Ten Top Ways To Be Happy

TEN TOP WAYS TO BE HAPPY:

1. Notice what pleases you. Most of the what makes us happy day to day is the little things--the cup of tea/coffee in the morning, a friend/child's smile, a breeze on our skin. Don't miss these moments. So often we glide right by them. Don't. Stop and notice these small 'pleasures'

2. When you have a happy moment, let all of your senses swarm around it. Taste it, touch it, smell it, hear it, really see the colors of it. Then make it more vivid. That means when your roving mind starts pulling away, bring it back for a moment. Remember, we get more of what we pay attention to.

3. Actively LOOK for what pleases you. Neurological research shows that our minds are programmed to notice what's wrong. When we lived in the jungle, our survival depended on that. It's time now to look for what's right.

4. When things go wrong, give that room. Don't pressure life to be different than it is. When you're sitting in traffic, late for a meeting, or having a BBQ and it rains, or you're about to go on holiday and get a cold, relax into the way life is.

5. Listen to your body. There's a wonderful line in a poem by Mary Oliver, called Wild Geese. The line is: "Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." Your body often knows exactly what it needs. A nap, a hot bath, a long hug.... small things but they can make a huge difference. Listen.

6. Laugh. It's one of the healthiest things you can do. Even hearing laughter can ease your tension, so studies say. Thanks to Youtube, there are smiles at the click of a mouse. Try typing 'laughing babies' into the Youtube.com search box.

7. Get Bigger: Picture yourself getting bigger and bigger until you're the size of a mountain. When you are standing on a mountain top, what loomed below seems awfully small.

8. Get broader. Same as above but this technique uses time. Scoot forward a month, then a year, then a few years. Will this matter?

9. Watch the "stories" you're telling yourself. Catch yourself when you hear yourself saying, "The reality is..." or any other "fact" about how life is or how a person is. Life is incredibly fluid and changing and there is little that's actually 'true' about it.

10. Ask yourself this powerful question: How might this be a good thing? This question can act as a dynamite stick and really get you moving out of any old ditches.