Putting Happiness into Your Life

When you have a chronic illness it is difficult sometimes to be happy. I think we tend to sink into the negative aspects of our illness and forget that we can be creatures of happiness in spite of a chronic illness.

Marci Shimoff author of Happy for No Reason and Love for No Reason spoke in the webinar Extraordinary Life after 40 Summit on happiness.  She said she was always unhappy even when she was on tour for her book on happiness.  She learned that everyone has a happiness set point: 10% circumstances, 40 % Habits, 50 % genes.  You can change 50 % of it through what you do in circumstances and your habits.  A change in habits can also influence your DNA. 

Changing your habits help your bodies response to negativity.  Most people respond to negativity.  It’s what we remember most about our day.  Changing this through a simple action can help. 

Write down 5 happy things from your day.  

Velcro the positive into your day, Teflon the negative. 

Three steps for helping reset your happiness point

1. Look for the positive in your day.
2. Savor the positive for at least 20 seconds.
3. When your have a negative thought, make sure to have three positive thoughts, too

Become a creature of happiness.