I recently watched an exclusive webinar for Certified Health Coaches presented by Sean Foy, MA, President and Founder of Win Today Wellness. He talked about the Gratitude Experiment and what the research shows are the 5 things that REALLY HAPPY PEOPLE do!!! I am blessed to be able to share these with you, and I hope that this can make a difference in your own life or in the life of someone you care about.
Here they are, the 5 secrets of REALLY HAPPY PEOPLE:
- Nurture Relationships. This is very critical for being happy, which is why it’s listed first. Do you have deep, meaningful relationships? Here are somethings you can do to nurture relationships:
- Give your friend or relative a call. Just because you don’t live close, or even if you live close by, you might not see them often, connecting by phone is a great way to keep the friendship alive.
- Keep date night sacred. Connecting with your partner is essential in having a strong relationship. Life gets really busy and it’s easy to get overloaded with all there is to do and put date night aside. But this is super important for communicating how you feel, making plans for your future, working out problems, and just having fun (like you used to). Treat date night as sacred time. Make the commitment and stick to it, only rescheduling for emergencies.
Create and maintain traditions. Whether with your family or your best friend. My family started a gratitude jar. We write down on a piece of paper one thing we are grateful for that day and on Sunday, we talk about all these things over breakfast or lunch. Some other family traditions we have: Pajama Party Family Movie Night, Picnics in the backyard, Puzzle night, and Game night.
2. Cultivating Kindness. Do you make an effort do something nice for others? Whether it’s complimenting how someone looks, bringing your neighbors some home cooked food after they just had a baby, or opening the door for someone, these small acts of kindness can go a long way. They often spiral into further acts of kindness, and that not only makes you happy, but you can help change someone’s bad day into a great day! This is a great video that demonstrates the power of Random Acts of Kindness. People who are really happy, well, they do this sort of stuff all the time. Once you do it often, it just becomes a habit and part of who you are! So if you want to receive kindness, go out there and give it!
3. Experience Flow. What is flow and how do you experience it? Flow is basically the feeling you get when your skills and your strengths can meet the challenge in front of you. It makes you feel “in the zone” and most alive. Time flies when you experience flow. My husband is an artist at heart and he can work on a drawing, painting, and photos for hours and hours. He loses track of time, finds it very enjoyable and is extremely proud and happy with the results. Focus on your strengths and your experience, and use these to overcome a challenge. You don’t have to be alone to experience flow. Many scientists work in teams when performing research, and some dedicate their life’s work to these causes. Teamwork can make it much more enjoyable.
4. Find Meaning and Purpose. Centurions, people who live to at least 100 years of age, have been studied and one thing we see in these Blue Zones, is that they have a sense of meaning and purpose in their life. For many people, it could be their chosen career, raising or teaching young children, volunteering for a cause they are passionate about, travelling, fixing up their home, or gardening. It’s something that not just makes you feel happy, but makes you feel like you are making a contribution, doing something worthwhile, it’s your calling and why you are here. I believe everyone has at least one purpose and this may change over time or you may find you feel you have many purposes. If you ever feel like you are a small piece to a huge puzzle, just know that without you, that puzzle would never be complete. Put together a vision board and fill it with photos and words that describe your goals, inspire you, and keep you focused on what you want!
- Gratitude Attitude. Being grateful gives people a more optimistic outlook on life. Instead of dwelling on what’s wrong or bad, people who are grateful tend to acknowledge goodness and sense of appreciation. They tend to have more self-esteem, take better care of themselves, have more energy, sleep better, have better relationships, are more generous, feel less pain, have strong immune systems. Being thankful and grateful is a skill. Try focusing on what you have rather than on what you don’t have. It’s something that when you start to practice daily, can begin to change your outlook on life and turn you in a REALLY HAPPY PERSON! It can also help having a friend or partner you can turn to help listen to you and help cheer you up when you are feeling down. Try out one or more of the following:
- Write Thank You notes. John Kralik wrote 365 Thank You notes, and this completely changed his life! This is an amazing story! You don’t have to write 365 Thank you notes, just start with one. Think about how this person will feel when they read this note. How does it feel for you to write the note? Mail it or hand deliver it.
- Start a gratitude jar like how I mentioned above in Nurturing relationships and family traditions.
- Journal. Everyday (or once a week), reflect on your day/week, and write down 3 things you are grateful for in your journal. Make sure you include a description of how this makes you feel and why you think this good thing happened.
I hope you found this blog inspirational. Please share it, and if you feel like you would benefit from some additional help, work with a health coach. Bring me along your health and happiness journey. SUPERCHARGE YOUR HEALTH today! Be well. Do more. Love life!