3 Things on …. “HOW TO BE HAPPY”

Here’s the thing:

Every day, whether you know it or not, you are doing things that steer you away from pain and unhappiness and that move you towards pleasure and happiness.

Aristotle said,

“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life. It is the whole aim in the end of human existence.”

Many different things, in many different ways, can define happiness and I suppose everyone has their own definition of what will make them happy. Some people believe that money will make them happy. Whether this is true or not we all have the right to find out for ourselves. Some people believe having a good body, or tattoos, or big muscles (you know those people who walk around looking as if they’re constipated and desperately need a good download) will make them happy. Some people have simple happy requests and others are more complicated. Whatever drives you to happiness I hope you find it, but for now I would like to give you 3 “things” on how to assist you in being happy.

Thing 1- Do Something!

The more you get involved in life the happier you will be. The secret to success, contentment and achievement lies in the word ACTION. The more we do, and the more we achieve, the happier we feel. The busier we are with living and trying to achieve our dreams, the less time we have to think about being unhappy. So go out and do something. Take a course, read a book, take a lesson, ask for forgiveness, get forgiveness, move on, sort it out, clear the air, get involved, walk away, take up a hobby, ask, give them an answer, build it, create it, go and see it. Basically go get busy living.

Thing 2 – Move!

No, I don’t mean move house or location although that could be an option for some people. I’m talking about moving your body. The older you get the more you realize it was true when your mother said, “all you really have is your health.” A fit healthy body is a happy body. So start moving. Join a gym or actually go to the gym that you are already a member of and do something. Instead of parking outside the door and swiping your card for the points, actually go inside and introduce yourself to Mr. Treadmill.  Walk, even if it is for 20 minutes a day, just walk. Stretch – in a world full of tension your body needs to stretch. Find an exercise, a sport or an activity that you love doing and start doing it at least 3 to 4 times a week. Hike, do yoga, work in your garden, become your wife’s hero and do all of the jobs around the house. Become the maintenance man instead of the couch potato man. Organize your cupboards and your house. Get more physical with your husband, your wife or your significant other. Don’t overdo it in the beginning, take it easy but get your body moving.

Thing 3 – Do stuff you enjoy!

It makes sense that when you do stuff that you love doing, you have fun. When was the last time you had fun? And when last did you do the things that you love doing? Start doing them now. Invite friends over for dinner. Start a movie club and meet once a week for movies. Start a poker club, play your guitar, dance, have lunch with an old friend, have lunch with a new friend, build a fort with your kids, pitch a tent for your wife, go fishing, collect stamps, collect caps, collect classic movies or write a how-to book. Everyone has a book inside of them, and you were probably passionate about something, or you have spent most of your life doing something, so isn’t it time?

Sometimes your activity, your action, is not really an action it’s actually doing nothing. Doing nothing is a thing, do no-thing, get it ? So do nothing if doing something is always your thing. There are many ways to be happy and achieve happiness and I hope to discuss many of them in the months to come but for now get busy. Get busy living, doing, experiencing, having fun and enjoying life.

A busy mind and body doing enjoyable stuff and getting healthy generally belongs to a happy person.

“Any happiness you get you have to make for yourself.” Alice Walker

Have a happy busy month.

Gav