Happy for No Reason

How often do you feel happy just because?

Not because the kids came home from college or you received a promotion at work. Not because you lost that extra 10 pounds or got the parking space at the front of the lot.

But happy, just because. Happy. Not connected to some outside circumstance but happy for no reason.

Do you experience it often? Once a day? Once a week? Hardly ever?

Have you tied the feeling of happiness, to situations and experiences for so long, that you’re not sure if you know how to feel happy for no reason?

Marci Shimoff in her book, Happy for No Reason, talks of the “happiness set-point.” Researchers have found that regardless of what happens to us in life, we tend to return to a fixed range of happiness.

A classic 1978 study showed that winning the lottery does not significantly raise a winner’s level of happiness. http://pages.ucsd.edu/~nchristenfeld/Happiness_Readings_files/Class%203%20-%20Brickman%201978.pdf

Are we experiencing something similar when the effects of a positive experience or event wears off and we are back to our usual set point of happiness?

It is believed that 50 percent of our set-point comes from genetics, 10 percent by our circumstances and 40 percent is determined by our habitual thoughts.

This means it is possible to increase our happiness!

And it is as simple as creating new thoughts! Simple does not necessarily mean easy, but changing our patterns of thoughts is within our reach.

 To create those new thoughts, we must practice!

Just as a pianist plays a section of music repeatedly to master and memorize it, so too must we practice the thoughts and behaviors that create happiness.

One way to start learning this much-needed life-skill is to acknowledge the positive.

Shimoff suggests we do this by having,

“the intention to notice everything good that happens to you: any positive thought you have, anything you see, feel, taste, hear or smell that brings you pleasure, a win you experience, a breakthrough in your understanding about something, an expression of your creativity — the list goes on and on.

“This intention triggers the reticular activating system (RAS), a group of cells at the base of your brain stem responsible for sorting through the massive amounts of incoming information and bringing anything important to your attention. Have you ever bought a car and then suddenly started noticing the same make of car everywhere? It’s the RAS at work. Now you can use it to be happier. When you decide to look for the positive, your RAS makes sure that’s what you see.”

She also suggests that to begin your practice of happiness, ask yourself two questions:

1. What is the No. 1 habit I can develop in my life that will have the greatest positive impact?

2. What is the No. 1 habit I can remove from my life that will have the greatest positive impact?

Did something come to mind as you read these two questions? Act on them today. Start the process of re-wiring and retraining your brain so that you can begin experiencing happiness for no reason.

One last tip suggested by Shimoff is to

“Start giving away awards throughout the day: the most beautiful flower award, the kindest driver award, the most amazing clouds award. By playing the game, you’re conditioning your mind to see the beauty and wonder of your world.”

I am all over this tip! You will now find me thinking up and giving out as many awards as I can! Share with me your best awards and let’s raise our happiness set-points together.

With love,