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
It takes time and practice but I can testify that it is possible to increase your ability to control how you feel. This I like very much. Thanks for a great article. And I like the cat doing a happy dance – could be me.
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Sharon,
It does take patience and time. For me it was/is hard. My brain wants to do what it has ben doing. Glad you identified with the happy dance!
Peggy
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