Here’s a great study in the latest edition of the wonderfully titled academic ‘Journal of Happiness & Well-Being‘ that can help you understand and deliver happiness.
10% of your life consists of things you willed or brought about. Don’t sweat that small stuff.
90% is all that you cannot control, the stuff that just happens to you. How will you deal with those things? How will you react? What will you learn? The key to these questions is attitude.
None of these things (the 10%, remember?) matter if you have not fostered the most important attitudes we discuss here. Most can be infinitely scaled. Their power is limitless if you learn how to attend to them.
Do you have unusual fears? Have any doubts? Like the fear of an embarrassing moment? Don’t. This world is full of people very sympathetic and willing to help you with help to get you through the day. And help you with the attitudes needed for happiness. All you need to focus on is defeating your doubts. Do you sometimes wonder how much-unseen impact your actions and life is having on others?
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,
it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
-Vivian Greene
There was a time when I thought happiness was a destination, in much the same way I imagined I’d eventually arrive at peace or success.
It seemed like something I needed to chase or find—definitely not something I could experience without dramatically changing my life.
I’ve since learned through experience that helping to get through the day is always available, and like any desirable state of mind, it requires effort, even if that effort entails consciously choosing to be still.
Here is a checklist of simple attitude reminders to improve your happiness each day. It certainly has been a big help to me:
Happy life … start well
Start your day believing that you are going to have a great day.
Sharing
Sharingis always caring. You can’t do enough sharing.
Show kindness
Show some kindness without expecting anything in return. If they ask what they can do for you, tell them to pay it forward.
Smiles
Smilesmatter. And they are so simple to execute.
Live a happy life.
Strangers
There are many strangers just waiting to make new friends. How many friends can you make today?
You
You are the master of your destiny. Take charge and show your happiness.
Happy life … create some alone time
Sit in nature—under a tree, on a mountain—and let yourself simply be quiet.
Remarkable
Be nothing less than remarkable. It just takes a little more effort.
Share some fun with someone you love
Forget about everything that feels like a problem and do something that seems like fun. Have fun spontaneously.
Play
Play is always the centerpiece of work. Be happy and enjoy the things you do.
How to live a positive happy life.
Defeat doubts
Eliminate fears or doubts. Mistakes and failures are ok.
Actively enjoy good things now
Be about the presentinstead of scheming to create a better future.
Volunteer your time
Volunteer your time to help a charity you believe in. Put all your energy into helping others, and you will find happiness without looking.
Serve someone else
Just because … just for them. That might mean helping them pursue their passion, or motivating them to reach their fitness goals. Whatever gives your life meaning, give it to someone freely.
Show gratitude.
Show gratitude
Gratitude is the attitude directed towards appreciating anything and anyone. Think of it as the ability to assign a value to something that others overlook. It is the secret to true richness. It never runs out. And best: it is not a scarce resource, unlike any other resource in the world.
Live with humility
Humility is the attitude of not taking yourself too seriously. Never forget where you came from. Never forget what you are: just human. No matter how high you fly or how low you fall, it all just seems so much easier if you tread lightly.
Remember not to take yourself and those many projects of yours too important to the point of agonizing about them. It is fine to strive and seek.
Be resilient
Resilience is the attitude to weather anything from the gentlest breeze to the strongest gale threatening to derail or break you on your journey. Some call it growing a thick skin, a tough hide, robustness, or fortitude. No matter what you call it, foster it because you have no idea what people are capable of surviving.
The world is not necessarily cruel by definition, but it can be cruel by ignorance, by the apathy of nature, by forces so large they can toss you around like a speck of dust to make you know your place in the scheme of things. Those times can hurt. A lot. For those times, I wish for you to have the resilience to suck it up and then get back to work.
Live a happy life … stay true to values
What makes you tick is this squishy, intangible but very real set of values that make you the person you are. It is the compass that was implanted in your heart when you were born, then shaped by your upbringing and experiences.
Keep it simple, since as much as you like to think you could be this incredibly complex person, chances are there are some 2-3 core values that make you who you are that define your choices and preferences in people, places, and occupations. Make it your life’s work to figure them out – I mean figure them out, to know them without the shadow of a doubt.
Let go of uncontrollable
Let go of things that are beyond your control, particularly those that frustrate you or make you sad.
Learn to accept and move on
Learn to accept people or things around you as they are rather than how you want them to be. This will make your life easier. Follow the saying “Do good and feel good.”
No worries
Don’t worry about what others think about you. If you like something go for it, don’t think about how people are going to judge you.
Respond properly
If anyone hurts you or says something bad to you, don’t be quick to react. Control yourself and give it some time. You will discover that it is worthless even thinking about it.
End well
Focus on what you have rather than what you want. At the end of every day, be grateful for all that you have.
The bottom line
There comes a time in life when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad and focus on the good, and keep your peace of mind very intact.
The important thing is that we create many of these mental attitudes each day. Practice each day; they don’t just happen until they are strong habits.
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Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
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Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your continuous learning?
Do you have a lesson about making your learning better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics that relate to improving the performance of a business. Go to Amazon to obtain a copy of his latest book, Exploring New Age Marketing. It focuses on using the best examples to teach new age marketing … lots to learn. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn
More reading on learning from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
The Nine Most Valuable Secrets of Writing Effective Copy
How Good Is your Learning from Failure?
10 Extraordinary Ways for Learning to Learn
Continuous Learning Holds the Keys to Your Future Success
