to be, but imagine life without them. Now, be thankful that you have them in your life.
- Do you have a job? Maybe it’s not your dream job, but in today’s economy, those of us who have a job should be thankful for it.
- When you’re feeling down, journal your thoughts and feelings. Often you’ll find that just getting your feelings down on paper will allow you to work through them, helping you to feel better about yourself and your beautiful life!
If you’ve been prone to look at life negatively, then you’ll have to put more effort into seeing and choosing happiness. But don’t let that stop you from being happy! You, too, can learn to be happy.
Practice the steps above and train your mind to focus intensely on the positives. When you feel a negative thought coming on, or your mind gravitates toward the negative, learn to recognize it, stop it in its tracks, and then start thinking happier thoughts.
Staring from this moment onward, make the conscious choice to be happy!
In the third part of this series we are going to explore dealing with change and stress. I hope this blog series is providing you with workable strategies to get your life on track!
This is something I believe and do practice in my life. The last while, though, I’ve allowed myself to get caught up in the crap. I called myself out on it this morning and said that I’ve been really negative and “complainy” and need to get a balance going again. I don’t believe in denying or suppressing the tough stuff or the negative stuff (I believe in dealing with it), but I don’t want to be focusing there like I have been.
I completely agree with your philosophy here Leanne – I believe that when we are feeling negative or whiny, we must sit in it in order to come out the other side – we can’t blindly ignore the yucky feelings BUT balance is definitely the key. This is achieved by allowing all aspects of us to have a voice (in other words listen to the whiner and the cheer leader!)
I agree with both of you – there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that you feel poorly (even for a short time), but allowing oneself to wallow in it for an extended period of time isn’t helping you or anyone else. Acknowledge the pain – but also recognize that the pain ends, and that there is “another side” – joy and restoration of self. Great article, Moira!
Well said Maude – acknowledging the pain is such an important piece. I’ve often told clients that there is no way they can shift into a better way until they acknowledge and accept what IS and then they can start visiting and enjoying the awesomeness that joy and restoration of self brings.
Great tips! I’ve been practicing feeling my feelings lately in order to get them up and out. While it can be easy to wallow in the crap, it is worse to deny the feelings and stuff them down. We are taught to not feel anything, so we’re all walking around broken. But I’m aiming to fix that. 🙂
Thanks Amethyst! It’s an ongoing journey for my own healing as well as the path I help my clients on. I believe that ALL of our emotions are just asking us to FEEL them (and not just the happy ones) – when we stuff down and bury yucky feelings – they never go away! I’m aiming to inspire people to get out of that broken feeling too 🙂
Great tips, Moira! One of the things that got me through my father’s terminal illness and eventual passing was allowing myself to feel whatever grief or pain was there in the moment, but to also let go of it once it subsided and mindfully acknowledge all the times where I *wasn’t* grieving or hurting.
Realising that beauty was always there for me to connect with was a huge step for me 🙂
Blessings
TANJA
Thanks for sharing your experience Tanja – it is true that it is important to *feel* those emotions of sadness and grieving but it’s also important to acknowledge when they’ve subsided.
That’s so powerful that you had the realization that beauty was always there for you to connect – it allows for the experience of emotions to be more of a valuable dance.
Many blessings to you.
It is so true that it is actually a matter of training ourselves and being aware of what we focus on. We all will have our ups and downs but no matter how hard life gets there will always be a new day to look forward to.
Thanks Steffie – your comment makes me think of that quote “this too shall pass”. We are all always moving targets so if things feel a bit heavy in the moment – there is always the next moment where we can make a different choice.