Chicken or the egg, well Shawn Achor has helped answer the question when it comes to happiness or success — If we keep waiting for the achievements or our ideal of success to come along before being happy, we won’t get to our happy place. But once we put our happiness first — find it and live it, THEN the successes we want begin to fall into place.
“But I don’t have any idea how to become happy first. I need A, B and C to happen to me before I can dream of being happy.” Years and years of conditioning have taught most of us this.
Go back into the future just a few hundred years, there was some magic put down on paper that tied happiness and liberty together, and in this I found even more encouragement to focus on putting happiness first. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This Declaration of Independence was worth fighting for, dying for, worth creating an entire new form of government to secure … yeah, it’s THAT important.
So how do we make happiness happen? Shawn’s researched a list of 5 habits to build. Along with my classmates, I’ve been digging into these … and golly, gee whiz, I am becoming more and more HAPPY. And so are THEY!
How can you join the Happiness Team? Here’s Shawn’s recommendations:
1. Write down 3 things daily for which you are grateful. We’re using index cards and flipping through the pile every day.
2. Journal about a positive moment that occurred within your last 24 hours.
3. Exercise – release your endorphins daily.
4. Meditate – spend quiet time with yourself, shutting out the world, meeting your marvelous, future, higher self.
5. Commit random or conscious acts of kindness. Send thanks and praise to others for being in your support circle.
Enjoy Shawn’s TEDx overview … then enjoy your BLISS!
Thank you so much for being part of my happiness support group. I sincerely appreciate you checking out my blog!
Great team to be on The Happiness Team.. I think your finding your true self..Thanks for sharing.
I just love that video clip. Glad to see it’s working for you too.
I was server about 20 years ago wow such long time ago but it’s still with me. It helped me, talk to people I didn’t know. Anyways my point was they taught us about smiling. How many muscles it takes to smile26 and 62 to frown. So I know how to smile and would love to be part of the happiness team.