Click here for happiness!

[Geoff-Allen]

Do you want to learn how to be more optimistic? If so, this is the article for you.

We tend to believe that our happiness depends on what happens to us. We are happy if things work out well for us and unhappy if they don’t – there’s not much we can do about it. However, this is simply not the case. In fact, you only have to look at people in your own life to know this isn’t true – we all know somebody who is happy despite suffering terrible tragedy and someone who is miserable even when they seem to have everything.

What happens to us does not make us happy or sad, it is how we think about the things that happen to us that makes feel a certain way. It is not events that cause our emotional reactions, it is our thoughts about those events.

I recently read a book called Learned Optimism by renowned positive psychologist, Martin Seligman. Seligman has spent much of his life studying the causes of depression and what can be done to relieve it. One of the most important things he discovered is that depression is closely linked to pessimism. People who have negative patterns of thinking are much more likely to be unhappy and become depressed.

For the full article -

This Is How You Can Learn To Be More Optimistic

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Happiness challenge thoughts - a few different sites? -

Since so many of us are looking for happiness, wanting to share it with those we love and care about, I came up with this idea of a 10-Day Happiness Challenge. I trust that by committing to these practices and by doing more of the things that bring meaning and joy into our lives, we will all start appreciating ourselves and our lives a lot more and as a result, we will become happier.

https://www.purposefairy.com/66804/how-to-be-happy-the-10-day-happiness-challenge/

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

A smile was the first "challenge" at that site ...

Happiness challenge smile tosses upa few -

Studies show that when we forgive those who have wronged us, we feel better about ourselves, experience more positive emotions and thus feel happy According to Robert Muller- “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and Happiness.”

Included on this page -

30 Days of Happiness Challenge

Enjoy!!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Grateful for life's challenges! -

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~ Cynthia Ozick

How often do you pause to appreciate what you have in life?

When I was young, I took things for granted. I believe many other kids did so, as well. After all, we were young and we didn’t know what life could be like on the other side.

One thing we took for granted was education. In my country, it’s compulsory for all kids to go to school, so it was a given. We never thought about how lucky we were to be educated.

We also took our teachers for granted. We never thought about how lucky we were to have teachers who cared for our growth so much, and poured their heart and soul into their lessons.

60 Things to Be Grateful For In Life

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Awesome things we take for granted - not just Tiny Buddha -

Most days, it's easy to wake up and start thinking about all of the things that you have to do. We stress ourselves out over these big things and are constantly making lists. It is very easy to forget to take the time to breathe and recognize the little things in our lives. Finding the balance between appreciating the big things and the little things can be hard but rewarding. Sometimes life's simplest, everyday things can make you the most happy. Here are 15 little things that I think we take for granted.

15 Simple Things That We Take For Granted

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Happiness is such a fleeting thing: one minute, you're feeling like a million bucks, and the next, something puts you off your game and into a funk that's hard to break. And considering the tenuous nature of human happiness to begin with, it's no wonder that so few of us consider ourselves to be truly happy people.

In fact, according to the 2017 Harris Poll Survey of American Happiness, just 33 percent of American adults identified as "very happy." Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that our overall happiness has been on the decline for some time—a decade ago, that number was holding strong at 35 percent.

Continue your reading here -

20 Top Tricks from Therapists on Finding Happiness | Best Life

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Un-watched a few - little interest - they have no taste

Love is a nuclear bomb

Dealing with anger?

Shall we have some fun?

Here's a poem I wrote nearly 20 years ago ...

If you thought YOUR dog was clever!

Then this - from a recent email -

There are many reasons for self-sabotage, but three of the most important ones involve your thinking patterns, fears you may have in intimate relationships, and the tendency to avoid things that are difficult or uncomfortable. Read on to find out more.

1. Faulty thinking

Our human brains tend to be wired to cling to the familiar, to overestimate risk, and to avoid trying new approaches. This tendency, known as the familiarity heuristic, leads us to overvalue the things we know and undervalue things that are unfamiliar. And when we are under stress, we tend to rely on the familiarity heuristic even more. When our brains are tired, we resort to old habits and ways of doing things, even if they don’t work well. We are drawn to go with the familiar, even when a different option offers a clear advantage.

The Top 3 Reasons Why You Self-Sabotage and How to Stop

Looks an interesting blog!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Happiness sabotage anger - a few??

lifegoalsmag.com happiness

For example -

Happiness is at the top of everyone’s achievements list. At the end of our days here, we want to feel like we were happy and lived well. But oftentimes, we can find ourselves feeling unhappy and we’re not sure why happiness isn’t happening for us.

What are we doing wrong? Why do we struggle to find happiness?

When we figure out what happiness isn’t, we can start recognizing where and when we’re squandering our happiness.

Happiness is a moment-to-moment choice, and it isn’t an end goal, because we’re constantly fluctuating. We need to choose to be happy. Over and over again.

Of course, road blocks pop up constantly. We’ll have an upsetting thought and then we get to decide to let it ruin our joyous moment.

We’ve all been there.

12 Reasons You're Not As Happy As You Want To Be | Life Goals Mag

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Some mindfulness blogs -

I recently did an interview with Catherine of The Blissful Mind (read the interview here), but I had to mention her again, because she kills it in the mindfulness and self-development area. I love every single one of her posts and find that they are all relevant to me (which is pretty rare!) If you haven’t checked her out already, you’re missing out on some seriously great content.

Main topics: Self-care, Mindfulness, Wellness, Productivity, Minimalism

Start with: Develop a self-care routine, How to budget your money (Budgeting might seem boring, but I found this post extremely helpful (and even have it bookmarked), so I think you might too.)

17 Best Blogs on Mindfulness and Personal Growth | Life Goals Mag

 

[Geoff-Allen]

The power of self compassion -

It’s common to beat ourselves up for faults big and small. But according to psychologist Kristin Neff, that self-criticism comes at a price: It makes us anxious, dissatisfied with our life, and even depressed.

For the last decade, Neff has been a pioneer in the study of “self-compassion,” the revolutionary idea that you can actually be kind to yourself, accept your own faults—and enjoy deep emotional benefits as a result. Last year, she distilled the results of her research in the popular book Self-Compassion. (A Greater Good essay we adapted from the book is the most popular piece we’ve ever published.)

Neff, an associate professor in human development and culture at the University of Texas, Austin, will present highlights from her work at a Greater Good Science Center seminar at UC Berkeley next Friday, March 23, called “Self-Compassion and Emotional Resilience”—part of our “Science of a Meaningful Life” seminar series. The event will be webcast live, so anyone around the world can participate.

The Power of Self-Compassion | Greater Good

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Plenty more here -

TOP 25 ENLIGHTENMENT QUOTES (of 1000) | A-Z Quotes

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Try - only way to true happiness -

Why I Began a Quest to Find True Happiness

When I was 19, I was hit by a devastating health crisis. The ordeal quickly shattered all my previous notions of what happiness was. It made me realize I didn’t understand the meaning of real happiness at all.

Good grades.

Good looks.

Good career prospects.

I once thought they were the keys to happiness, but I was wrong. None of those things mattered when my life was on the line. They didn’t make me happy in a time of darkness—not one bit. It dawned on me that I needed to dig deeper in order to find true happiness in life—the kind that would shine like a ray of sunshine even in the heaviest of storms. The kind that would never dim or lose its warmth.

And what I discovered, through my reflections and research, changed my life in many profound ways. And I want to share what I learned with you.

Finding True Happiness: Lessons, Reflections, and Tips on How to Be Truly Happy

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Embracing simple happiness? - How to find joy in mundane tasks

How to Find Joy in Mundane Tasks - Embracing Simple

Things like washing dishes, fixing things, work tasks, piling our screaming toddler & preschooler into the car to get somewhere on time <– this can’t be just me

The point is, we all have those tasks we have to get through each day that we don’t necessary find joy in naturally. Maybe we’ve even come to dread them and let them hang over our heads in a way that puts a cloud over part of our day.

But it truly doesn’t have to be that way!

It is entirely possible to find joy in even the most mundane of tasks. Yes, scrubbing toilets – I’m lookin’ at you!

Today I wanted to share a few things that have helped me learn how to find joy in mundane tasks, and I hope you find them helpful to make your own dreaded tasks a little more enjoyable too!

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Dalai Lama passions transformed into joy -

His holiness is a world leader that is committed to promoting positive values such as , forgiveness,self-discipline, tolerance, compassion and contentment. He is a spiritual leader like no other and is highlighting the importance of happiness and world peace every minute of the day.

The Dalai Lama’s quotes and sayings are spread throughout the world and are taken on board by many who wish to live a positive and fulfilled life.

We at Addicted2Success love the Dalai Lama’s inspirational messages so we decided to compile the Top 100 Dalai Lama quotes online for you to be inspired by and for you to share with anyone else you believe will love his message.

Here are his life changing quotes:

100 Dalai Lama Quotes That Will Change Your Life

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Great bunch of intereviews etc with Tara Brach -

Articles & Interviews - Tara Brach

For example -

RAIN

DK: Can you briefly go through what you mean by RAIN?

TB: Sure. RAIN is an acronym to support us in cultivating mindful awareness, and the basic elements of mindfulness are to recognize what's going on in the moment and to allow it. That’s the core of RAIN: to Recognize and Allow. What happens often is we've got a tangle going on—let’s say it's anger. We've got a storyline of the anger, and we've got the feelings, and we're wanting to do something, and it's all jumbled up. What we’re doing with RAIN is saying, "Okay, I Recognize anger is here and I Allow it."

But it's still feeling very sticky and very demanding of attention. So we deepen attention with the “I”—Investigate. But it has to be a compassionate investigation because if we investigate as a detached observer, or we investigate and there is some judgment and aversion, then the more vulnerable places within us will not reveal themselves to the investigation. For investigation to unfold to truth, we need to bring real compassion. I sometimes think of it as the rain of compassion or self-compassion, because we really need that quality.

Comes from this page -

Tara Brach on Mindfulness, Psychotherapy and Awakening

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Do you ever find yourself rushing so much that you end up forgetting your cell phone charger? Then it turns out that you’ve got an important call and you spend the entire time feeling anxious about your phone dying?

Or perhaps you’ve decided your romantic partner doesn’t listen to you; so you keep talking more and more trying to hammer home your point. Unfortunately, this leads your partner to tune you out even more, threatening your bond.

These are just a couple of ways you may be sabotaging yourself and your relationships, creating unnecessary pain and self-generated stress. In my new book, The Healthy Mind Toolkit, I help readers self-diagnose the sabotaging thinking and behavioral habits that are holding them back in life and in love, and provide simple, practical tips for overcoming these patterns.

How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Here are some steps to help guide you:

Take a few minutes to select a future time period (e.g., 6 months, 1 year, 5 years from now) and imagine that at that time you are expressing your best possible self strongly. Visualize your best possible self in a way that is very pleasing to you and that you are interested in.

Imagine it in close details where you have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing your life goals. You might think of this as reaching your full potential, hitting an important milestone, or realizing one of your life dreams. The point is not to think of unrealistic fantasies, rather, things that are positive and attainable within reason.

After you have a fairly clear image, write about the details. Writing your best possible self down helps to create a logical structure for the future and can help you move from the realm of foggy ideas and fragmented thoughts to concrete, real possibilities.

Be sure to write about the character strengths that you observe in this image.

And, what character strengths will you need to deploy to make this best possible self a reality?

What is Your Best Possible Self?

Looks an interesting blog!

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

For example ...

Questions to ask yourself -

Yet, mindfulness is a challenge to start and difficult to keep up with. Part of my work has focused on addressing those challenges by helping people weave in their natural energy resources (your character strengths) to make mindfulness stickier. In this post, I expand that work to offer new ideas using a popular well-being theory in the science of positive psychology that’s referred to as PERMA. This stands for five areas of well-being that you can independently pursue – positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. (According to this theory, the 24 character strengths serve as the central pathways to activating any of the five areas.)

Five Questions to Help You Ignite Mindfulness

 

[Geoff-Allen]

There’s a Positive Psychology exercise I have used for the past decade called best possible self, where you think of a time five or ten years from now and describe the person you’ll be and the life you’ll be living when you’re at your best.

Every year, I sit down to complete a modified version of this exercise myself. I consider it one of the tools that has helped me most in clarifying and bringing to life my own vision and goals.

Lately, I’ve become interested in bringing the focus of this exercise back to the here and now. Many of us find it all too easy to put off change until another time when we imagine it might feel easier or more manageable. Despite the discomfort of change, the cost of staying stuck is often more painful than the process. Starting is invariably the hardest part.

Comes from this site -

Best Possible Self, Learn the 10 Steps with Kate James | Total Balance

All the best!