I had everything and rejoiced in little; I now have far less and rejoice in all of it, every ding-dong day.
I cannot give you your happiness, but it is my fondest wish that by sharing my journey, I can assist you in finding it yourself.
xxx
c
Five quick fixes to help you get to happy in a hurry
For when you need that loving smack upside the head, cowboy.
Think of five things you are grateful for right now. If you're somewhere you can do it safely, write them down.Step away from the TV/computer/xbox and get outside, if only for five minutes.
Call or write one person you are grateful for and tell them so right now.
Take five long, slow, deep breaths. Focus on nothing else while you do this. (Not in a moving vehicle, yo!)
When all else fails, clean your sink.
Photo "Fly, Hummingbird Fly!" by Carf via Flickr
How to Get to Happy in 12 Interesting Steps
Simple ain't easy, but for those who are interested in a roadmap, here's what I've come up with so far.
1. Get to know your owner's manual
2. Don't even try to lie.
3. When things look bad, focus on what's good.
4. Look at what you're looking at.
5. Let the yucky be your teacher.
6. Understand that happy may not look like what you thought it would.
7. Staying fluid helps. A lot.
8. So does having fun.
9. Doing trumps reading about doing.
10. Put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to place the mask of the person sitting next to you.
11. When in doubt, get quiet and look within.
12. Be nice to yourself.
For the full text of this article, go here.
1. Get to know your owner's manual
2. Don't even try to lie.
3. When things look bad, focus on what's good.
4. Look at what you're looking at.
5. Let the yucky be your teacher.
6. Understand that happy may not look like what you thought it would.
7. Staying fluid helps. A lot.
8. So does having fun.
9. Doing trumps reading about doing.
10. Put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to place the mask of the person sitting next to you.
11. When in doubt, get quiet and look within.
12. Be nice to yourself.
For the full text of this article, go here.
Reads for The Road
A highly selective (and Amazon-free) bibliography of books that have helped me on the way
- Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort & Joy
- Sarah Ban Breathnach's now-classic how-to tome on slowing down to smell the roses. Leans toward the twee, but lots of good, easily-digestible advice.
- How to Calm Down: Three Deep Breaths to Peace of Mind
- A delightful, low-commitment, fun intro to meditation for those who find the very mention of the word makes them want to run out and drink a triple-latt%uFFFD. Written by my former yoga teacher, Fred Miller.
- The Way of the Peaceful Warrior
- The best books for The Road gently prod you into awareness, getting you to ask the right questions to move yourself to the place you need to be next. Dan Millman's fictionalized account of his encounter with his own teachers is that kind of book. Highly, highly recommended.
- Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life
- I've given Karen Rauch Carter's book -- basically, a Western Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui -- to more people than I can name. Even if you don't dig the woo-woo, the common sense behind (and helpful tips towards achieving) removal of what no longer serves to make room for what does can't be beat.
- The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
- There's a reason this book made Julia Cameron famous and spawned creativity support groups around the country: it works. It helped me make the transition from advertising to acting, and it's always good as a mental (and spiritual, if you like) palate cleanser. Contains excellent tools for personal transformation, regardless of whether you want to be an "artist" or not.
- Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
- The science (literally) behind happiness, from one of the pioneers in positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman. With lots of actionable information, tests and coolio stuff to help you divine your own blocks to happiness and reset them.
- The Art of Possibility
- A wonderful book of stories about creativity, passion, connection and the bearing that they have on happiness. By Rosamund Stone Zander and Ben Zander, a pretty extraordinary couple.
More on How To Get To Happy
Outside reading on various aspects of happiness (and how to get there!)
- Don't Give Up Your Latte
- Handling your money right contributes greatly to happiness, but budgeting shouldn't mean cutting out the joy.
- How To Keep a Sharp Mind and a Good Attitude
- A great list of tips for staying mentally sharp and focussed on the good stuff.
- Help in finding your passion
- A list of questions from Cheryl Richardson's book, Finding Your Passion, designed to get you thinking about what makes you explode with joy. Via the MineZone Wiki, with lots of other great notes on books.
- Cultivating Gratitude: The Advanced Class
- The always-excellent Steve Pavlina writes the definitive explanation on how and why to truly grateful.
- The Happiness Project
- Gretchen Rubin spent a year researching and "road testing" happiness theories from every source she could find (and she's a smarty, so she found a lot). She's blogging as she writes the book about her experiences, so lots of great daily tips, insights and inspiration here.
- Dave Pollard on How to be good to yourself
- Dave Pollard writes a blog rich with progressive, implementable ideas on How to Change the World, starting with the way to think about it. A self-admitted natural depressive, Dave underwent a transformation many of us do after a major illness--one that left him happier and more content than he'd been before. Here, he shares some hard-won advice.
