The Wellness Journey – Happiness
During these uncertain and challenging times, it’s important for you to hold onto something that brings you hope and fills your life with joy. Filling your life with positive emotions has the power to improve your personal and emotional well-being. Happiness is a positive emotion that you can build like a muscle. By doing things that cause you to “be happy” you are able to build that muscle and fill your positive emotions bank.
The Truth About Happiness
There are many myths about happiness. You may have been taught that happiness is a result of your success, how much money you make, or how many shoes you can afford to buy. Actually the opposite is true, research shows that happiness causes success.
Challenge Your Mindset
The happiness “daily half dozen” is an exercise in building positive emotions. Over the next seven days practice all six of the happiness “daily half dozen.” Don’t get distracted by the use of the word happiness. You can substitute it for joy, pleasure, satisfaction, cheerfulness or whatever you prefer. I use the word happiness because that is what researchers call it, happiness research. (https://www.happinessresearchinstitute.com/)
At the end of seven days answer this question, how did creating awareness of positive emotions impact you this week?
Happiness “daily half dozen”
- Write 3 blessings down, and reflect on why they went well.
- Do something kind for someone else.
- 20 minutes of movement.
- Laugh.
- 60 seconds of quite and deep breathing.
- Do something that brings you joy (you fill in the blank!).
Martin Seligman
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Experiencing happiness in your life is important. However, there will be times when you don’t feel happy, feel guilty for being happy, or due to circumstances don’t desire happiness. Those feelings are okay too, there is no should here. What I do want you to takeaway is that happiness has the power to help you get to where you want to be so the more time you spend doing things that make you happy the better and healthier you will be.
