30 Simple Secrets to Happiness

I didn't find the list of all 30 secrets to happiness, but I like the 5 listed in the article below.

• "Experiment to find out what makes you happy" – try new things to keep life fresh and your mind sharp.
• "Focus on gratitude" - reminds me of yoga.
• "Take time to savor life" – stop and smell the roses, simplify your life…
• "Stop watching and reading depressing news" – does that include all the health threats (e.g., tofu) listed on mercola.com?
• "Laugh now!" – I use this when a car cuts me off while I'm biking.  It really works to reduce my tension and aggravation.  I should try it next time the kids are bickering.

--pws

30 Simple Secrets to Happiness
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/02/30-simple-secrets-to-happiness.aspx

What are you really looking for in life?

Once you look deeper, beyond your desire for a bigger house or a fancier car, you will most likely discover that what you're truly searching for is not more "stuff," but more happiness, more joy.

It may seem some people are born with enjoyment for life programmed into their hardwiring, whereas for others finding happiness seems an elusive goal. But, like any programming, yours can be changed.

Here are just a few of the 30 simple tips that can help you rewrite your life program into one that is filled with joy.

1. Experiment to find out what makes you happy. If you haven't taken the time to explore what brings joy to your life on a regular basis, you may realize you don't even know what brings you happiness anymore. If that's the case, try out different things, including some you've never done before. The answers just might surprise you.

2. Focus on gratitude. Incorporate a daily gratitude session where you identify something you are grateful for. You can express your gratitude in any number of ways: silently say "thank you," call or email the person you want to thank, or devise your own gratitude ritual – maybe try out "The Gratitude Dance!"

3. Take time to savor life. Resolve to cut down on the rushing from one thing to the next – delegate or say no – to reduce your number of appointments and daily tasks.

4. Stop watching and reading depressing news. In the beginning you may worry that you'll miss something, but think about it – when was the last time you truly needed to know the things covered in the daily news. Being selective about the information you expose yourself to can have an incredible impact on your level of personal happiness.

5. Laugh now! When you're in the middle of a mess, look around you and realize the absurdity of the moment. Remind yourself that a year from now, no one will care, and you'll probably be laughing about it anyway, so why wait? Laugh about it now!

Happiness is important for so many reasons, beyond the obvious fact that most people would prefer to be happy rather than not. There is little doubt about the powerful effects positive emotions can have on your physical health and well-being. At the same time, there is equally little doubt about the effects that negative emotions can have on you.

Happiness will not only protect your body from stressors that can lead to coronary heart disease, but it can even boost your immune system's ability to fight off the common cold.

But, I've realized that for many, "happiness" is far too nebulous a term. Do you struggle to define an activity that truly makes you happy? If so, I want to share with you a new definition that nearly everyone can easily grasp and apply.

"Happiness" can more accurately be identified by your brain as whatever gets you excited.

It is what makes you JUMP out of bed in the morning with eager anticipation to start your day. Once you identify that activity, whatever it is, you can start to focus on it, and structure you life to do more of that.

If you can become happier, you will help build a better world. If you can improve your ability to address stresses and negative emotions, you're more likely to be able to do the things that no one would claim are trivial. For me, this is easy. My mission is to catalyze the change of the entire fatally flawed health paradigm. I truly love what I do, and that is why "working" long hours every week continues to be a source of happiness in my life.

And, speaking of work, and hence money, is it true that money can't bring you happiness?

I believe that to say that wealth can NEVER bring you happiness is too simple a statement, because there are a number of factors involved. Financial wealth, when achieved through providing appropriate value to your culture can provide enormous joy and satisfaction.

However, when you achieve wealth through mechanisms such as winning the lottery or being catapulted into the media spotlight, the value may not be entirely authentic, and thus the reward of wealth is completely disproportionate to your level of happiness. Many of today's media celebrities exhibit this type of lottery winner effect, where their riches have absolutely no impact on their level of happiness.

But, essentially, it's not the money in and of itself that brings either happiness or unhappiness, but rather it's HOW your wealth is obtained that is the crux of the equation. 

With respect to happiness, financial wealth is a side effect of the journey to pursue it. But it is the journey itself that provides the joy and happiness. So if you cheat or take a shortcut, you will probably not achieve the happiness you seek.

Building positive emotions through humor is one of the most natural things you can do to bring joy to your work, and broaden your view of this wonderful world in which we live. So, when things go wrong, why not indulge in the instant gratification of laughing now, rather than later?

In my opinion, happiness isn't so much something you strive for but a spontaneous natural result of pursuing your God-given mission in life -- and following a natural lifestyle that allows your body to function at its highest possible level.

That is in large part what the Total Health Progam is all about.

Dumb Little Man

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