How to be happy :)

When you're six, some blue hair gel will do the trick.  Simple!

As we get older and more discerning, we learn to want more.  "I can only be happy when (car, boat, relationship, promotion, holiday .......) happens."  How useful is this way of thinking?

I have a friend who, when faced with a situation where success is almost certain, will say (with a stern expression on his face) "Yes, it may happen, but I don't want to get excited about it."  If pushed about the likelihood, he may say, "OK, it is pretty certain, but I still don't want to get excited."  

Don't want to get excited?  Why?  

I, for one, will take all the excitement I can get :)

So why would you want to be happier?  Research shows that positive emotions have a beneficial impact on our creativity, our relationships, our health - not to mention the obvious ... that they make us feel good.  When we are happy, we make other people smile.  We are good to be around.  We can deal with setbacks more usefully.  In business, we encourage participation and help others to switch on the creative parts of their brain (will post more on this later).  We help to build co-operation.  

Ever worked directly with someone very grumpy and critical.  How was that?  What happened to your performance?  Your confidence?  Your feelings of wellbeing outside work?  For some, it can be debilitating.  Some invest emotional energy in being ok and limp along.  For others, it's a cue to move on.

Try this:

Consider the impact you have on the people around you?  Do you brighten the mood and help to make things possible?  Do you throw a bucket of cold water on others or their ideas?  Are you 'just neutral'?

What could you do, today, to have a greater positive impact on those around you ... friends, family, colleagues, the guy at the coffee shop, the bus driver ....?

Thanks to the academics studying Positive Psychology, there is now a wealth of research and information on what, specifically, we can do to be happier.  It isn't a magic pill, but it does adjust the way we look at the world.  If you adjust your thinking and take specific action, there are definite ways to improve your confidence, engagement, performance, resilience .................... there are proven ways to Be Happy.

Try this as a starter - for at least 2 weeks:

Every day, at the end of the day, write down 3 things that went well during the day.  It can be a good game to play around the dinner table, but you can also do it alone.  The next day you have to think of 3 new and different things to write down.  Then again the next day.

In a journal, write down your reflections on the process, how it changes during the 14 days, and any impact it has on you.

Or you could just put blue gel in your hair.

Enjoy!  I'd love to hear how you go.