Today I am happy. My children had lunch with me at home with their spouses. They do this every Sunday (if they have no prior commitments). Rightfully, I can claim success in having raised two wonderful children (the joy of every parent.
And I am happy indulging in my passion for writing, too. Am I successful with it? Well, if you define "success" in monetary terms, the answer is "No," at least not just yet. But if you define it from my satisfaction of being able to reach out to people who want to find happiness and success in life, the answer is "Yes." Whether you take my posts seriously or not, that is entirely your choice.
Just like choosing to be happy.
Yes, happiness is a choice which, invariably leads to success if you have the right mindset. But before I go into that, allow me to lay down these facts:
- Happiness is a necessary ingredient for success, not the other way around.
Ever wished to win the lotto so you can be happy? Forget it. Statistics show that most lotto winners are soon back where they were - poor and miserable.
- Happiness is genetics and environment
You cannot change your genes but you can reprogram your brain to think positive and happy thoughts despite the environment you are in. Or, better still, change your environment.
How?
Simple things to develop positive, successful thoughts:
First: Believe that you can be happy and successful.
"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." - Norman Vincent Peale
There is something magical about believing. It lifts your spirits up, gives you a boost of energy, and what could be a dark and gloomy outlook will turn rosy, sprinkled with a high dose of hope. If everything is falling apart, your spirits are down and nothing seems to work in your favor, cling on to that belief, belief in yourself. That will be the only thing that can pull you through.
Second: Think positive.
Every relationship, business and educational outcome improves when the brain is positive. And you can train your brain to think positive with these five simples steps. Call these the 21-day experiment. For 21 consecutive days, do the following:
1. Write down three new things you are grateful for each day.
This will train you to be grateful, the essence of happiness. Research shows that this will increase your optimism and your success rates significantly.
2. For 2 mins a day, describe in writing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours.
This will help transform you from a task-based thinker to a meaning-based thinker who scans the world for meaning, instead of an endless to-do list.
This exercise is geared towards increasing your work happiness.
3. Exercise for at least 10 mins a day. This will train your brain to believe your behavior matters.
This, in turn, causes a cascade of success thoughts throughout the rest of the day.
Besides, exercise has a lot of positive health benefits you can hardly afford to ignore..
4. For 2 mins each day, meditate.
Meditation is the art of focusing 100% of your attention in one area, coupled with deep and controlled breathing. This is difficult at first but becomes easy with practice. I do this when I have sleep difficulties at night.
This practice is known to give a myriad of health benefits, including increased concentration, decreased anxiety and a general feeling of happiness.
This will also help you undo the negative effects of having to do a lot of things in a day.
5. First thing in the morning, write a quick email to a friend or associate, thanking or praising him or her.
Research shows that this practice increases your social support which is the largest predictor of happiness.
These tips are not just taken out of thin air. These comprise the core of Shawn Achor's recommendations for harnessing your happiness into an advantage for success.
You might find them too far out, zany or even too much of a hassle. So is finding happiness and success. But considering the stakes involved, they are the easiest things to do and they cost you nothing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Dabon
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