Anyone who seems truly happy can be considered at best, naïve and at worst, certifiable. How can we be cheerful when there are deadly viruses / uncontrollable forest fires / child slavery / domestic violence / plastic filling the oceans / corrupt politicians / tigers disappearing off the planet?
It’s all too much. What do I focus on? What is more important? How can I help when I can barely get through the day? I can’t even pick up my child from school on time so tackling climate change seems a little out of my league.
Despite the world going crazy all around us, we CAN simply decide to be rebelliously cheerful. This is not just a ‘nice-to-have’. I believe deliberately striving for more joy is absolutely crucial to the survival of the planet.
But where do we start? How do we encourage a bit of sparkle back into our daily lives?
Here are three happiness habits guaranteed to bring cheer to your day…
1) Happiness Habit – Thank Your Bed
I thank my bed. Yes, I thank my bed. I got this tip from Louise Hay, motivational author and founder of the publisher, Hay House. Thanking my bed is both ridiculous and profound. Ridiculous as I am thanking an inanimate object. I get a little giggle from doing it, which puts me in a great mood. It is also profound as I realize how fortunate I am to be sleeping on a bed each night. I find that most things that are worth pursuing in life are both ridiculous and profound.
I also thank my bed because it is a good way to start the day. Like many things in life, particular care should be taken with the start and end of things, with take offs and landings, and thanking your bed is a good way to ‘take off’.
2) Happiness Habit – Wish Happiness
Something you can do that takes ten seconds and spreads a little kindness is to ‘wish happiness’. Google pioneer and best-selling author, Chade-Meng Tan describes how to do this to Tim Ferriss for his book, Tools of Titans.
When at work, home or out and about, identify someone and just think, ‘I wish for you to be happy’. Repeat with a second, third or tenth person throughout the day if you want to. Being on the giving end of a kind thought is a happy reward for you.
In Tools of Titans, a woman describes how doing this kindness practice once per hour for her work day produced her happiest day at work in seven years. Yes, a total of 80 seconds of wishing others to be happy made the work she detested bearable, even enjoyable, for the first time in many years.
3) Happiness Habit – Shake That Ass!
Put on a song and dance to it for one minute. Some call this ‘a one-minute dance party’. Speaker and ultimate performance specialist, Joseph McClendon states that when you move your body you change your attitude. He calls this ‘asstitude’. Stand up, move your ass and forget about your problems for a minute.
It’s been proven that dancing helps you to rewire your brain into a more productive and happier state. Put some alarms or reminders on your phone to ‘shake that ass’ today.
Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles
Just deciding to face each day with cheer, to show up, to strive for happiness makes you one of the remarkable few, in a world where default living and stress is the norm. It is boldly seeing all the trauma and suffering yet not letting it suck you in and consume you as well.
If you need some methods to add a bit of sparkle to your day you can’t beat these three happiness habits – thanking your bed, silently wishing others to be happy and dancing for one minute.
And know that when the world gets you down that nobody, not a single soul on the planet, can continue to be frustrated while saying ‘bubbles’ in an angry voice.
If you enjoyed this blog post you will LOVE LOVE LOVE my book, Rediscover Your Sparkle. Find the ebook FREE on your favorite online store – https://books2read.com/rediscoveryoursparkle.
Plus check out my other blog posts around this topic, including:
3 Serious Grounds for Prioritizing Fun in Your Life
3 Utterly Stupid Rationalizations for Why We Postpone Happiness
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