This is the second part of my ‘How to be happy’ guide – view part one here. I’m basically sick of seeing the same tips for ‘happiness’ over and over in media. So, as a person who has successfully transformed herself from a Negative Nancy into Positive Penny, I thought I would make my own list and share it with you lovely people. Because everyone deserves happiness.
6. MSN aka your most important social network of all. No, it’s not that chat and messenger tool that most of us used all those years ago – its a term I have coined standing for My Support Network. Repeat after me: “This is my most important network. I shall put more thought, effort and time into this network than all others”. The members of your MSN, which may change through your life, are those that you feel you can be your true self around. They’re there for you through thick and thin. I personally have some friends that I won’t speak to for months but can randomly call up anytime and tell my problems to them like I only saw them yesterday. Once you’ve identified your members you can cherish them even more, and ensure you provide the same level of support back – because the act of giving is much for fulfilling than that of taking.
7. Culture Clash What is ‘culture’? Often we confine culture to nationalities, but really there’s so much more to it. The world is made up of different levels of cultures that are continuously altering and crossing paths with one another. Think about what obvious cultures make you. For me personally, I would group myself in the ‘Australian’, ‘Perth’, ’20-something female’, ‘professional’ and ‘uni student’ cultures (obviously there are many more but lets get some brevity). Once identified, do all you can to get the hell out! Expose yourself to other cultures, preferably those you’re unfamiliar with. A few benefits here (again, shortened for brevity) – enhancement of knowledge, awareness, appreciation and perception. Ya know, no biggie.
8. Weight Elate watching People can put heaps of pressure on themselves when it comes to deciding what to eat, putting lots of thought into what physical effect each food will have. This is usually a result of various social pressures and can actually be a big cause of stress, confusion and even self-loathing. My suggestion to these people would be this – stop focusing on how food will make you look, and start focusing on how it will make you feel. Once you start identifying how you react to foods and structure your food decisions around this, you can discover what works for YOU and wave goodbye to completely unnecessary worry.
9. Get snap happy So you’re looking at that big tree, but do you really SEE it? It’s small intricacies, the way the sun is reflecting off its leaves, its surrounding contrasts. Photography truly can alter how we perceive the world. When we take a photo, we are caused to consider how our object is composed and depicted to ensure our image is one that captures its character and beauty. Rather than seeing a tree as just another tree, it can be viewed as the unique creation that it is. This here stirs a whole new level of perception and appreciation. And somehow, gradually, as we consider its new-found character, all the troubles in our mind become less and less significant.
10. Circus act You are the master of your own circus. Like a juggler, you must manage numerous things in such a way that nothing is missed and brings the act crashing down. Like a lion tamer, you must keep negative influences under control and make sure that they don’t get the better of you and attack. Like a tightrope walker, you much use strength and determination to ensure you stay well-balanced. This is a travelling circus, and so you can’t get used to the same conditions and audiences; you must adapt to life’s changes. And you know what? You must embrace these changes too, because these occurrences in life are what allow us to grow.
Your road to restoration begins here. Using the positivity that each one of us possess, say it out load –
“I will be happy. And I will love my life”
Now go get ’em xxx
Vistas of tomorrow 