Dedicated to all my teachers
No matter how healthy, good looking, successful and rich you are, you still feel the need to push a bit harder, postpone your happiness by a bit more, just to be really happy some other day. This being a human nature, we keep pushing our happy days forward again and again, as if our time in this life has no limits. Well, it does. And before it’s too late, take time to be happy right here and right now.
Here’s how!
Too simple for a happiness recepy? Try it, then ask yourself again!
You see, the physiology of smiling is such that no matter how depressed you are, just forcing yourself to smile for 15-30 seconds is guaranteed to make you feel a bit better.
If you’re not used to smiling, it’s going to take some practice, but the longer you keep forcing your smile, the easier and more natural your smiling will get.
Start slow and train yourself to smile for just few seconds every day. If it feels like the worst moment of your day and you can allow yourself a few minutes alone, go somewhere and force yourself to smile.
Don’t think about it! Don’t try to make your problems seem less important than they are. There is no need to analyze anything. Just smile. It’s a physical thing - smile and look out for the signs of feeling better.
Now that you’re smiling, it’s time to learn another very effective way to immediately feel happy: being thankful.
We all have so much to be thankful for, yet the routine of our days make us take it all for granted. There’s so much going on that we simply do not have the time to be thankful anymore.
If something happens in a favorable way, we simply move on as if this had absolutely no way of going wrong. We jump right at the next challenge, tackle the next task and spend our days repeatedly ignoring all the lucky moments and positive changes we should be so thankful for.
Every day, there are many things to be thankful for. Make it your new habit to notice these things and be grateful.
One of the easiest ways to be thankful is to turn your attention to your family. These are the people you love most, and they are the ones who love you back and care so much about you. Yet, they are usually to get the least of your attention when it comes to being thankful.
You get so used to having a family that you don’t notice the magic of being needed and loved anymore. You think they’re going to be right beside you forever, and you somehow know you’ll always get the chance to show them how much you care and to thank them if you want to. Well, don’t you think it’s about time you actually do it?
If it’s been a while since you thanked your wife or husband for just being who they are, for loving you or for doing so much for your kids, they will probably laugh at you in disbelief. It’s going to take a while for them to understand that you are serious and truly thankful. But once they do, you’ll be amazed how much better it will make you all feel.
Whether you’re angry at someone you used to be friends with, or simply mad at yourself for doing or not doing something, and especially if it’s a close relative of yours which you can’t seem to talk to anymore - learn how to forgive.
The sooner to forgive, the quicker you will break free from anger, hatred and every other negative emotion which controls you when you have a bad feeling towards someone or something.
One of the most important things to understand about forgiveness is that you do it not for the person you’re trying to forgive, but for yourself. Forgiving someone means letting this person be himself or herself, and leaving in the past all your negative feelings towards this person.
Quite often, the person you’re angry with is not even aware there’s still something left unsaid or undone between the two of you. This person has since moved on to a different life, and is focused on new challenges and positive changes they bring. By still feeling angry and not forgiving this person, you’re making it harder for yourself and yourself only.
Even if you’re the kindest person, there are still going to be people and things you will need to forgive. Take the time to do this, and enjoy feeling better about these people and about yourself.
That’s it - here you have the three wonderfully simple ways for you to be happy here and now. Don’t leave any of these steps for some later time. It’s going to take you a few seconds to get started, and you will immediately feel the results. Your happiness is in your own hands, so take the action now and be happy!
