C'mon Get Happy

By Dr Timothy Sharp - Heraldsun, Sunday 24 Feb 2008

It is believed that happiness is something you choose, to make better choices that lead to more happiness. Dr Timothy Sharp has specifically used the word "choose" because each of its letters stands for one of the six key happiness strategies that work to enhance happiness and quality of life.

"C" stands for Clarity (of goals, direction and life purpose). Happy people have a clearer sense of life purpose and direction; they set clear goals and generate specific and practical plans to ensure these goals become a reality. So clarify your life plan now (no-one else will do it for you) and make sure your vision for the future is a positive one filled with joy and happiness.

"H" is for healthy living, which includes obvious things such as physical activity, diet and nutrition, as well as the less obvious, but vitally mportant, sleep and rest.

"O" stands for optimistic thinking, which is not exactly the same as positive thinking. Optimists are undoubtedly positive but they're also realistic. There's no doubth that happy people think about themselves, others, and the world differently. They search for more positives but they also acknowledge and face the cold hard realities of the day in a constructive way. If you're not a natural optimist, this is something you can learn.

"O" stands for others, which is another way of referring to all those relationships in your life. Happy people are not selfish but rather, they have both more and better quality relationships. Happy people are more generous, more altruistic, more loving and more helpful.

"S"is for strengths, which is another way of describing your core talents, qualities and attributes. Rather than spending all your time trying to "fix" your "weaknesses", you'd better spend more time identifying and utilising your unique and incredibly valuable assets.

"E" is a reminder to enjoy the moment. There really is only one time when we can truly be happy and that's in the here and now. Happy people learn from the past and plan for the future, but they're much better at living in, and appreaciating, the present; they focus more on what they have and less on what they don't have.

CHOOSE to be happy now, life's too short not to.