Happiness

(Part 2)

From the last article we could see that no matter how fabulous it is, buying a spearmint coloured diamante encrusted belly button tank top can make you happy, but only for a short period of time.    So apart from not listening to remixes of Bee Gee's early 90's hits, how can you attain happiness which is genuine and long lasting?

I need to warn you that the list I'm about to tell sounds cheesier than my mother's 1970's 'macaroni tuna surprise' but it works none the less. 

Spend time each day mentally focussing on things that you feel grateful for.  Make a habit of this and make sure you do it a few times each week.    Unhappy people constantly compare themselves with others.  Develop a way to only compare yourself by your own standards.   Over thinking or 'ruminating' about problems is a dead set way to be unhappy, so practice not doing this. When you find yourself over thinking or comparing yourself to others, the best thing to do is to distract yourself!    Happy people also tend to think optimistically.   Catch yourself thinking pessimistically and challenge these thoughts.   Ironically one great way to enhance happiness is to do kind things for others without an expectation you'll get something in return.   Setting and achieving goals that reflect who you are, and learning new deeply engaging skills in a way that is like a kid learning a puzzle has a massive impact on your levels of happiness.    People who are happy in the long term also tend to have a very close social network.  This is a big investment of time and energy but it is worth it.

Follow these basic principles and go from fleeting moments of fabulousness that inevitably end to developing new habits that mean you'll end up being happier future than a Buddhist monk on heat.

By Paul Martin

Principal Psychologist

Centre For Human Potential

info@centrefofhumanpotential.com.au