I’ll be happy when the weather gets warmer…or cooler. I’ll be happy when I retire. Oh gosh, I’ll be especially happy when I win the lotto.

Hang on – Why do you have to wait to be happy?  Why do you have to have things organised in a particular way before you can – be – happy.  Why does the weather have to be just perfect?  Why do you have to have a certain amount in your bank account?

I wonder whether needing to be happy – WHEN, is just a turn of phrase or means something a lot more significant?  Why can’t we just be happy for no reason?

Interestingly, in best-selling author Marci Shirnoff’s book of the same name, “Happy for No Reason”, she affirms her belief that we all can easily and systematically raise our everyday level of happiness.  She quotes statistics that reinforces the premise of her book that happy people are more fulfilled, relaxed and peaceful. They live longer and earn more money.  So just why is it so difficult for us to be happy for no reason?

Many statistics have been touted as to the number of negative thoughts the average person has each day.  Sources quote figures as high as 70-80%.  One of the first books on the subject was written by Reverend Norman Vincent Peale in 1952.   “The Power of Positive Thinking” reports the average person generates 25 – 50,000 thoughts per day. Do the sums. That means most of us have a negative thought about every 41 seconds.  Which in itself isn’t necessarily a problem. The problem occurs when we believe them.

The vast majority of our thoughts are pure nonsense. It appears, we often dwell in the past, or the future.  We obsess about mistakes we might have made, battling guilt, planning ahead or worrying.  It appears, we are constantly drifting into fantasy, & negativity.

Author and Sales Coach, Tom Hopkins declared “Being miserable is a habit; being happy is a habit; and the choice is yours.”

What habit are you choosing?

My brother-in-law has told me on more than one occasion that I have a Pollyanna attitude and I don’t live in the real world.  I don’t necessarily have an unrealistic view of the world and trust me can be cynical when required. I just figure I’m a lot happier when I look through the rose coloured glasses he accuses me of wearing rather than giving much credit to my negative thoughts.

I’VE LEARNT – To be happy for no reason to disregard the All-or-Nothing thinking.  I mean the type of thinking that doesn’t allow for a grey area or middle ground.  The type of thinking that distorts the truth and magnifies stressors making problems seem bigger than they really are.

I’VE LEARNT – To be happy for no reason to change where I place my focus.  A recipe for unhappiness is to gloss over the positive events in your life, and hold a magnifying glass to the negative.  You may have ten things go right but you only notice the one that has gone wrong. How often do you only notice the red lights that hold you up and miss the green lights that provide free flow?  How often do you cling to a negative viewpoint by disqualifying solutions with a “Yeah but…” response?

I’VE LEARNT – To be happy for no reason to delete the SHOULD statements.  We set ourselves up for failure by thinking this way as SHOULD promotes self-imposed expectations leading to feelings of unhappiness.

Ask the average person and they will say they strive to find and keep happiness.  You know those feelings of joy, warmth and contentment.  But nobody can by jolly all the time…part from maybe Santa.  But I’m sure you have noticed some individuals seem more fulfilled than others.  Studies have shown that happiness has little to do with what we have but rather our outlook in life.

So – To be happy for no reason – be optimistic – be thankful for the little things that make life easier for each day.

To be happy for no reason – be yourself – embrace your personality, your mistakes, and importantly YOU. Become comfortable in your own skin.

And this one is the easiest– to be happy for no reason – SMILE – whether you are happy or not – Smiling reinforces happiness.

Groucho Marx was renowned for his positive outlook, quoted…

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”

Be happy when you wake in the morning.

Be happy with what each day brings.

But most importantly…be happy for NO reason

 

What difference would it make in your life to Own Your Personal Power and be able to choose the best response in every situation?

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