Health & Fitness
A Conscious Guide to Creating Happiness
Here's my recipe for happiness, check out the ingredients.
"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your
own actions."
~ Dalai Lama
Can you actually say that you are happy? Just a short time
ago I could not have said it. Now, I actually can say that I am so happy that
I’m losing sleep over it. It’s not that worried kind of sleep loss and I don’t
feel sleep deprived. It’s that life feels so good that I can’t wait to
jump out of bed in the morning and start my day. I love to get up
early, usually by 5:30 and watch the sky change color from my kitchen window
before the sun comes up. It’s so beautiful and inspiring that I get
right out of bed without hesitation.
So I was thinking recently about what the source of my happiness is and I came up with a combination of things that I do which contribute to my happiness. So here is my recipe for happiness and I’m not sure if the ingredients are in any particular order:
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Practice Gratitude: I have been big into gratitude and
acknowledgment for a long time. I think it’s really important to appreciate what we have and most importantly to appreciate the things that others do for us. Having said that, I also used to focus on what I didn’t have all too often as well. Once I realized that I may not have everything that I think that I want AND I have much more than I need, everything shifted for me. Funny thing is that from that point on everything I needed started showing up. -
Create a Positive Community: Surround yourself with uplifting people. Create friendships and relationships with people who foster and support your growth and development and are working on their own
growth and development as well. It’s amazing to know that you have
people to turn to whose advice can move you forward rather than pull you down or keep you stuck. If you don’t have this in your life, send me an email and we’ll look at how you can create it right now.
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Eat Food that Gives You Pleasure and Nourishes You: Eat the
highest quality, freshest food that you can possibly get. Make easy meals that you enjoy. Take time to savor what you are eating and when you can, share a meal with someone you love. What we eat is the foundation of how we feel. Avoid overly refined foods and eat foods that are as close to the way nature created them as possible. You will feel and taste the difference when you eat this way.
Exercise Regularly: Find a form of exercise that you love,
don’t just do it because you think that you should. There are so many kinds of fun classes available now. Grab a friend, join a class, do whatever it
takes to get you moving regularly. Not only is the exercise
good for you, having fun with people you like can help to make you
happy.
lately you had to know that this would be on here. If you can’t control it, at
least recognize it for what it is and don’t take it seriously. Practice patience
with yourself, I find that this helps me to calm my negative self-talk.
How can you possibly be happy when someone is being so mean to you all the time? (I saw that on Facebook)
6. Be of Service To Others: I am not talking about neglecting
your needs or putting yourself last on the list. I am talking about something
very different. Volunteer for something, give a free talk that will enhance
someone else’s life, cook a meal for homeless families; take the focus off you.
That’s why we are here to love, to serve and uplift each
other. When you are helping others, you tend not to focus on
what you view as inadequate about you and your life which is a source of
unhappiness for many of us.
- 7.
busy, busy as so many of us tend to be, we go through life in survival mode.
We race from one place to another and from one thing on our “to do” list
to another, always feeling like there is not enough time to get things
done. A while back I used to say “I don’t have the time” I would think
my plate was full and then I realized that I was viewing my life was a bread
plate that couldn’t hold much AND so I decided to recreate my life to be a
buffet table that could fit so much more. By doing this I became far less
self-limiting and I stopped limiting the people around me. Create a practice
where you take time at least once a day to stop, regroup and reconnect with you
and what is going on around you. This will create space in your heart
and your mind. You will be surprised by how stopping and taking a few minutes
when you think you couldn’t possibly spare the time will allow you to be much
more productive and aware of all the good stuff that you are likely currently
missing.
8. Be Vulnerable: This was the toughest piece for me. I
was walking around very self-protected. I’m not sure why I felt that I
needed to be and I’m not even entirely sure how I let go of some of it.
What I do know is that it didn’t allow me to fully connect with people.
So this is what I see as the ingredients to my happiness. Are you
ready to be happy? Do you want to talk about any or all of it? Send me an
email.
