Let's Get Happy

It's been proven that having the desire to learn about happiness has a powerful effect. Dr. Michael Fordyce, author of The Psychology of Happiness, conducted the first experiment on happiness. The results showed that students who were asked to study the habits of happy people actually increased their happiness and life satisfaction by simply learning about the subject. However, it has also been shown that it must be something you habitually do over time; not a day or two here and there.

A lot of people struggle with short-tempers and can be quick to talk without thinking. At times, we can all relate to these feelings. The ability to respond to people and occurrences has a large effect on the outcome of situations. We should all try to respond to events in a way that will support our well-being.

This is a concept that I came across from Marci Shimoff: 

·      E + R = O (Events+Response=Outcome)

When we can't change an event we can, instead, change our response toward it. For example, I have road rage but I can't change five o'clock traffic or a car accident. Instead of sitting there yelling and punching the steering wheel (I totally don't do this), I turn up my music and jam until the inevitable happens; traffic starts moving. For some people, overcoming little ticks such as road rage can give you a feeling of power because you took charge of your feelings and didn't let it put you in a bad mood. Imagine some of the worst situations you can possibly think of: prison, being kidnapped, living in an unhappy home, etc. In these situations, your freedom to do as you please may be revoked, but no one can ever take away your freedom of choosing your attitude. Food for thought, huh?

If anyone is interested, The Power of Now is a great book written by Eckhart Tolle that discusses how becoming aware of our own power can get us away from choosing the same bad situations over and over again (unhealthy relationships, different men/women, same problems). Such bad habits can be as basic as complaining, blaming or feeling ashamed. The key is to not be the victim or act like a victim.

But I won't elaborate. Check it out. Good books make good friends on rainy days!