What makes you happy?

Think back to the last time you were really happy. What were you doing? How did it feel? And arguably most importantly when was that?

Surprisingly many of us will need to head all the way back to our childhood to find really unadulterated happiness, days where we got to do pretty much what we wanted (within our childlike worlds), and enjoyed it.

So how come we might find this difficult as adults?

There seems to be an assumption amongst us adults that happiness is finite, and something we aim for. Or else it is attached to achieving something like a promotion or getting something like a new car. But do those things really make you 'happy' or is happiness about an awareness of simple pleasures?

To compound this lack of awareness we also seem to feel guilty about expressing our happiness, in case we jinx it. Far better to let people know how 'busy' we are.

So how come we can be busy all of the time but we can't be contented?

So if you are up for the challenge to find a more contented you- follow the steps below.

The first step: identify things in the present that make you happy and contented
The second step: do those things more often
The third step: reflect on how it made you feel
The fourth step: use contentment not 'busy' as your go to adjective for a while.

Comments

Kindness, a simple word with a powerful reach

When was the last time you were intentionally or unintentionally kind to someone else? Is there a 'type' of kindness you demonstrate regularly? To a particular type of person. Is it time to expand your repertoire? Kindness is contagious, essential for genuine human interactions and good for both parties. 'Random Acts of Kindness Org' posit being kind is linked to a decrease in stress, anxiety, depression and even blood pressure (see there website below). So not only does it help someone else but it is also good for us. So if you are up for a challenge you could try embedding the practice of kindness into your everyday. There are many resources for home, schools and businesses in the links below. And don't forget to be kind to yourself! https://kindness.org/ https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

What 10 things do you do well?

We are generally very good at knowing what we need to do better but very very bad at being able to say we do something well. "I should do more exercise." "I could communicate more." "I need to get better at time management." "I should work on my presentation skills." "I need/ should (add your own in here!!!) It is time to put a different perspective on it. After all you didn't get to the ripe old age of (add here whatever age you feel like being), without managing to do some things well, the tricky part is being able to articulate what they are. So grab that coffee, find somewhere quiet and write down/think of 10 things you do well, just 10. Oh and fight the temptation to be glib, so 'I am good at being on facebook' doesn't count, but 'I am good at keeping in touch with people' does! The reality is that remembering and stating what we are good at is much harder than it sounds. We spend most of our time in the ...

Is independently getting to school really so dangerous?

It's been a while I know and what brought me back was a conversation I had this morning, with several parents, about children travelling on public transport and walking to school. I clearly missed the memo which said it was unwise, and unsafe to let a child use a bus, train or their feet to get to school. In fact I was quite shocked about the conversation and so have done some reading. It seems (according to the 'West') parents in WA are far more uncomfortable than our European and British counterparts at letting our children independently get to school. Why? What is it about how we perceive our city and transport system which makes us so? Is Perth really more dangerous than London or Paris? Are our trains so inefficient we risk our child being stranded? Or are we simply worried the physical world is somehow fraught with danger? Dangerous, predatory people exist, they always have and always will, some of them will even catch buses and trains, ...

From Clutter to Clarity

Search This Blog