Posts Tagged ‘happiness habit’

Happiness and Greatness

Happiness and GreatnessA Drive to Do Well and Excel Are Keys to both Happiness and Greatness!

Habitually happy people want to do their best, feel their best, be their best all the time.

They also continually and creatively look for ways to make their best even better.

This is the same mindset described as the keys to Greatness by Fortune Magazine.

The article discusses recent studies of people who have excelled in their sport or profession, examining what it takes to be great.

The good news is… greatness in a skill, sport or profession does not come from natural talents or gifts. Greatness is open to any and all of us.

Greatness comes from rugged, rigorous hard work and a determined drive and desire to continually improve our skills.

The same principles hold true for happiness.  By continually and creatively finding ways to live more happily and successfully, we can grow our happiness and spiritual success.

For more insights and happiness resources see  HappinessHabit.com 

Copyright © 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Valentine Happiness

Valentine HeartValentine’s Day Is a Reminder to Love… Ourselves and Others, Every day.

If you’re in a relationship… it’s a special, exciting day!  Think of all the wonderful, kind, loving things you’ll do – choose one and decide to do it every day from now on.

Put a little Valentine’s Day in every day.

Maybe it’s beginning each day with a smile, a hug and an “I love you.” Or replacing one indifferent or distant habit with love and affection. Welcome them at the door or ask about their day and really listen.

One simple, small thing to add affection and care all year round.

Single, On Your Own?

Give yourself big hugs all day and enjoy the warmth of each loving, happy hug.  Feel love in your heart, make a special effort to radiate it to everyone around you.

Enjoy, appreciate and delight in who you are and what you do.  Resolve to do this at least once a day, every day from now on.

Enjoy and relish your own company, plan to take yourself out for a nice meal another, quieter day. Enjoy a solo adventure.

There’s a marvelous freedom and power in being happy on your own, in creating and carrying your own happiness within you where ever you go.

Reject myths saying we need a “relationship” to make us happy and complete, messages that make singles feel defective, needy and dependent. They say we should look to others for happiness when its true source lies within ourselves.

It’s the loving relationships and loving communities we create around us daily that bring expansive, enduring joy. They can easily be extensive, everywhere.

We can’t be happy in a “relationship” when we are not happy on our own. Resolve to love yourself and be happy on your own, right now.

For Everyone…

Make a special effort to radiate love and joy to everyone around you. Smile, seek out someone who is lonely and despondent, give them a special hug, remind them they are loved.

Copyright © 1999-      , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Happiness Without Hardness

The Best Way to Excel and Do Well At Anything
Is To Cultivate A Love For Ithappiness without hardness.

Love And Exuberant Zeal Propel
Happiness and Success.

People who are at the top of their profession or calling truly love what they do and devote their entire life, their soul, their being to it.

They are determined to be the best. Lasting, remarkable success doesn’t happen by accident or with sloppiness. 

Star performers have decided to be different in some way, to add a new artistry, invention, dimension, perspective or approach to their endeavors.

They are not just the same as everyone else and better. They are different, creative, distinctive.

Preeminence has its perils. A top coach complained success had made her hard because of the back biting, infighting and sabotage within her sport. Jealous, envious people can be very hateful.

Your colleagues are competitors.  You can’t count on affirmation, support or admiration from people you consistently beat. Hurt causes hardness, sometimes even hatred.

Protect yourself from pain and be happy with your success without becoming hard. Reposition your attitudes, view bad antics as sick, dysfunctional and pathetic. Feel sorry for them.

Envy and Jealousy Are Marks of Losers!

Embrace the love you feel for your sport, endeavor or profession. You are the best because you have worked harder and added more than the others.

Truly successful people look at great performers, admire them, support them, emulate them and try to learn all they can from them. Losers discredit, devalue or subvert winner’s successes.

There’s a reason why winners rise to the top while losers stay stuck below them.  Backbiting, infighting and subversion become more important than love of excellence and the endeavor.

There’s a huge difference between striving to deliver an exceptional performance and wanting to beat someone. Winners love to embrace the very best, losers often try to hurt.  Expect people you beat to be unhappy.

Don’t look for affirmation or admiration from competitors. It will come from people who appreciate what you do, understand how hard you work and have hearts as strong and as good as yours.

Copyright © 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Empathy Is Essential

Empathy EssentialEmpathy Is Essential To Happiness

Empathy means we can sympathize and identify with other people’s pain,
situations and feelings.

Empathy is the core of compassion.

Empathy means we care about others, that we have concern for  their welfare and well-being.

Habitually happy people characteristically exhibit abundant love and empathy. They genuinely care about people and the world around them. Love truly does propel happiness.

The More We Love, The Greater Our Happiness. Where there is no love, there is no happiness.

The empty, apathetic angst that characterizes the affluent and arrogant amplifies this truth.

People who place themselves above and apart from the rest of the world rarely experience the love, happiness or joy that flows so easily to people who eagerly embrace the entire world.

Evil people may love, but their love is limited and conditional.

The Best Way To Prosper Is To Help Others Prosper.

The Best Way To Be Loved Is To Love.

The Best Way To Be Happy Is To
Delight In Helping Others To Be Happy,
Especially Those Who Are Less Fortunate Than You!

For more Happiness Habits see HappinessHabit.com

Copyright © 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Forgiveness and Happiness

slinky.jpg

Forgiveness Means Not Letting
Past Pain Determine Present
Or Future Actions

Forgiveness Offers Freedom –
Freedom From Pain
Freedom of Thought And Action

Forgiveness Does NOT Mean Forget,
Stuffing Our Feelings Or
Letting Others Hurt Us Again

Forgiveness Does NOT Mean Failing To Fight For What Is Right And Good

Holding On To Resentments And Grievances IS A Decision To Suffer And Make Others Suffer

Resentments and revenge  ruin and run present and future moments. Resentment allows past pain to control us, our feelings and actions. That’s not the way to happiness and spiritual success.

Happy people don’t hold on to misery. They resolve to learn from bad experiences, gain from their pain and move forward. Unnecessary suffering is masochistic, inflicting pain on others sadistic.

Forgiveness does not mean “Door Mat.” People who don’t fight for their rights and freedom loose them!

None of the great religious or spiritual leaders in history were wimps. They all took strong stands and fought for their beliefs. Habitually Happy people are NOT Wimps. They do refuse to be controlled by past pain. They resolve to let pain go quickly.

They make good decisions based on accurate assessments of reality, worthwhile goals and positive intentions.

Forgiveness Means Not Letting Past Pain Control Present And Future Actions.  It Offers Freedom From Pain And Angry Decisions.  Forgiveness Does NOT Mean Forget. It Does NOT Mean Failing To Fight For What Is Right!

See Happiness Habit for more happiness insights and wisdom.

Copyright © 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Evil People

Happiness and Evil CandlesSome people enjoy being mean. Evil people enjoy causing hurt and harm, it gives them a sense of power, control and superiority.

They may hide your keys, snicker while you search for them and blame you for not being better organized. Benign? It costs you time and emotional well-being.

Empowered, evil tyrants like Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot kill millions of people without regret.

They have no consciences, no guilt, no remorse or empathy, no care about right or wrong. They do whatever they please, their only concern is getting caught or being stopped.

Law enforcement and medical professionals call them psychopaths, sociopaths, antisocial. They are at least 4% of our population.

They are often very articulate, charming, attractive and likable. This makes them very dangerous. They look and act normal but they have no morals, no concern for anyone but themselves.

They are adept at hiding their true feelings and evil intentions. They are criminals, con artists, psychopathic ceos, corporate bullys, petty tyrants.

Good people don’t believe people can be so evil and do such evil things and still seem so normal.

This is how and why happy, healthy people are repeatedly taken in and victimized by their psychopathic manipulations and deceptions.

Evil people look like fine, upstanding citizens. Church involvement can provide convenient covers for their criminal activities.

Happy, Healthy, Successful People Beware:

Psychopaths often target the best and the brightest and try to humiliate and subjugate people who are better than they are. They love to dominate, control and destroy people who outshine or out perform them. Why People Are Targeted

Their haughty delusions of grandeur are driven by deep seated and well earned fears of inferiority.

Protection from Evil Psychopaths:

1) Recognize there are very sick, evil people who appear normal, kind, caring and considerate. They have no empathy or concern for anyone but themselves. Sociopaths are sadistic. They get pleasure from causing pain, especially to good people.

2) Power, Control and Superiority are their needs. They want to hurt you and they don’t want to be exposed. They blame you for the evil they’re doing and they want you to take responsibility for it and blame yourself as well.

3) Humiliation and Subjugation are their goals. If they can make you mad, look crazy or bad, you’ve played right into their hands.

4) Emotional Independence – Choose your mood, attitude and actions based on what’s best for you. Don’t give them control of your thoughts, actions or feelings. Don’t give them the control and dominance they crave.

5) Protect Yourself Physically and Mentally – don’t let them depress, distress or endanger you. Don’t let their evil dominate your life.

6) Shine Brightly – Strength, Genuine Goodness and Spiritual Success Are Your Best Defenses!

For more Happiness Habits see HappinessHabit.com

Copyright © 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Happiness in Relationships

Happiness in RelationshipsWhat makes for happy, successful lives and relationships?

Friendship, Trust and Teamwork

There is no greater gift than to help a person achieve their goals.

Good happy relationships help people achieve their goals and their dreams!

“But we’re so different!” is a frequent concern.  People who work, live or spend time together happily and successfully grow together over time.  We are enriched by differences and learn from them.

Key questions to ask…

  • Are our goals the same?  Do we want to achieve the same things?  Do we want to travel to the same destinations in five, ten and twenty years?
  • Is my life truly better with them or without them?
  • Are our values the same?
  • Are we compatible, do we enjoy spending time together?
  • Do I have FUN with this person?  Do they make me laugh?

Do Your Homework Before Becoming Involved 

Spend time building friendship, trust and teamwork.  If you can’t do it early in a relationship, you probably won’t be able to do it later once your emotions are hooked.

There’s a big problem with allowing sexuality to drive relationships.  A person who is inappropriate but sexually attractive draws us into situations that are not good for us.  The relationship supplies sexual highs but none of the key components of a good, healthy, successful relationship.

Friendship, trust and teamwork carry relationships over long distances and through difficult times towards happiness, success and achieving our dreams.

Focus on Friendship, Trust and Teamwork for happy, spiritually successful relationships!

See Happiness Habit for more happiness resources.

Copyright © 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Detach from Unnecessary Distress and Despair

Detach from Distress and DespairWhy do we often embrace, expand and wallow in our emotional pain?

Emotional Pain Is A Powerful Distractor That Robs Us of Happiness and Spiritual Success.

Engaging In Unnecessary Pain is Masochistic. So why do we do it?

Emotional pain is a powerful source of negative energy that seizes and holds our attention.  It’s nature’s way of saying we need to stop what we’re doing to take care of things.

Thinking About Bad Things, and Reliving Painful Scenarios Gives Us Powerful Jolts of Negative Energy. They Are Our Own Personal Horror Shows.

We are both energized and made miserable by this emotional pain. I’s a source of negative energy that brings misery.

Sources of energy are attractive to us… laughter, love, thrills, great music, exercise, elevating experiences, sexual attractions, triumphs and achievement.  Emotional pain that gives us jolts of negative energy is also attractive, but in a misery making way.

Remembering and Reliving Misery, Reinforces Our Misery.  Reliving distressing situations becomes our own personal horror shows.  They gives us  jolts of energy with a large negative toll.

Recognize it for what it is, a jolt of negative energy from a bad source. Ask yourself,

“Is this positive or productive?”
“Is this helping me in some way?”
“Is this the best use of my time and attention?”

If not, detach and decisively resolve to NOT to give it a moment more of your time, attention or well-being. Painful thoughts are robbing you of pleasant present opportunities for no reason.

Detach and Distract Yourself from Destructive Misery, Distress and Despair.

Resolve to Direct Your Attention to Positive, Pleasant Solutions, Opportunities and Activities.

See Happiness Habit for more happiness resources.

Copyright © 1999-        Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Happiness, Goodness & Giving

Happiness Target - Goodness and GivingHabitually Happy people are amazingly altruistic. They rarely pass up a chance to be kind when it costs them little or risks them little.

Practicing Continual Kindness Is A Way To Be Happy.

They are also very adept at protecting themselves, pursuing and achieving their goals. They are not “people pleasers,” they do good because it makes them feel good.

It’s an example of the First Law of Happy Thought:
Our Focus Determines Our Feelings.

When We Focus Our Time, Attention and Energy On Doing Good We Feel Good. More importantly…

We can’t expect others to treat us well if we don’t extend the same care, concern and compassion we want from them to them.

I recently heard a noted economist speak on the subject of giving at a church stewardship dinner. He relayed recent studies linking charitable giving to happiness, but missed a few key points:

Altruism Is Attractive – We tend to like and trust altruistic people because we believe they place goodness, right action and the welfare of others on an equal plane with their own concerns.

It’s hard to like or trust selfish people who don’t show integrity.

Make Goodness A Guiding Goal – Doing good makes us feel good. Giving appropriately makes us feel good because we know we are contributing to worthwhile causes. And the flip side is…

When we don’t feel good about our actions, we can’t truly enjoy the rewards those actions bring. Try the Gold Fish Test – if the world knew the details of your actions, how would you and they feel? Worry isn’t worth it, secrets cause stress.

Love Not Logic Prompts Giving – People need clear, compelling visions of the benefits their gifts provide and a love for the cause in order to support them enthusiastically.

It’s a twist on the old sales adage, “Logic makes people think, emotions make them act.” Build benefits and love before asking for expanded contributions.

There’s an important difference between really wanting to do something and feeling we must, ought or have to do it.

Love Propels Happiness And Giving – Demonstrate how to feel good, proud and joyful about giving. Drive giving with desire.

Acquire The Qualities You Admire In Others – Seek good role models and visions of excellence which help to define the steps to achieve them.

Truly happy, successful people are usually very kind, caring, honest, charitable and compassionate.

Look Like and Live Like the Leaders You Admire. You’ll find they usually give very generously.

Action, Activity and Achievement Are Keys To Happiness. Doing Good Makes Us Feel Good.

Explore HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright © 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Happiness in Retirement

Many people who truly love their work never want to retire. Then time or mandatory retirement catches up with them and they have no choice.hapiness in retirement - shuffleboard photo2

People who dislike their work can’t wait until the magic time comes.

The question everyone faces is… Then what?

Is a life of leisure all it’s cracked up to be?

What’s the secret to a happy retirement?

If you’re retired and NOT happy, try this…

Find something that makes you mad as hell and go fix it. Or decide to fix a small part of it you can influence and improve. Find something meaningful and worthwhile to devote your life to and work at it diligently.

Find ways to make the world or part of it a better place.

Personal purpose and productivity are important keys to happiness.

A retired banking acquaintance who maintains two large homes and has traveled widely recently quipped,

“Retirement is not all it’s cracked up to be.” He’s a cynic who describes himself as “skeptical” and likes to poke fun at my happiness endeavors.

“Travel?” I asked.

“Be there, done that,” he replied. “We’ve been every where we want to go and there’s no where we want to go back.”

“Passions?” I inquired.

“I don’t have any,” he answered.

“Volunteer work?”

“Did plenty of that while I was at the bank” he answered. After he walked away I realized what he probably really needed was a challenge, something to sink his teeth into.

We spend our lives building and creating businesses and professional careers. Then we walk away thinking our lives will be better when we don’t have to do anything at all. For some it is, for many it is not.

A friend who winters in Naples, Florida comments that many senior executives retire there and then die quickly in three to five years. Their minds and spirits are invigorated by the business challenges they face. Without them, they expire.

It’s as if the universe is saying, You’ve spent your life making money, now it’s time to give back or you may die quickly.

Find a challenge you can sink your teeth into. Make the world a better place. Find something that makes you mad as hell and go fix it. It’s a great way to feel happy, productive and enjoy a long retirement.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights and resources.

Copyright © 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.