While reading “The Science of Happiness” I realized I practice turning worries and fears into “happy” . . . or at least “content”.  Let me share:

Part of being happy is having the habit of being happy

Ancient Greek Philosophical Statement – Greek philosophers actually ran “happiness schools”

Periander said “Everything is practice”

How to Practice Happiness*

• Tell yourself that negative thoughts are destructive to your mind and let them go by replacing with positive or neutral thoughts.

 I’ve learned to tell myself –  “If I’ve been thinking negative thoughts and they haven’t helped me, I might as well stop thinking them and move on”.  It works, but takes practice. At first, my brain wants to go right back to the negative thought. I have to tell it a few times to switch to positive or neutral thoughts (having something specific to switch to can help).

•  Sensitize  yourself to positive  feelings–look for them and expand them.

Pay attention to the present – where you are, what you are doing, who you are with.  I look for ANYTHING, however, small, I can  be grateful for or at the very least appreciate.  

imagine looking at yourself from a great distance, or though the eyes of someone else–notice how IN THE LONG RUN  your worries might not be as significant as you think.

Worries, I remind myself, haven’t happened but  my mind conjuring up possibilities.

• Imagine good things, your imagination can change the brain almost as much as actual experience.

I sometimes make up an alternate history for myself,  how I got the support and love I wished you had.  It’s like a movie, made and directed by ME.

It takes time and practice but I can testify that it is possible to increase your ability to control how you feel.  

Peggy

*From “The Science of Happiness” by Stefan Klein