lucycou

Lately I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I can continue to be so darn happy and optimistic all of the time even though I recently got laid off, I’m having to find a new home for my dog, I just found out this or that bad thing happened, etc.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a super happy person. Sure, I’ve had my share of downs, but I think I’ve finally learned how to master the art of happiness. I have a few tips and tricks that I use that I’ve developed over the years. They are sure to make you happier overall.

I’m a firm believer that happiness is indeed a choice. I am aware that I am always, 100% of the time, in control of my emotions, reactions and beliefs. I choose how to react, who to be and what to make out of any situation. It’s all me 100% of the time. I create my reality. What does that really mean? It means that no one is able to make me feel anything I don’t want to feel.

The most important lesson to remember is this: No one besides yourself is responsible for your own reactions or feelings. It is never someone else’s “fault” for how you are feeling. You are only in charge of yourself and are not responsible for anyone else, either. Just work on being happy and the rest follows.

Here are some tips and tricks to help choose happiness.

HOW TO CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY

1. Take Responsibility! Understand that no one is responsible for your reactions, feelings or thoughts.
2. Understand That Happiness Is A Choice. We are always deciding who and what we are. Who do you want to be? How would you ideally like to react to a certain situation? CHOOSE IT!
3. Know That You Are Awesome. Some self confidence will go a long way. Understand that you are awesome. Everyone has something unique to offer the world and frankly, the world would not be the same without you. Be happy to be who you are. There is no one else like you! Do good for others and good will come back to you. It’s called Karma.
4. Calm Your Thoughts. Practice silencing your thoughts. Sometimes too much thinking gets us in trouble. We go from “thinking” to “creating”, so I would suggest limiting negative thoughts. When I was a super jealous maniac person, I used to think too much about my jealousy. I would end up creating scenarios in my head that I would start to believe. I took it out on my significant other, blaming her for the bad deeds I created in my mind. I’d start to pick at tiny things that weren’t anything. For example, I’d notice that my significant other was late 15 minutes from getting home from work. I’d create an illusion in my mind that those 15 minutes meant she was cheating on me before coming home. I’d make it real in my mind and accuse her of it. Learn to calm your thoughts. Empty out your mind. Practice the art of not thinking and push out negative thoughts. What good does it do? It doesn’t solve anything and it leaves you in a sour mood. Choose happiness!
5. Smile More Often. Seriously, smile more. Smile to strangers as they pass you by on the street, smile to the person checking you out at the store, smile to your family and friends. Smile at your dog. The simple act of smiling will, indeed, make you feel happier. Make it a habit.
6. Pay it Forward, Otherwise Known As “Random Acts of Kindness”. Do good. When you help someone else out, you feel better. Volunteer. Help people. Why do you think therapists constantly urge depressed patients to go volunteer somewhere? Helping others makes them happy which, in turn, makes you feel happy.
7. Get Yourself In The Right Mindset. Read inspirational books. Listen to inspirational music. Hang posters on your wall with motivating captions. Change the wallpaper on your desktop to something cheery. Add motivating quotes to your screensaver. You get the idea. Surround yourself with happiness! You’ll be surprised how much this helps. It will transform your mood instantly if you let it. Remember, you are in charge.
8. Eat Healthier. Adopting a healthier diet automatically makes you feel better. You feel lighter, more energetic and frankly, it is pretty tough to be in a bad mood when you are feeling so fantastic physically. This is what raw food has done for me. A lot of people use food as a coping mechanism. After a bad day, those people come home and stuff themselves with food. It doesn’t help because they usually stuff themselves with bad, processed “food”, if you can even call it food. The ingredients and chemicals in those “foods” help to keep you in a bad mood. They alter the natural balance of chemicals and drive you  crazy. You need the antidote to the poison, not more poison.
9. Get Outside and Move! I am convinced that the sun literally makes people happy. A nice, sunny day is the perfect medicine for people in sour moods. Go out and enjoy nature. Go on a picnic. Play a sport with friends. Schedule a hike with family. Do what you gotta do. Get moving and get outside. Nature’s medicine to bad moods.
10. Change Bad to Good. This is my favorite tip/trick. Katrina and I always use it. When something “bad” happens, we are prohibited to complain or discuss the “bad” aspects of said “bad” thing. We just can’t. People love to complain and vent. People can do it for hours. Here’s the thing about complaining/venting: It never helps. The feeling of “relief” after you complain/vent is an illusion. It’s not really relief. What does it really help? Did you fix the problem? After venting, did it go away? Are you a step closer to pushing the problem away? No, you’re not. It didn’t change anything. Now, here’s where my tip/trick comes in. Prevent yourself from complaining/venting. Limit yourself to only discussing ways to fix/better/remedy the situation. Allow yourself to only discuss the “good” that comes along with said bad situation. This is seriously life changing. Once you adopt the habit, you’ll realize how easy it is to be positive. You just have to break the old habits, the old ways of thinking and replace them with better ones.
11. Fake It Until You Make It. That’s right, fake it until you make it. Go through the motions of being a happy, confident person. Get yourself in the habit of being the person you want to be. Envision the perfect you and go for it. Act it out. Fake it until you make it. Sooner or later, it’ll become routine and normal and guess what? YOU MADE IT.
12. Be Compassionate/Understanding. It really helps to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. You’ll learn that it is never a good idea to judge anyone for anything. What might be easy for you is not easy for someone else. Practice empathy, compassion and understanding. Listen to other people. Help them if asked. Love them no matter what.
13. Enthusiasm Makes The Difference! Enthusiasm is one of the top keys to living an awesome life. Why are children so happy all of the time? Because they’ve mastered the art of enthusiasm. Look at how excited they get about pretty much anything! Everything is GREAT! Everything is AWESOME! Why aren’t more adults like this? What happened to our ability to be amazed by things? Or the ability to show genuine enthusiasm? Adults try to be proper, courteous, etc all of the time, but it’s rather boring, isn’t it? Show a little enthusiasm. Shed the shyness or embarrassment. Don’t be afraid to be childish. Embrace the inner child and get excited!
14. End of Day Gratitude List. Before we drift off to sleep every night, Katrina and I share our list of 3 things we’re grateful for that day. It might not seem like a big deal, but it is. You can do this with your wife, husband, kids, friends, etc. Even if you’re doing it by yourself, it’ll work wonders. You’ll always go to bed with a smile on your face. How can you argue with that? Plus, here’s a bonus… the other person will always surprise you. They’ll bring up reasons to be grateful that you never thought about. After a few rounds of sharing gratitude lists, you’ll become a much more grateful, happier person. You’ll learn how to spot little bits of happiness in the world.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my little tips and tricks for choosing happiness. I practice each and every single one of these on a daily basis. It keeps my mood up and it allows me to help others. It’s my passion. I love to bring smiles to people’s faces. There is seriously nothing better for me in the entire world. Like Michael says, “people make the world go round.”

So get out there and choose happiness! Good luck.

Much love!

ps. The picture above is of Katrina and her mom’s horse, Cassie. Ahhh, joy!

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