I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness and exactly how you go about finding it. I think there is a need for more happiness in the world. There are already so many struggles we go through on the highway of life, is finding happiness just another thing to grapple with or is it already there for the taking and you just have to unearth it?
We have all experienced happy days – days spent unplugged on the beach or in the company of people who warm us just by their presence. Is that enough? I say, “No”. I believe that in order to achieve locating and keeping happiness in your life, you have to plant it in your own soul.
You can begin by finding pleasure in everything you do – even the mundane. Start the morning with an intentional decision to choose happiness. Once you practice facing each new day with this attitude, your whole perspective will change. A meaningful morning routine will empower you. Turn away from an alarm clock and turn instead to a morning rhythm where you wake and meet the day on your terms.
Next, teach your soul new things. Learn. The act of discovery plants a positive notion in your psyche and expands the feeling of wonder within us.
Don’t forget to carry a smile with you as you go about the day. My mother taught me a wonderful trick that I have practiced every day of my life and will never forget. She told me, “After you have completed your morning toiletry, have combed your hair and readied your face for the day, look into the mirror and SMILE. Tell yourself that you are BEAUTIFUL, then do not look into a mirror the remainder of the day, instead carry that feeling of perfection with you.” Mama told me this not because she was all Zen back then, but because she wanted to build confidence in her daughters, and it worked!
Do you count your blessings? I mean, really count them 1-2-3? Being grateful is an easy thing to speak of – but the application of an appreciative feeling is something you need to set your mind to by focusing on the positive aspects of life. Happy people choose to express the positive aspects of life rather than the negative.
Affirmations are powerful. Don’t forget to make them part of your morning routine. Beginning the day with thoughts of ‘I am.. I can… I shall” are all actions that are meant to propel a soul to a better outlook. Remember, keep your affirmation based in truth, and select them so they address your current needs. Be specific.
Hold your tongue. That’s a big one. You will find humility in keeping criticism to yourself instead of lashing out. The next time you want to voice a verbal complaint towards a person, don’t. Choose the feeling of joy and peace in your heart instead.
Every single one of us was given natural talents, strengths, and abilities. When we allow our given talents to direct us, we feel alive and comfortable in our skin. Some of us are lucky enough to use our talents in the work we do, but if your career or life’s work does not foster this feeling, by all means seek it outside of your 9 to 5. It is essential to connect with our God-given talents in order to find happiness.
Connect to your soul by finding the quiet. A mental meditation several times a day will keep you aligned and moving in the direction of spreading your happiness to others.
Any finally, know that navigating life without angst is not a cake-walk, it takes practice. Pain exists and there is no escape from it. Remind yourself that there is good in everything no matter how bleak things look at present. Search deep to find the meaning in that which is paining you. Maybe… just maybe by connecting with the pain and dispelling it, you will be able to offer comfort to others in their pain.
I am excited to have you join me in finding and spreading happiness. If both you and I begin today by following the above tenet, the happiness we plant will grow to two more who will foster two more after that!
I just love multiplication, don’t you?
“Grow love with me.”
~Yoko Ono