A Little Happiness
I have never been one to want just a little happiness. I’ve wanted a whole lot of happiness! I want happiness to be contagious to people around me. I actually focus on happiness. Happiness is what prompted me to chose the word vivacious as my focus-for-living word. Living a vivacious life makes me VERY happy. Vivacious like champagne, like dark chocolate, like big balloons, like surprise we’re flying to Paris, like I’ve booked you a spa weekend, like belly laughs till you’re gasping for air!
My life has not been perfect, painless, or easy. I’ve scrapped to make things work, hustled long hours, and sacrificed to earn every dollar I’ve ever been paid. I’ve chosen. Yes, I chose not to focus on the heartache, struggle and disappointment that has crossed my life path. I am determined to plant my feet firmly in the happiness camp. I learned that no one was responsible for my happiness, but me. Happiness is a mind adventure for me. I realized a long time ago that no one could control what I thought. If something made me unhappy, well I changed the circumstances I was experiencing. Just because someone did something that hurt me or made me upset, I didn’t have to allow them to control my mind. My mind is MINE! Both my parents told me when I was a young girl that I could do anything. I believed them! Since I can do anything, my mind is mine, I can determine what makes me happy and do it!
Happiness is up to you and no one else. I created this visual reminder exercise to get me through the tough times:
- Stretch out your arm.
- Face your palm away from your face to stop outside influence – you have no control from your palm outward.
- Face your palm toward your face, you have ALL the control from your palm to your body! You have control of your thoughts.
Well, I have now learned that happiness is a big deal and not everyone has figured out how to be happy. In fact, a gentleman by the name of Shawn Achor studied happiness at Harvard University for twelve years! I first heard him speak at the 2015 eWomenNetwork Entrepreneur Conference & Expo. I felt like a bobble head doll the whole time he was presenting his research findings about happiness.
I couldn’t keep what he found a secret and not share it. I’ve been leading the Chattanooga Lean In – WomenGroundBreakers Circle events and wanted to share what I learned from Shawn. Hope you can find your happiness and share it with others. Check out the presentation I shared about happiness in the slideshare below.
