Introduction: Being Happy

Being Happy in an Unhappy World

         In a world filled with turmoil it is sometimes hard to be happy. Especially when you have little to smile about. Bills mount like Mount Everest. Children get into trouble. Work piles up. The economy is in terrible shape. Through all this, you can still be happy and have a positive outlook on life. You can make good things happen in your life. The trick is to recognize the good and appreciate these incidences individually.
         This is part one in a series of articles designed to help you achieve happiness through the power of positive thinking. As an introduction, this article does not go into depth but the upcoming chapters will have step by step instructions on how to improve your circumstances and be happier than ever before.

The Happiness Program
         Being happy is a subject that has been studied for decades. Universities have devoted entire teams of scholars to the subject. However, industry has poured more time, money, and resources than any other group. Why, one might ask, does industry value the “happiness” theory? Simply put, a happy worker is a more productive worker. The happy worker gets more done in less time. The quality of work improves vastly, and more importantly, workers who are happy at home tend to call-in and take sick days a staggering 35% less than workers who admit to being unhappy. The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health also concluded that 93 percent of employees in the study group were more likely to remain at their jobs for more than one year. This statistic alone has saved corporations billions in hiring and training costs.

         The bottom line is that companies who invest in programs designed to help workers achieve optimum mental health also optimize their bottom line profit. While this is all well and good, what about people who work for a company that does not provide these valuable services? The good news is, there is a ton of information online and in your local library that can help.

Being happy
         Happiness and quality of life go hand in hand. A University of Chicago study also shows that with age comes happiness. The older you are, the more likely you are to be happy. That does not infer that you have to be old to be happy. Here are a few tips designed to help you find a comfortable stage of happiness regardless of your age.

Smiling makes you happy.
         Whenever you are feeling blue, smile! The very act of smiling has been shown to improve your state of mind. When we smile, and I’m not talking about a small smirk of a smile. I talking about a big, ear to ear, look like an idiot smile, we send a signal to our brain telling it that something happy is going on. The brain releases chemicals that alter your mood to fit a happy occasion.          
         Try this exercise and see for yourself. Wearing a big smile for sixty seconds will make you feel happier and give your body a burst of energy. It is akin to drinking a six hour energy drink. Wearing a big smile for sixty second will improve your mood and will also affect anyone around you.

One of the best ways to have a great day, (even on a Monday) includes the following steps:

The Five Minute Meditation:          
         When you wake up I the morning, find a quiet spot that you can use without being disturbed and meditate. Use positive affirmations to psyche your brain into achieving your goal. This is a mild form of self-hypnosis. Tell yourself that you will be happy today. You are going to have a great day and good things are going to happen. Perform this technique for at least five minutes. If you pray in the mornings, ask God to give you a fantastic day and then thank Him in advance. Pray with faith. Know that it will happen. This will help convince your subconscious that indeed you will have a fantastic day. It is as easy as that. For more tips on effective meditation, follow the link or see part two of this series.

         Don’t have time to meditate in the morning? That is perfectly okay as well. Simply start thinking positive affirmations as soon as you wake up. Remember to smile that great big grin as you go through your day as this, above all else, will kick start your state of mind into a more positive and happier mode.

Expect A Great Day!
         The mind usually gets what it expects. That is one of the great things about the power of our subconscious mind. It does what you tell it to do. If you are constantly going around expecting your day to be rotten through and through, it probably will be a horrible day for you. That is because you have fed your mind this fact and your mind accepts it and tries to provide you with what you expect. Therefore, expect a great day. Repeatedly tell yourself that today will be a wonderful day. Inform your mind that your day will be filled with surprises and challenges that will make it worthwhile. Tape a great day affirmation to your bathroom mirror, your refrigerator door, the dashboard or rearview mirror in your car, or any place else that you know you will see it. I put mine on my computer screen at home and at work.

Try this happiness technique for a week and watch your life turn around in just a matter of days. What do you have to lose? Oh, by the way, are you still smiling?