Creating a happiness toolkit to ride the waves of life.
Creating a happiness toolkit to ride the waves of life.
We often believe that our ‘best’ moments in life are our happiest – when things external to us are favourable, an event that brings joy to many.
This is not actually the case.
The best moments in our lives are usually when we are experiencing something we have not experienced before, or where we are about to ‘step into’ something that will stretch or challenge us; or, something that will contribute to the greater good.
In these moments, we may not feel happy, or peaceful, or a sense of wellbeing. Rather, we may feel... fear, or excitement, or uncertainty.
It is not the feeling we have in the moment that brings us happiness!
It is the result of how we build character, through overcoming setbacks and challenges that makes us more fulfilled human beings.
Happiness is about living the most fulfilling life possible – a life in which experiences are rich, and full of a range of emotions. A life where we can create an environment for continual growth and contribution for self and others.
A significant element of a positive mindset speaks to the meaning we place on our ‘unhappy’ and ‘happy’ moments, and how they intertwine to form patterns that create the way in which we live our lives.
A positive mindset is not just focused on the self. It has many applications for improving intimate relationships, families, and the people around us. The principles of positivity can be applied to increase satisfaction and productivity in schools and organisations, as well.
The richer the range of our emotions, the more we can bring to our lives and to those of the lives around us.
Happiness is not defined by smiling, joyful, “positive all the time” emotion, happiness is a sense of accomplishment, where we have experienced challenge, contribution and come through the other side to achieve success.
To help us in our pursuit of happiness, a state of enjoying the richness of our life and all that it offers, we can build a happiness toolkit.
A Happiness Toolkit is something we can draw on when our resilience is low, when we feel like nothing can make this situation feel better, a toolkit for those times when we just want to give in and give up.
The practical application of a positive mindset is all about creating our own Happiness toolkit to ride the waves of life. The toolkit can contain references for all types of emotions, ideas for moving our emotional states, reference our emotional triggers, practical activities that can enhance our strengths and ideas for supporting those around us who find life’s journey a challenge.
We can easily add to our Happiness Toolkit by having some simple ‘Happiness Stimulants’ on hand:
· Write down some happy memories
· Something you enjoy doing with family
· Print out and carry with you a couple of feel good stories
· Keep a gratitude journal
· A brag book of happy snaps
· Hug your child/pet
· Funny cartoons/memes
Happiness can be achieved. It is achieved by training the mind.
We begin with ourselves and seek to understand what triggers the states that we do not want in our lives.
What do we do that gets us results we do not like, how do we interact with others, how do we impact on them?
When we turn our focus to understanding ourselves and how we impact on the world – instead of the other way around, we begin to understand that we can change.
We begin to see how our thoughts impact and drive our experience of life.
“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate.”