Personal Health and Happiness with Giddy Kitty

In what areas of your life would you like to achieve greater success? State-of-mind (attitude towards life and work) absolutely affects your performance and your outcomes. People who stay in jobs they hate, or relationships and situations in which they are chronically unhappy are not only missing out on the joy life has to offer, but are literally putting their health at risk at the same time.

When coaching clients I ask them to do a rough pre-assessment: on a scale of one to ten, ten being that you are consistently happy with your day-to-day life 90-95% of the time, where do you rank? If the answer is five or six, here are some tips and techniques to boost it up.

Live by your definition of happiness and success? Many people feel an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with their lives or businesses because they are using someone else’s “happiness measuring stick”. Comparing your life and achievements to those of others, and using their criteria rather than yours is a sure fire way to lose the happiness game.

Take “happiness breaks” using a “fun and joy list”. Many people don’t realize how much more productive they can be by feeding their souls and hearts throughout the workday. Lunch hour not withstanding, 10-15 minute “happiness breaks” are real attitude and brain-boosters. A checklist prevents you from saying “I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself if I took a break from work.”

Become a Pollyanna! Pollyanna, contrary to popular opinion, wasn’t teaching denial, or pie in the sky positive thinking. Rather she perfected a mind-set of learned optimism and of seeing the glass “half full”. Pollyanna’s “Glad Game” turned around an entire town from being gloomy and pessimistic to being a happy, joyful place.

Not only will your sunny outlook help you be happier more of the time, but also your “vibes” will positively affect those around you. If you’re single, keeping a sunny disposition will make your “vibe” much more attractive. People like to be around upbeat people who make them feel good).

If you’re in sales, or are looking to climb a success ladder, you will be much more attractive to your ideal employer or ideal customer if your attitude is obviously an optimistic and happy one.

Have Better Relationships by Living From Both Head and Heart. Being too rigid, and intellectual can really wreck the relationship “happiness quotient”. The people in your life, just like you, want to hear expressed appreciation and to be given more understanding.

Sadly, it seems much easier in our society, for people to express disappointment, criticism and negative observations than it does the positive ones. Speak words of encouragement and appreciation freely.

Ask for acknowledgement when you need it too. People can’t (HEAR THIS – THEY ABSOLUTELY CAN’T) read your mind. When you give and take freely of appreciation, understanding, praise, joy and fun in relationships they are bound to flourish.

On the business side of things, you will be seen as a premier team player when you contribute to your business relationships in this way.

Stay in the here and now. When coaching clients, one of the most frequent things I hear is “When I achieve this goal I will finally be happy.” Life isn’t happening “then”. Life is happening right NOW!

Make a habit of slowing things down. Savor those good people, experiences and feelings in the very moment you are experiencing them. While you are experiencing them and noticing them, inwardly say a thought of gratitude that you have this person, job, experience, feeling, or talent.

Whatever it is that you are enjoying, it will stay with you longer throughout the day if you don’t let it fly by without acknowledgement. At the end of the day, as you review it, if you’ve really practiced this “here and now happiness”, the overall feeling about your day will be a good one.

When negatives come along the fact that you have spent time practicing this “here and now happiness” will make it a great deal easier to wade through it without overreacting.

Quiet your negative self-talk. Many people are completely unaware of the numerous negative things they may say to themselves throughout the day. The fact is that, like criticism of others, negative self-talk never ever helped anyone perform better.

Become your own detective. Carry a little notebook around with you and whenever you are aware of some negative thoughts running through your mind write them down. Then consciously and deliberately refute the negative thought with some positive observations.

What if you were to stop those thoughts as if you were a policeman with a whistle and immediately bring on the flow of positive self-compliments? Pick any and all good characteristics about both your looks and about you as a person begin to acknowledge yourself for them emphatically.

Here again, when you love and appreciate yourself for what’s good, your “vibes” will be good ones and people will like being around you. In fact, they will begin to think and feel about you, the way you do. When you value yourself the world will too!

These are just a few ways you can enhance the quality of your happiness experience and your life. Get creative and begin thinking of your own solutions! They will pay big dividends.

"Go for the moon. If you don't get it, you'll still be heading for a star." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

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