We're Programed for Happiness
Joy, happiness, and living the life of your dreams sometimes may feel unattainable, and out-of-reach. But what if I showed you a way to feel good, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the weather? I mention the weather because it seems, without fail, people respond to the basic how-are-you question with a comment on the weather, as if a sunny or cloudy day determines their degree of happiness. In fact, I remember one cold, wet day stopping by the counselors' office at my son's school surprising everyone with my good mood. "How can you feel so up?," they wanted to know. The secret is that we're programed for happiness, and I can show you how to increase your Happiness Factor with very little effort.
The Environ-mental Recipe
Your environment is overflowing with opportunities for activating your awareness. It's a combination of new and old stuff, which, of course, gives advertising opportunities to people trying to capture your attention with NEW and BOLD ideas. The brain screens out most visuals, like road signs along the highway we've seen umpteen times. Your environment stimulates the MENTAL game, your awareness for something different. Yet, most of our experiences miss the mark for stimulating our senses. The truth is that the brain is so satisfied with the usual stuff that it operates on economy mode - why work hard when existence is good enough? Why seek out something new when survival works? It's not good enough for me - and it never was. I've had to learn how to create my own INNER ENVIRONMENT for happiness. Here's how you can switch up your environMENTAL recipe. Of course, we're just scratching the surface, so let's start with a few basics.
The Heart-Brain Connection
Perhaps the most important factor in skyrocketing your Happiness Factor is to feel the connection between your heart and mind. One influences the other greatly! Books, studies, therapies, and Institutes abound about this topic! Very simply, at least to start, know that what you think about (what you see, acknowledge, notice, and react to) registers in your brain first to put you on alert. It's either going to alert you to danger, or to no danger based on past experiences and beliefs. Your brain keeps a record of everything. In fact, both a record you play and the record in your brain have tracks or grooves. So, step one is to notice what you notice. Is what you're seeing causing you to become tense, feel angry, sad, or unworthy? OR, is what you're seeing creating an association you have with joy, abundance, good moods, laughter, and peace?
Clean Up
You might not even notice the piles, dust, old files, broken household items, or clutter in your life - until you actively decide to dedicate a space for joy and healing. This is a fundamental practice most people miss. The fear of losing something, letting go, and making changes allows the brain to stay comfortable in its misery. In fact, this "normal" state has a strong opinion. Don't change, you'll get hurt. Don't get rid of stuff, you'll miss it too much. Don't do anything, you're fine the way you are. The brain is powerful! Cleaning up and creating safe and sacred space honors your Higher Self, and allows a place for joy to live and thrive.
Clean up your pantry, refrigerator, and closets. Clean up the attic and basement. Wash and shine, tidy and arrange to get the brain's attention to let it know you're doing something new. Clearing out old makes way for new, and it also feels grounding. When you create safe space in your home, you're grounding in the Earth to feel safe and secure. This is an incremental aspect for skyrocketing your Happiness Factor.
Create New Connections
Like the dog in the image above, obviously smiling, joyful, and full of vitality, you can create new connections in your brain with experiencing new environmental situations. These connections are called neuropathways. They're learned, so we can also erase, override, and even eliminate them by creating new pathways in the brain. Get out of old habits and put yourself in new environments, experience new activities, try new stuff - tastes, exercises, friendships, colors, music, and anything new you can think of that feels good, exciting, and fun. This excites the brain and the heart to help create new pathways that help release and heal the old stuff (wounds and memories).
The Little Things Matter
Just this morning, I wrote about a dozen new cards for personal inspiration. It's a reformative habit I've adopted through the Mental Success Tracks Training with MJ Durkin. I use colored markers on index cards to keep it simple. "I Am" statements make them positive. Rich with color and proclamations, I immediately felt joyful and inspired to write this article. Then, upon taking a break, I noticed a few old greeting cards from last year - Christmas and birthday cards in my fruit bowl. How out-of-place they suddenly seemed! My brain had completely missed noticing them until I activated my Happiness Factor. They're now fondly remembered and appropriately recycled.
Align and Take Action
When you've chosen to clear your space and create new environmental experiences supported with good habits and positive messages to yourself, the Universe sends you MORE. It's an unavoidable truth that you get what you desire when your heart and mind align with your thoughts and actions. The question becomes one of what you're aligned to. What are you thinking about? What are you holding onto? How do you honor your space, your body, and each other? Alignment just means that your actions follow your beliefs. When you make room for joy and act upon your thoughts of joy, your Happiness Factor explodes exponentially. You skyrocket to higher vibrations, better thoughts and moods, and positive feelings.
Don't just sit there. The Universe expects you to take action to keep the Happiness Factor going. The action comes through your heart and mind to inspire you to BE MORE, DO MORE, HAVE MORE, and LIVE LIFE MORE FULLY. When you carry the Happiness Factor in your heart, everything changes. Yes, this is a GOOD change. You get to do everything through your new vision of hope and prosperity. Call it a silver lining, if you like. It's actually your purpose to live in happiness and peace. Write an index card for it with colored markers. Tap into the happy kid inside. Go play with your dog in the water. You'll see what I mean.
Join Us for Mental Success Tracks Training
As a vision-holder for trainees in the Mental Success Tracks program, I've seen huge shifts in attendees' happiness and evolution. I get calls and emails that tell me about the changes they feel are happening, and how positive they feel. (Quotes below are from memory through personal conversations.)
"I feel like I have a new outlook on life." C.S.
"We moved out of the old apartment and knew that our new home was already waiting for us." C.F.
"I manifested several new jobs, and new people are coming into my life." E.H.
If you'd like to be a part of the next Mental Success Tracks Training, APPLY HERE.
