Be happy: Seven-day plan (Part 1)

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Want to a happier, more fulfilling life? Try this seven-day plan from life coach and happiness guru S. Pearl

We’re all looking for new ways to become happier. But, often life seems so busy it is difficult to break free of your day-to-day routine to create the time to be happy.

We do things we think will make us feel better – buying new clothes, taking a holiday, planning nights out with friends – looking outside ourselves for the answers. We think we’ll find happiness when we have a new partner/house/money/better job. But the irony is that we pack our lives so full of things to make us happy, we end up feeling tired, stressed and often overwhelmed, says Susie Pearl, happiness guru and author of Instructions for Happiness and Success (Quadrille, $20)

Description: Be happy (part 1)

“Research on happiness shows it’s not the external things in life, or getting through a big “to do” list that determines your levels of happiness,” says Pearl. “The real issue relates to how you manage your inner world – your mind as well as your emotions”

Hollywood happiness

In her previous career, Pearl spent many years running a celebrity PR agency – working with top names in film and entertainment. “I realized that many of them weren’t happy, despite being at the top of their game with fame and great fortune,” says Pearl. “This set me thinking that if high-end achievers are finding it hard to find happiness, with all their buying power, what hope is there for the rest of us? I began a journey to discover more about the nature of happiness. If money doesn’t buy happiness, what is the secret?”

Authentic happiness and success

After studying the topic of happiness for more than a decade, and working with the greatest mind gurus around the world, Pearl has formulated a system for generating more authentic happiness in life. “Happiness comes from inside our body – not outside,” she says. “This is the first secret to realize. How you run your own emotions affects your level of happiness dramatically. Being happy is a feeling and an experience. To boost happiness, you need to begin by working on how you run your emotions and patterns of thinking”

Pearl has created a seven-day happiness plan especially for H&F. “To truly benefit from this plan, you must do the exercise,” says Pearl. “Reading about it is one thing, but doing it actually creates the shifts inside your body. Commit now to talking this seven-day challenge, and to completing the exercises daily, and see how many areas of your life improve. You’ll be surprised how such simple exercises can power up transformation in your life”

The 7-day workout for happiness

Do these exercises every day for a week and keep a journal, writing down the changes you notice in your life.

Day 1 mind your thinking

Your thoughts are astonishingly powerful, so it’s important to keep them clearly focused on what you want – not what you don’t want.

Pay attention to framing your ideas clearly in the positive and speaking about what you want to create for a better life experience. You can easily talk our selves “up” or “down” depending upon what you choose to focus on and think about.

Try this exercise

Imagine today that everything you think about – each individual thought – will create and form itself into your life experience. So be mindful of what you are saying and thinking. When negative thoughts come along, notice them, acknowledge them and then let them pass – swapping them for a better thought, this time framed in the positive.

Talk about what you do want, not what you don’t want.

Day 2 feel happiness from the inside out

The route to happiness begins within. How you feel and handle your emotions dictates the level of happiness that you experience. No one has the power to make you feel a certain way – you decide how you feel inside. You’re running your own emotions – no one else.

Try this exercise

Notice how you feel through the day. Try to create good feelings and make sure that you feel strong and optimistic hour by hour. Notice when things come along that would normally annoy you, and aim at stay neutral. This takes practice. Try activating a stronger, more positive response, such as laughing. By not allowing your emotional level to dip when a problem comes along, it’s possible to keep yourself feeling better for longer.

Become aware that your emotions are your own responsibility – make them strong and in the positive.

Day 3 know what you want

When I begin working with people. I’m amazed that many people don’t know how to answer this question: “What do you really want?” In order to find our happiness and live a life of joy, you need to know what your goals are and where you want to go.

Try this exercise

Take a look at these questions, and write down the first ideas that spring to mind:

What do I really want to make happen in my life right now?

……………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………

Which areas do I want to change?

What things can I do without now in my life?

What’s been stopping me making the changes I want to make?

Write down your answers and then write three steps to resolve each of them:

Being clear about what you want is the first step. The happiest people know that what they want and walk toward that outcome.

Day 4 take simple steps to your goals

Now you’ve started thinking clearly about what you want, it’s time to make a plan to take some simple steps towards your goals.

Try this exercise