Find Out How Happy You Are! Answer these questions........

What do you think your main purpose in life is :

a) To be all that you can be

b) To make as much money as you can

c) To be useful

d) To be compassionate

e) To look as good as you can

f) To matter

g) To love and be loved

h) To count

i) To be at the top of your field

j)To stand for something

k)To be powerful

l)To have made some difference that you lived at all!

Do YOU believe that:

a)reaching your goals and manifesting your dreams will bring you happiness OR

b)that community, service to others or making a difference are required for personal happiness.

Did money, fame, possessions and status bring Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and Elvis happiness? Or did seeking power bring some of the worlds nameless leaders CLOSER to their people or make them hated and persecuted?

What do YOU think about the following statements?

a )Happiness is a combination of meaning and pleasure. We need what we’re experiencing to be meaningful.”

b) Being content requires living from within, putting more focus on personal values, and loving others.

c) Happiness is more about internal qualities than external stuff.

d) It’s more about inclusion than separation.

Wouldn´t you agree that happiness isn’t something you search for or go after, it’s a moment by moment decision you make. Anyone can become a happier person because happiness begets happiness. .

Sooo... Why not CREATE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE and make your own intentional choices!!

Each morning tell yourself, “I’m happy today.”
Take daily responsibility for your own happiness
Try making a conscious decision to enjoy the next 24 hours, then the next, and the next.
If nothing else ever changes in your life, know that in spite of EVERYTHING, you can be happy.

Sooo.......Make a commitment to happiness, be happy now!

How good are you at self-acceptance?

Try and admire your uniqueness. Appreciate your magnificent talents and enormous wisdom and use them to make the world a better place. Stop chasing happiness.
When you quit stressing about a better job, a bigger home, a SMALLER body, then your own joy will bubble to the surface.

Remember: Happiness isn’t something you chase or become in a distant future. Happiness is all that you are right now.

Invest in your Family...

The best investment you can make is in the relationships you have with your family, friends, colleagues, and community.

Soooo.....Communicate. Spend time together. Participate in volunteering, a feel-good activity. As you enrich the lives of others you enrich your own. Strong connections to others increases your OWN well- being. Chasing happiness causes you to miss the happiness right under your nose. Why not extend love to others today. Notice how good it makes you feel!!

Do you practice living in a state of appreciation?

Learning to be grateful throughout the day will change the way you interpret life. It changes your brain and opens your heart.

Sooo.....Write down your grattitude list and help solidify it in your brain.The MORE you express gratitude, the more you find to be grateful for. Happiness isn’t acquiring something or in some fun event. Gratitude is found in the present moment and then happiness FOLLOWS!

Try dropping grievances and resentments...

FORGIVING is giving up being a victim. It turns ‘poor me’ into ‘free me.’ We create our own suffering, stress, and misery by our need to be right. When we hold on to resentment, we can miss the PRESENT by reliving stories of the past. Happiness lives in a loving heart and a healed past.

Sooooo......Decide to see things DIFFERENTLY.

Don’t worry about HOW to forgive, instead CHOOSE to be a forgiving person!

Enjoy your life.

CREATE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE to ENJOY doing the things you love. Don’t allow the pursuit of a dream spoil your time to play and have fun.

Soooo.... Be spontaneous, lighten up and laugh. UNTIE yourself from technology. Leave your electronics at home. NEVER underestimate the power of creating good times for yourself. Get connected. Get to KNOW what inspires YOU and supports YOU

Soooo... How about getting strength from a daily Spiritual practice. You could draw, meditate, sing, write, spend time in nature or do yoga. When we feel Connected and Grounded, we rush less, do less, and desire LESS. We become happy with our lives exactly how it is in THIS moment.
Spiritual happiness allows you to squeeze all the joy you possibly can out of everyday. There is no OTHER time, there is no OTHER place.

soooo......find happiness right here, right now.

Celebrate your life.

Celebrate your everyday growth and progress. Validate yourself by being your own cheerleader and tooting your own horn.!!!!

Sooo... RECOGNIZE your accomplishments big and small. Don’t wait or rely on the approval of others. Celebrate that you have your basic needs met. You are worthy of all life has to offer. Know it, own it, celebrate it!

Life as they say is not a dress- rehearsal....This is the main event!!

Sooo...... participate in it FULLY!!!

Researchers have found that people are happier being with others, than being alone. When we are with others, we become more alive, social, and care-free. In turn others want to be with us and near us.

Sooo..... As a result, happiness spirals Upwards.

I’m all for that..... you coming along for the ride?

DO YOU FIND CLEANING A CHORE AND A BORE?? (gentlemen this is for you TOO!!)

Wouldn´t you agree that everyone would rather do ANYTHING at all EXCEPT clean the house!! Time spent cleaning feels like time WASTED that could be used doing something MORE fun.!! When cleaning is viewed as a CHORE AND A BORE - instead of as an ASPECT of family life, the person stuck with cleaning can end up feeling imprisoned!!

Soooo.. Why not CREATE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE .. and spend some time deciding what you HATE about cleaning and then use these tips to EMBRACE housecleaning as something that can become a good HABIT!

Cleaning supplies!

Keep a LARGE supply of QUALITY cleaning solutions that work well and can be used CONSISTENTLY. Purchase sponges, cloths, brushes, dusters, and a vacuum cleaner that are sturdy and will last for years. Buying good QUALITY supplies will get rid of one FRUSTRATING aspect of cleaning the house.

Storage

Designate certain areas for items that are used MOST OFTEN. When EVERY item has its proper place, cleaning is EASIER and the home appears to be well-maintained. Teach the children (AND YOUR PARTNER FOR THAT MATTER!) where their toys, books, and clothes MUST be kept and ENCOURAGE them to participate in putting things away.

Bite-sized tasks

One major reason cited for not cleaning the house is the THOUGHT of the OVERWHELMING tasks that must be completed. Sooo....break down EVERY task into manageable steps that can be completed in smaller increments of time. When other MORE APPEALING activities must be postponed to clean the house, it´s the CLEANING which will be delayed and go unfinished!!

Daily routine

Tidy up the area near the television as FAMILY activity at the end of each day.!! When everyone takes their OWN belongings out of the room and puts them away, the room is ready for the next use. Working TOGETHER to clean this room will build POSTIVE maintenance habits that will spread to other areas of the house.

Final task of each activity

At the end of a meal, clean up the kitchen so that the area is clean for the next use. Whenever a CRAFT project is completed, clean the area and put everything away. At the end of EACH day, hang up jackets, put away toys, and throw away the junk that is lying around DONT HOARD THINGS!!. The house will appear clean in the morning as the family is getting ready to greet the day.

Weekly routine

Designate one or two hours EACH day to completing some tasks. Instead of using ALL of Saturday to complete the cleaning, set up a cleaning SCHEDULE where each room is cleaned every week. Choose a day to address each child’s room. Designate another day to clean the bathrooms.. When small areas receive attention EACH day, the ENTIRE house will be cleaned each week without using weekend time.

Help from others

Some MAJOR tasks require help from family members and others require some PROFESSIONAL cleaning assistance. Hire someone to clean the carpet throughout the home or at least hire a MACHINE!! Designate two Saturdays each year to clean and straighten the garage and then throw a party at the end of the day to reward everyone.(preferably in the garden!!)

Incremental progress

Initial efforts to establish a cleaning schedule will be probably be met with some RESISTANCE, but each SUCCESSIVE week of cleaning WILL result in progress. PERSEVERE with the new schedule and notice that each week the chores are taking less time. As you notice areas that need improved, the house will become cleaner with less effort.

Fun is required!

Listen to your favourite music, an audio book, or a great radio program while completing the cleaning chores. Passing the time while listening to some music will help EVERYONE to remember that cleaning CAN be seasoned with FUN!

No Excuses!

RESIST the urge to let yourself avoid the cleaning chores for even ONE day. The life of a family is greatly IMPROVED when the house is not cluttered and dirty. PROCRASTINATION only causes stress!! Break down each chore and decide to spend some time EVERY day working through the clutter and cleaning at least ONE area. When EVERY family member participates in cleaning the house, each person becomes more AWARE of the EFFORT required to manage the home.

BATTLES over putting everything away will be eliminated when cleaning takes less time each week. TODDLERS learn quickly and what do TODDLERS turn into? They turn into CHILDREN who will realise that keeping their own belongings put away will result in LESS time to clean their rooms later. Giving the CHILDREN a good example of maintaining a clean home will HELP THEM and YOU when they become TEENAGERS and they WILL understand later that you have given them a lifelong gift which they will appreciate as adults!!!

Sooooo... What are you waiting for? WRITE YOUR SCHEDULE, TURN UP THE MUSIC AND GET CRACKING!!!

IT´s NEVER too late!!! (and teenagers can always be BRIBED!!)

Drop your Fears by ACTING AS IF you have NO Fear!!

Would you agree that all of our worries and fears are actually LEARNT!!

We are not born with fears. Sooo...our fears can therefore be UNLEARNT by practicing self discipline repeatedly with regard to fear until it basically just goes away!!

Some of the most common fears that we experience, which often sabotage all hope for success, are the fears of: FAILURE, POVERTY, LOSS OF MONEY, LOSS OF LOVE, LOSS OF JOBS, FEAR OF EMBARASSMENT or RIDICULE. In fact some people fear REJECTION and CRITICISM of any kind.. some of us can fear the loss of RESPECT or ESTEEM of others.. These fears cause AVOIDANCE of risk of any kind and rejection of OPPORTUNITY when it is presents itself!

How many people do you know that are so afraid of failure that they are almost paralyzed when it comes to taking any chances at all?!

BEING FEARFUL CAN PREVENT YOU FROM TAKING ACTION

The most common reaction in a fear situation is the attitude of, “I can’t!” This is the fear of failure and loss that stops us from taking action. These are many physical results of the inhibitive habit , which we can ALL experience from time to time. Whenever a person is in the grip of fear, he feels like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. This fear paralyzes action. It often shuts down the brain and causes the individual to revert to the “fight-or-flight” reaction. 

Fear is a TERRIBLE emotion that undermines our happiness and can hold us back throughout our lives.

Soooo.. WHAT TO DO?

TRY VISUALIZING YOURSELF AS UNAFRAID!!

By VISUALIZING yourself performing with confidence and competence in an area where you are nervous oR afraid, your VISUAL image will eventually be accepted by your SUB CONSCIENCE mind as instructions for your performance.

Sooo .. the way you see yourself and think about yourself, is eventually ALTERED by feeding your mind these POSITIVE mental pictures of yourself performing at your BEST. By using the “act as if” method, you walk, talk, and carry yourself EXACTLY as you would if you were completely FEARLESS in a particular situation. You stand up straight, smile, move quickly and confidently, and in every respect ACT AS IF you already had the courage that you desire.

Think about this......“if you FEEL a certain way, you will ACT in a manner consistent with that feeling.”  But if you ACT in a manner consistent with the FEELING you woul prefer to feel, even if you don’t actually FEEL it, then it is likely that you will CREATE the feeling that is consistent with your actions! In other words...You develop the courage you want by disciplining yourself repeatedly to do the thing you fear until that fear eventually disappears—and it will.

Sooo.. FACE YOUR FEARS

Your ability to confront, deal with, and act IN SPITE OF YOUR FEARS OR WORRIES, is the key to happiness and success. One of the best exercises you can practice is to identify a person or situation in your life of which you are afraid and resolve to deal with that fear situation immediately.

Don´t let it make you unhappy for another minute. Resolve to confront the situation or person and drop the fear!

MOVE TOWARDS THE FEAR

When you identify a fear and discipline yourself to move TOWARDS it, it grows smaller and more manageable. What’s more, as your fears grow smaller, your CONFIDENCE grows.  Soon, your fears lose their CONTROL over YOU. On the other hand, when you back away from a fear-inducing situation or person, your fear grows larger and larger.  Soon it can DOMINATE your thinking and feeling, preoccupy you during the day, and often keep you awake at night.

DEAL WITH THE FEAR DIRECTLY

Soooo.....the only way to deal with a fear is to address it head-on.

Remind yourself that “denial” is not a river in Egypt!

The natural tendency of many of us, is to DENY that we have a problem caused by fear of some kind.  We´re afraid of confronting it. In turn, it becomes a major source of stress, unhappiness, and psychosomatic illness. Be willing to deal with the situation or person directly. 

When we force ourselves to face ANY fear-inducing situation in our LIVES ,self-esteem goes up, self-respect increases, and our sense of personal pride grows. Eventually you ll reach the point in life where you are not afraid of anything.(except spiders of course)!!