I believe we can all LEARN to be happy.

You may be asking “isn’t happiness a natural thing; why do we need to learn how?”

Just think for a moment about all the sad and unhappy events in your life: the obstacles, frustrations, hurts and injustices you often suffer. There is no doubt in my mind that we’re all victims of events outside of our control.

This is one of the reasons that we often lose sight of our inner happiness. Life can leave us feeling hurt, often cynical and in many cases lacking in self-esteem, self-love, and confidence in ourselves. When this happens, it’s no wonder that we find it hard to feel happy. I know; this happened to me.

How I learned to be happy

I learned to be happy through a series of (traumatic) events in my life that changed how I saw myself and the world around me. During this period I gradually learned to love and trust myself, take stock of what I already had and appreciate what others did for me in a way that led to inner happiness.

Once I decided to learn how, I discovered that with a change in mindset happiness could be found.

Mindset of happiness

Having a mindset of happiness is a decision to look for happiness in every little thing you can. A mindset of finding ways to be grateful for who you are, what you already have, and what others do for you. You can learn to find greater happiness in doing things for others, finding pleasure in making others happy.

Learn to appreciate other people, nature and, if like me, your faith in God. But whatever your beliefs in faith or science most psychologists would agree that as humans we all need to feel good, in our minds and hearts, about ourselves and the world around us in order to reach our full potential.

Anyone can learn to be happy

We can all take this journey of transformation, finding new ways to be grateful every single day. We can all learn to do this, it’s not so hard. Start making a list every evening of all the things you could or should be grateful for. Write them down, keep a special book to write them in. That way you can remind yourself of all the good things in life, that we often take for granted, or forget.

Remember you are of value to the world

Write down all the things you do for others, all the times people thank you for your kindness. You are valuable to your world, but you can so often forget this. You make a difference to your world when you look after:

Nature

Animals

People

You make a difference:

When you say a few kind words to another person

When you smile at someone

When you do things for others

When you show gratitude

When you volunteer for charities

When you give or donate gifts or money to good causes

To your family

To your friends

To your partner

To your children

To your work

To society

You are of value in so many areas of life that the list is endless.

When you focus on these things, you learn how to feel good about yourself. You learn to feel an inner happiness. Being happy isn’t about being wealthy, or being famous, it’s about love and value. Feeling happy for others, as well as yourself. Recognising what you can be happy and grateful for.

We can all learn to be happy.

You just need to decide and learn the mindset of happiness. Do it daily and make it a habit.

It’s a wonderful journey that can lead you to happiness.

Susan J McCann

Motivational Coach

@susanjmccann

P.S. What are you grateful for. How have you learned to be Happy? I would love to know. Please leave a comment below.