DON’T WORRY – BE HAPPY

Not in the clamour of the crowded street,

Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng,

But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.”

~ Henry Longfellow.

We can all create a Happiness Contract for ourselves which shows us how to identify and release blocks to creativity, entrepreneurship, and to living a life we love.

Did you know that somewhere in the back of your mind - beneath a pile of thoughts - there is a “Happiness Contract” with a lot of small print, i.e. rules, conditions, laws, and beliefs that dictate what it will take before you'll feel happy?

On closer inspection, you will also find other contracts buried in your mind like “The Success Contract” and “The Abundance Contract” and the “Love Contract.” These contracts are statements of belief which influence how much joy you think is possible and how much is just too good to be true.

By rewriting your Happiness Contract, or any other personal contract, you can instantly improve your chances of living a more inspired life.

• What makes you happy?
• What do you like doing?
• Where can you include more of this in your life?

Why not try and smile at at least one stranger today. For the less confident this may be a challenge – but you can do it!
Happiness comes from many sources, including expressing ourselves creatively. What are you going to do this week to express yourself? A smile costs nothing, however it brings great richness to the recipient. “It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive it, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.”
Dale Carnegie - How to win friends and influence people

Have you ever heard it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile?! There are many health benefits to being happy (despite the problems you may and have), including increasing your sense of wellbeing and pleasure with each and every day. Smiling also improves your health by boosting your immune system and lowering your blood pressure. It’s a great stress reliever and increases your attractiveness.

Smiling into your golden years can actually promote longevity. In a study on optimism published in General Psychiatry, of those over the age of 65, optimists were 71 per cent less likely to die from certain causes than that of pessimists. A life full of smiles also exercises muscles in the face, which helps prevent drooping and saggy skin!.

A vision of happiness and smiling makes us attractive

We are drawn to people who smile. We want to know happy people and figure out what is making them smile. Frowns push people away, but a smile draws people in.

Smiling and being happy changes our mood.

Next time you are feeling down, try tricking your body by putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better.

Being happy and showing it, helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn out and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you will be better able to take action.

Being in a happy state of mind boosts your immune system
When you smile immune function improves, possibly because you are more relaxed.

When you’re happy, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Sit for a few minutes and take your blood pressure. Then smile for a minute and take another reading! Note the results!! Being happy makes you look younger The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day instead! – you’ll look younger and feel better.

Having a happy demeanor and smiling makes you seem successful

Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted and to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently, more positively. Smiling helps you stay positive. When we smile our body is sending the message, “Life is good”. Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling. My favourite affirmation is, “I’m so happy I can’t stop smiling”. It always helps to put a smile on my face. If I don’t feel like it, I try to “fake it until I make it!”. I pretend I am happy by smiling anyway and usually I find I am feeling better instantly. Practice smiling. When you are exercising, taking a walk or looking at yourself in the mirror tell yourself things are real good.

Forgive everyone for everything: Hold no grudges. Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. YOU created the stress in your life by getting angry, and only YOU can instantly remove that stress by granting forgiveness. Expressing your forgiveness to the other person is optional - that forgiveness is required in order to live a happy and joyful life. Don't forget to also forgive yourself for everything you regret ever having done or not done.

Dance Lightly With Life: Life does not have to be a serious undertaking. You will make mistakes, you will feel regrets, and eventually, you will die - so what?.... Happiness comes from dancing lightly with life and enjoying the moment. We only have this moment so why not BE HAPPY!

Do call me now if you having difficulty in seeing the bright side of life despite the difficulties you may be having.

Call Nuala, Life Coach at 087 2532675
E.mail Info@nualaduignanlifecoach.com
View my web site at
www.nualaduignanlifecoach.com

YOUR WEALTH IS YOUR HEALTH...

David Jones takes a look at how depression may become a growing problem as more and more people lose their jobs during the recession...

It may be an old saying, but how true it is. Your health really is your wealth. Given the present economic doom and gloom scenario though, you might find it works the other way around; your wealth, or rather lack of it, may have serious consequences for your health. One thing’s certainly on the horizon, a lot of people are going to find they have much more control over their health than they do their wealth.

With the dole queues lengthening and the jobless figures forecast to reach the staggering heights of between 400,000 and 500,000 people; it’s time to focus on one of the consequences of this massive rise in unemployment – depression.

Every day our news bulletins announce yet more job losses; 100 jobs gone here, 50 there, 70 somewhere else. Apart from making depressing listening; the news just comes across as figures, anonymous statistics that don’t really sink in. Yet if we stop and think about it for a moment or two, everyone of those job losses is a living person. A father, a mother, grandfather; a son or a daughter; a friend, a neighbour; someone near to retirement, someone young; a family man with kids, a single man or woman living on their own.What must it be like for them?

Losing your job is one of the most traumatic things that can happen in anyone’s life. It ranks alongside bereavement, divorce and separation. When you first get the news that you’re losing your job, two possible reactions might follow. You might break down and become overwhelmed with emotion; it’s as though the news is just too much to bear. Alternatively, you might just go numb. It might seem strange to think that bad news like that might get no real reaction at first. That’s because the body has a natural defense mechanism to protect itself from the shock. It temporarily shuts down to give you time to adjust.

A day or two after the initial reaction to the news, things might drastically change. The person who initially broke down might feel calmer, as if they are getting used to the idea. The person who was initially calm might become overwhelmed with an extreme sense of sadness, anger or anxiety. As you come to a realisation of what’s happened, it might seem like there’s no way forward, no future, no hope.

Depending on your individual circumstances, the initial weeks after losing your job can be very different. If you were lucky enough to get a lump sum redundancy settlement, you might experience a kind of jobless honeymoon. You’ve suddenly got time to do some of things you always wanted to, and you’ve got some money in the bank to let you do them; for a while at least.

If on the other hand, you get laid off with only a week’s notice and no savings, then things can seem very bleak indeed. Feelings of utter desperation could easily overwhelm you.

One of the big problems about this present recession is that many, perhaps even most, people currently losing their jobs have never been unemployed before. It’s a very daunting experience to have to face the dole queue for the first time. Even worse, given the shortage of vacancies and the difficulty of finding another job, then this current brush with unemployment could be much longer than any of us would like to imagine.

The big danger is depression. I don’t mean the odd blue mood; I’m talking about longer term feelings of despair, hopelessness, even suicide. Recent health projections have forecast that within the next ten years, depression will be the second most common debilitating illness after heart disease. Strange thing is, depression was almost unheard of in the 1940’s.

What is it about today’s lifestyles that makes depression such a common problem. One possibility might be that it is not so socially unacceptable to admit to being depressed as it used to be. A lot of work has been done by groups like AWARE to try to remove the social stigma attached to depression. I don’t think social acceptance of depression is anything like as relaxed as it needs to be though. It’s still far too often seen as a weakness by employers and even family members.

“Pull yourself together,” I hear people saying. “Sure, what have you got to be depressed about?” I hear others asking.

The truth is, we really know little about the causes of depression, Some experts would argue it is a chemical imbalance best treated by drug therapy. Others that it relates to traumatic experiences best treated by counselling or psychotherapy.

Whatever the cause, if you find yourself suffering with any of the following symptoms, seek help:

• Lack of interest in life,
• Loss of, or unusually excessive, appetite
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Unusual irritability
• No interest in looking after yourself
• Cutting yourself off from family and friends
• Excessive drinking
• Thoughts of self harm
• Thoughts of suicide

In the first instance, I would suggest a visit to your doctor. He or she won’t think you’re silly; they will take you seriously, and they will be able to offer help.

Alternatively you could contact AWARE, which is a wonderful organisation that works in the area of depression. If you are suicidal and need someone to talk to, you can phone the SAMARITANS, who are always there to listen.

Copyright © David Jones, 2009