Article
No one is born HAPPY but everyone CAN be
In the light of the current wave of interest in mental health and wellbeing, I think sometimes it is all to easy to forget our own responsibility to ourselves to work towards being a happy, positive person. If we all focus on the negatives that we see and hear, which is increasingly easy to do with media and news at our fingertips, it is easy to become sad, unhappy and to believe everyone else has a better life.
As a baby we learn to smile before we even know what it means; as a child we will laugh and will be happy, again without really knowing why. So why as an adult do most of us not continue to learn and make the effort to be happy? I think the answer is in how we train ourselves to think and what we focus on.
I am a self-confessed optimist who is always in awe of the world and everything around me. This did not happen overnight and actually came from going through a number of negative things in my life (although I wish I was, I’m not just lucky).
The rules I put in place are very simple, but I now believe are a foundation of why I am happy and ultimately more successful in life than ever before. The rules I follow are as follows:
- Face your fears and question why you are scared. What is the worst that can happen? It is rarely that bad
- If it is challenging or hard, don’t run away but see it through. The more you do this the stronger you will become.
- Bad stuff happens to everyone and everyone is dealing with their own complications and issues. Don’t let it consume you, look for the positives in every bad or good situation.
- Use positive words all the time and try and keep negative words to a minimum. If you find yourself talking negative, counter it as soon as you realise with something positive.
- Exercise and being active is easy to talk about but it is hard to make it a habit. I think it is as important as anything else in being a happy person.
- Eat the best food you can and with as much balance as you can.
- Believe you can
Whether you are looking for a new job, to grow your business or to make the world a better place, if you care about yourself enough to work hard at being happy, it is amazing what you can achieve for yourself and everyone else. Try it - I dare you - but remember that like all good things it takes work and effort. I assure you it will be worth it.
