Got the February Blahs? As I write this the sun is shining in, the snow glistening, but I’m very glad I don’t have to be out in it!
So how do you stay in a positive mind set even when it seems there’s no end to the freezing, sniffling and sneezing? Well many people opt to escape for a week or two, but for those of us who choose not to, here are a few suggestions to get you through to spring! (more…)
Your happiness is the ultimate DIY project. A happy life is largely the result of choice – making the decision to be happy from moment to moment. Abraham Lincoln once said: “We’re just about as happy as we make up our minds to be,” and that is so true!
Happiness is the ultimate goal of everything you think you want. The real reason you desire anything is because of the way you anticipate feeling once you have it. So why not skip the middle man and go directly to happy?
That delicious feeling is easiest to capture first thing in the morning, before reading the newspaper or catching up on your emails or social media. Every morning really is a new beginning. Your vibrational attraction is neutral when you first wake up, so the new day is literally a fresh new slate. Those first few moments when you wake are the perfect time to set your tone for the day.
If your morning routine is usually hectic you may have to set your alarm a few minutes earlier, but the time you invest in yourself will pay high dividends, worthy even of a few minutes sleep.
When you first wake up, snuggled in your bed, all warm and relaxed and cosy, picture yourself happy, and express gratitude for your comfortable surroundings. Say “thank you” as you make your way to the bathroom. Then set a timer for 5 minutes, imagine you’ve just received a phone call giving you the best news, and allow elation to sweep over you. (I learned this technique from Mike Dooley in my Infinite Possibilities training)
Maybe you’ve just been told you won $60 million dollars. How would you react? Or maybe it was the clean bill of health you’ve been hoping for. You don’t even have to imagine specifically what this call is about– just let those fabulous feelings course through you.
Sound simple? That’s the beauty of it. Who says happiness has to be hard? Try it now. Picture yourself beaming, see the smiles of your loved ones as you share the big news, and hear their congratulations. Feel the gratitude and appreciation beginning to rise? Milk it! Fist-bump the air! Grin from ear to ear! Let these feelings grow until it seems your heart will burst.
Isn’t it interesting that you were able to generate so much joy, when nothing in your life has changed? You just demonstrated to yourself that you can be as happy as you choose with life exactly as it is.
This practice is fun, and puts you in a great mood, but you’re accomplishing much more than just feeling good in the moment. Those good feelings and happy thoughts are radiating out from you and finding friends to bring back home and party with. Simply by pretending to be happy you are actually creating things to be happy about. Your mind doesn’t know the difference between something you imagine and something that has actually occurred.
Our thoughts and feelings are always attracting more of the same as they match up with similar thoughts, people and life situations. So it follows that the more positive we think, speak and act, the more positive our lives will be. Focusing on any feeling will result in the circumstances of your life rearranging to replicate those feelings, so it makes sense to deliberately feel happiness as much as possible
For best results, keep that positive vibe flowing by following that initial burst of happy up with some simple gratitude and appreciation exercises you can do while you eat your breakfast. To really amp things up, take it further than just a mental or verbal thanks. Write it down. Keep a special journal to list your gratitudes each day.
Anything you wouldn’t want to be without can go on the list. You may want to begin by simply being grateful to be alive. Give thanks for your health, the roof over your head, the food in your belly. Write what you’re grateful for and why you are. You can be grateful for your job, the people in your life, your furry friends.
I’ve personally had very good results with writing 10 gratitudes each day. I write 5 things I’m grateful for now, and 5 ‘future gratitudes’ for things I want to have happen. I like to mix them up on the list because it makes them feel like a done deal. I know the power of gratitude, and that by feeling it in advance it is setting wheels in motion. In fact, my online program Wishful Thanking is all about the power of being grateful in advance for the things and experiences you want in all areas of your life.
Now let’s take it a step further, with visualization. What is your burning desire? More love, health, wealth, fulfilling work? Perhaps a specific event you want to go really well? Set your timer again and this time, imagine it already is exactly as you wish it to be. Really feel the gratitude and appreciation. They’re among the highest vibration emotions we can experience, so the more time you spend feeling these emotions the stronger your attraction power for fabulous things becomes.
So if you want to really kick-start 2020 and turn the life you have into the one you really want in just minutes a day, try these few simple techniques. You’ll be happy you did!
I am Grateful I can Choose my thoughts!
A vision of being a public speaker becomes more real when you back it up with action – such as joining Toastmasters and competing!