Michael Neil, coach extraordinaire and author of several books, outlines his formula for increasing one's happiness levels in his book "Feeling Happy Now".

The first is to learn how to create more positive feelings for yourself, by deliberately creating a positive physical reaction in your body. This can be easily done by placing your hand on your heart, closing your eyes and imagining a pleasurable time or situation.

The second aspect is to learn how to tell yourself better stories. We cling to beliefs and ways of thinking that keep us stuck in the rut of negative belief systems. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, then clinging to the pervasive but unconscious belief that you cannot actually succeed in this endeavor, will inevitably create the reality. Beliefs create thoughts, which create emotion and actions which then serve to reinforce our original belief.

The third aspect is to act on your inner knowing or quiet smart voice within each of us that we drown out with our constant mind chatter and busy-ness. Allow yourself a daily practice of quieting the mind and simply allowing yourself to create the space for your inner guide or GPS to surface and find a voice. It is this inner wisdom that we are imbued with which when revealed will guide you to your "North Star", as Martha Beck calls it.

Labels: happiness; joy; accessing happiness; happiness inside job

A businessman of multinational company from Sweden was having a morning stroll on the beach at Kovalam, near Trivandrum, Kerala, India. He was enjoying a free morning from the Business Strategy seminar being held in the luxury hotel.

As he walked along he came across a fisherman lazing on the warm sand between two large fishes and he stopped to chat with him. He asked him what he was doing on the beach. The guy said he was waiting for customers to come to the beach in a couple of hours to buy his fishes, for which he would get $5 profit.

The businessman, a little surprised at this intelligent man wasting his time lying on the beach, asked him why he did not go out and catch more fish before the customers arrived. The fisherman queried him as to what he would do with more fish.
He said that he would get more money if he sold more fish. The fisherman appeared confused and asked what he would do with more money.

The smart man explained that he could buy a small boat, go out to sea and catch more fish. The confusion of the fisherman appeared to grow. He asked what he would do with even more fish.
He told the fisherman that he could catch more fish and make more money. In fact, he could become a rich man. The fisherman was quite taken aback. He asked them what he would do with all the money he got.
The Swede was quick to tell him that he could form a multinational company, get others to do his work while he relaxed on the beach, enjoying the sun and the sand. The fisherman looked at them incredulously. He asked them a simple question - "What am I doing here just now?"

For many of us, happiness is a destination rather than a state of emotional well being that we can access in the here and now. We postpone joy in the mistaken belief that when I ..... then I will be happy. For example, when I have a million dollars, or lose 35 pounds or find the perfect mate... then I will be happy. In reality, when we are happy, the rest will ensue. Access your inner joy that is waiting to be revealed by loving what is and savoring the here and now.

Labels: happiness; joy; accessing happiness in the here and now, laughter