My mother was a very angry woman. So was her mother. Without dragging too much dirt out of the family closet, let me just say that neither of them lived a happy life. They’re favorite sayings to me were always either “Happiness doesn’t grow on trees” or “You can’t always have what you want in life.”
For the longest time I bought into that philosophy. Because in one way my mother and grandmother were right — happiness doesn’t grow on trees. The problem with their philosophy was that they never explained it to me. Maybe happiness doesn’t grow on trees, but they never told me where it did grow. It was the same way with them telling me I couldn’t always have what I wanted — it was a great saying, usually trotted out when I was being told “no” about something, but they never told me WHY I couldn’t always have it.
I like to think I’m a pretty happy person, and that if I put enough effort into it I can usually get the results I’m determined to have. But it hasn’t always been easy. I had to unlearn the “glass half-empty” mindset that my family taught me, and re-learn how to be an optimistic, “glass half-full” happy person. More importantly, I had to make the choice to be happy. And that was something that neither my mother nor my grandmother could help me with, no matter how much they loved me.
Creating a happy life for yourself is a conscious choice that only you can make. And it’s not about having more or getting more stuff (even if that’s what the commercials all say). To me, having a happy life means being more… being the best person you can be each and every minute of each and ever day. And no, it’s not always easy to stay happy in the face of all the negativity and miserableness in the world. But once you make the choice there are things you can do to ensure that you keep that happy mindset going, even when the going gets tough.
Here are five quick examples of things you can do to keep yourself in a happy mindset…
1. Be grateful. Use the lemons life throws at you to make the best lemonade you can. And know that even though you may not always get what you want, what you end up with might just be better than what you wanted in the first place.
2. Cultivate a support system. The old saying, “No man is an island,” is very true. It’s much easier to be happy when you have friends and family that also care about your happiness.
3. Create a “happiness journal.” Use it to write down things that make you happy. You can also use it to record your dreams and goals and what you’re doing to make them a reality.
4. Pray or meditate. Quieting your mind and spending time with your Higher Power (regardless of what name you call Him/Her)is a great way to stay focused on the positive and happy energy around you. Sometimes just knowing there’s a bigger picture and that there’s Someone out there looking out for you is enough motivation to keep going.
5. Create an outlet for frustration and anger. Whatever you do, don’t let feelings of frustration and anger build up inside you. They’ll make you sick and undermine all your progress at being happy if you let them. Go for a run, lift some weights, or punch a bag to get the negative energy out of your system. Studies have proven that people who exercise tend to feel better about life, and about themselves. And if you’ve never had an exercise “high” what can I say… better than chocolate. :)
Having a happy life is within your reach. It’s up to you to make the choice to go for it and to take the actions you need to in order to make it your reality. Happiness may not grow on trees, but it does grow inside of you and it’s just waiting to be let out to play.
Have a Happy Life!
Thanks for being here!
For more great ideas on how to be happy check out these blogs:
42 Happiness Tips and Snidbits
Ten Common Myths About Happiness
How To Be Happy: A Pessimists Guide To Happiness>
Happiness,Backwards
And be sure to grab the Happiness issue of The Acorn Stash!
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