When asked, “What do you want in life?” most people say they want to be happy. Although many might think money, an experience, a person or material item might make them happy, once they get it, the happiness doesn’t usually last — the ‘shiny’ wears off after a while. But, if you can generate happiness from within, rather than relying on some external thing, you will feel more empowered, healthy and confident — and this can last your whole lifetime. One simple way to do this is to create habits for happiness.
When it comes to your happiness, having good habits that support a positive mental attitude and general well being is incredibly important. As a Life & Energy Coach for 15 years, I have found that being happy is a state of mind that you generate, and there is a mental approach you can take to create your own happiness. Everyone has a happiness set-point, and they will return to that original point, regardless of trauma or winning the lotto for example, within about a year following that experience. The key is to notice where you are and implement a habit that helps you make a change for the better. With a little consistency and discipline, it is easy to develop good habits that will raise your set-point for happiness.
Initially, it helps to know what bad habits need replacing and what good ones you want to implement. Most of us run old tapes in our head that say, “I’m not good/smart, rich/thin/or pretty enough.” Although you might not be consciously thinking it, it plays in the background, below your radar, and shows up when you recall a time you did not do well or someone said or did something to you and you came to that conclusion. If you can recognize what you’re saying and/or feeling, you can implement a happiness habit to shift that unpleasant leftover feeling. Once you have cleared that limiting belief or negative feeling, you can refocus your attention on something positive — perhaps a happiness technique.
The key to clearing old negative patterns is understanding how your mind and heart work together. Your memories form the tapestry of your belief system. All of your thoughts (good and bad) generate chemicals and hormones that take only 17 seconds to become an emotion (via heartmath.org). Once you have a strong emotion about something, it becomes a magnet within you, growing and attracting more of the same vibration and confirming what you believe to be true. For example, if I thought my hair was ugly and believed that I’m not very attractive, I would have memories that prove that and I might attract someone that says something about my hair that I interpret as the limiting belief, “I’m not pretty enough.” However, I can also choose to think, “Well, it’s not that bad — I had a bad haircut, but it doesn’t take long for hair to grow out, so I’ll wear a hat until it looks better.” I can also choose to be grateful that I have any hair at all, or that I have stylish hats that allow me to explore my creative side. These thoughts leave me feeling better about myself and pave the way for more positive thinking. As New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of Tut.com Mike Dooley says, “Thoughts become things, so choose them wisely.”
There are many different approaches and techniques to creating happiness, but making them a habit is what makes a difference. Implementing happiness habits can help you develop a positive mental attitude or approach to your life that can really change how your life occurs for you. It can bring your great joy, as well as lift the fog of cloudy thinking, or heal the wounded heart.
If you’d like to learn more, join me for my upcoming class, “Habits for Happiness” , on Monday, July 10th at 7pm at Peoples Wellness Center North, where we will take charge of our own happiness, and begin integrating new habits for happiness and empowered living.
Brenda Young, ACC, LMT is an experienced life, energy and relationship coach, energy healer, massage therapist and nutritional herbalist. With an education and background in health care and energy medicine, Brenda has been blessed with the gift of being able to feel where you hold resistance in your energy field. She opens the door to help you release that stuck energy, caused by old beliefs, anchored emotions and unsupportive thought patterns and feelings, leaving you feeling lighter, clear, and fully present.