Life Strategies

"Being miserable is a habit. Being happy is a habit. The choice is yours."
~ Tom Hopkins

Happiness is a choice, yet many will never choose it. I find this odd because I have never met anyone who said they didn’t want to be happy.

Here are 12 Easy Steps To Becoming Happier Today:

1) Decide To Be Happy. This is the beginning point of your search for happiness. You cannot be happy if you don’t decide to be happy. Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." So it’s time to make up your mind.

"The joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days."
~Psalms

2) Wake Up Happy. Start your day off on a positive note. Before you even open your eyes, remind yourself that you have a desire to be happy today. Spring out of bed. Increase the tempo of your movements. Be glad to be alive. Listen to music that gets you up and going. Sing in the shower. Have breakfast with someone who is positive and optimistic.

3) Don’t Let Anything Ruin Your Day. I haven’t had a bad day in years and it is because I have trained myself to be happy and you can too. I may have bad moments but not an entire day of it. If you stay mindful of being consciously happy from the onset of your day, you’ll be surprised at how things will start working out for the better.

4) Get Involved. Spend time with family and friends; that is, providing your family and friends are good for you. If not, seek out people who will nourish you with hope, laughter, and encouragement. Strive to do the same for them in return.
"We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own." ~Ben Sweetland

5) Smile. This automatically makes you feel happier. Smile for no reason at all other than the notion that it is in your best interest. Most people believe they need a reason and then they can’t seem to think of one.

6) Strive To Be Pleasant Towards Others. I’ve always been told that you can’t make someone else happy. Technically, that is true, but we sure do believe that they can make us angry. Some people will resist you & your happiness, but most will be influenced by your actions. Greet people warmly and with kindness. I encourage you to believe you can make others happy and set a course to do so.

7) Forgive Yourself For Past Mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes but some of us are held prisoner by our mistakes. It’s hard to enjoy today if you are stuck in the past. Let go of this burden and move on with your life.

Fill Your Mind With Thoughts of Happiness. You tend to become what you think about. I know negative things exist and I keep an eye on that reality but I put my primary focus on the happiness I want instead of the things I don’t want. Norman Vincent Peale says that you change your world by changing your thoughts. Think Happy.

9) Use Upbeat Language. Avoid language that lets the air out of your tire. Instead of saying, "I HAVE to go to work or school today" say, "I GET to go to work or school today". A lot of people would like to have your job or the opportunity to get an education.

10) Be Poised. Pay attention to how you carry yourself. Angry people as well as negative and anxious people have a certain body language. What does your body language say about you? If you want to be happy then walk, sit, and stand like you think a happy person would carry themselves.

11) Live in the Present. Strive to enjoy every moment of your life. You cannot change the past and you have no control over what the future may bring. You can, however, have control of your present. Be more aware of this moment.

12) Be Thankful. Most people focus on what they want or what they don’t have. Learn to appreciate the blessings that God has given to you. Your health, your family, friends & the ability to laugh. I wonder how long your list would be if you were to write down the things you are grateful for. After all, it is Thanksgiving.

It all starts with your mind. Do this simple exercise based on how you feel right now. What mood are you in? Write it down. Then Answer why are you in this particular mood? Do you know what caused the emotion you are experiencing right now? Chances are, you are thinking about something. Is what you are thinking about a positive or negative situation? Is it something you have to face and you are not looking forward to it, or conversely, is it something exciting that you ARE looking forward to?

There are times when people everywhere I go smile at me? It is not just that they smile, they smile at me as if they know me. I had to ask myself, "Why is everyone smiling at me?" I had not realized it at the time, but I was smiling at them. Why was I smiling was the question. The reason I was smiling was because of what I was thinking about, either a funny event, or I was excited about life in general because of projects I was working on, or the like. Life really is good when you live according to your life’s purpose

A wise man once said to me "Never do anything that you really do not want to do. It causes heart problems." At the time he told me that, I was having heart problems. I am not sure why he told me that because he did not know me personally or what I was going through. I was working in a job that I did not like and I began to use that job to practice my voice skills because I wanted to be in radio. That job began to be fun to me and it did not matter what my job was because I knew I would get to where I wanted to be if I kept practicing.

The lesson I learned is that we are not happy when we are not living according to our life purpose. Being happy all the time does not mean you have everything you want all the time. It is a choice to be happy no matter what and you can do so because you have something to look forward to. Start looking for your own purpose in life. Start by trying things out and learning what you are good at.

When you find your life’s purpose, begin working in it in whatever capacity you can even if it is for free. You will be fulfilled. Life will mean something to you, and most of all you will be happy all the time because you are living your dream.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rhonda_K_Clark

According to U.S. research, you can add seven and a half years to your life just by being happy!

Backing this claim up is Laurie Hayes, Life Strategy Coach from Ontario, Canada who also states that genuine happiness is the key ingredient being sought after by most people who come to her.

Ms. Hayes has been working with people who have recognized this missing element in their lives and want to take corrective action towards a more meaningful, balanced existence.

"The pursuit of authentic happiness is an ongoing quest for many," says Laurie. "Some people believe that by earning more money, working longer hours, and taking on more and more responsibility, they will somehow reap big benefits that will in the end guarantee happiness. Unfortunately that just isn’t the case, and research has now proven that the more comfortable life becomes, the more discontented and unfulfilled we become."

Incredibly, professional men and women polled in a recent U.S. study were rated to be unhappiest of all. Most attributed work pressures, the need to achieve, family responsibilities, social pressures, busy lifestyles and the absence of personal and reflective time to feelings of discontentment, detachment, anxiety and even depression.

Ms. Hayes says people often wait so long to do anything about these feelings that by the time they come to her they are out of sync, overwhelmed, feeling heavy and isolated, and that it’s only through supportive, strategic life coaching they are able to learn how to live, laugh, play, and dream again.

Coaching used to be reserved for top-level executives, movie stars and large corporations, but is now being sought after by average, everyday people seeking positive life change. Already mainstream in the U.S., it is still relatively new in Canada. Coaching identifies core values, personal strengths and obstacles blocking people’s happiness and provides the forum for planning and carrying out a plan to create desired results. Unlike therapy, it focuses on co-creating a desired future based upon the person’s natural abilities and skills.

Laurie explains she got involved in helping people find their happiness because she lost herself many years ago.

"I know personally what it’s like to become so wrapped up in one thing that everything and everyone else in life seems to disappear. I experienced it years ago while building my first business. I was so caught up in success and achievement that everything else took second place, and I lost everything that really mattered to me – my home, my partner, etc. Back then there wasn’t such a thing as a life coach. I took a break, got my act together and reconstructed a more authentic and happy life. I learned a valuable lesson and now I want to do my bit to help others realize that they too can find happiness by not denying themselves. A lot of people don’t have anyone to support and listen to them, and that’s where I come in."

Thankfully, real happiness is attainable and doesn’t have to come at the expense of something else. As a matter of fact, the source might be so close to us that we can’t even see it! The secret of extended life might be right under our noses, only waiting to be discovered!

Stop and think a minute. Who is the most successful person you can think of? Chances are your thoughts turned to Donald Trump, Bill Gates, or Oprah Winfrey. Did you ever wonder what makes successful people successful?

Many people think that those who achieve success just "got lucky". The reality is, however, that success doesn’t happen by accident or even by luck. Every successful person everywhere started with a plan – a strategy for their life. And most successful people didn’t start thinking about their plan after they finished college, they envisioned it since childhood.

Developing your own plan as a teen is a concept that many of your parents never thought of until well into adulthood, if then. Luckily for you, this gives you an advantage they didn’t have – a head start on the rest of your life. So what if your dreams change as you age, chances are they won’t shift too far from where they are now. And, just in case, that is why you always write a life-plan in pencil – you can always make changes later!

Step 1: Forget what your teachers said, throw out your dictionary, don’t even "Google" it – you get to make up your own definition from scratch!

Before you can achieve success, you must define what success means to you. The usual definition of success is based on wealth, prestige and power. The problem with this definition is that it completely ignores the values and priorities in the Four Important Areas of Your Life;

1) school and work,
2) community,
3) home and family, and
4) your own physical, mental, and spiritual needs.

Step 2: Discover who you are and what you stand for.

Before you can dream your true dream you need to know who you are and what your personal values and priorities are. Values and priorities are simply the things that are important to you and which guide your behavior – they express who you are, what you believe in and what you stand for.

Personal values and priorities can come from many different places. They can be based on religious beliefs or teachings, cultural norms, family expectations or simply something that your conscience tells you is right. Once developed, your personal value system will help give your life structure and purpose by helping you determine what is meaningful and important to you.

Values and priorities are yours – they don’t belong to anyone else, they don’t have to be like anyone else’s and no one can set them for you. Without identifying and understanding your own unique values and priorities, you run the risk of making bad choices.

Allow yourself to dream without limits. Then achieve total success by focusing your dreams on all four areas of your life. Don’t forget that there is no "right" or "wrong" definition – there is only your definition!

Activity: Brainstorming

Now is the time to pull out a pencil and some paper and discover what your basic, core values and priorities are. Just let the thoughts flow – words, phrases, pictures – there is no rule for brainstorming.

Examples of some character traits, values, or priorities to help you get started:

Trustworthy, Honest, Happy, Thoughtful, Respectful, Hard-working, Achievement, Accomplished
Dependable, Caring, Healthy, Wealthy, Timely, Organized, Loyal, Energetic, Giving Charitable, Hopeful, Healthy

Your value statement can be as long or as short as you like. A good idea is to make the final statement into a bulleted list that is easy to read and easy to remember. No need for big, fancy words. Remember, this is your own value statement, your own private reminder of who you are and what is important to you. You are writing it for yourself and the most important person who will ever see it is YOU!

Make sure you complete your personal value statement before reading my next article on developing your vision. You can’t define your vision without your values!