3 Easy Steps to Happiness

Author of Flow and Creativity, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-Sent-Me-High-ee), is turning his vision to the causes of happiness. He suggests that there are three things you can do to up your happiness level.

For reference I will use a scale of 1-10, 1=devastation …10=bliss

1. Be attuned to what gives you happiness.
I must have been reading one of those self-help books years ago when I decided to make a list of things that feel magical to me. To be on the list it has to be something that has its own aura, creating an ambiance of goodness and golden happiness in my heart. That’s a pretty tall order, but here’s my list:

live music
beautiful photographs
making love
wine
walking in the woods
candlelight
baths
flowers
amusement park rides
the ocean
getting lost in a book

Make your own list. What makes your heart sing? Then it is a simple question of what are you going to do to get more of these things into your life. Make an effort.

2. Analyze yourself.
I ride at a pretty steady 6 or 7, contentment, most days. I have a lifestyle that allows me free time to pursue whatever I want and I have few obligations. People often comment on my easy going attitude about life. But I have 4-5 days occasionally. And I hit 10-11 a few times a month, usually at a concert or taking a wonderful photo or at the beach. True euphoria, when was the last time you felt that? When you were ten years old? Find a way to get it into your life.

3. Be in control.
This is harder for me and I intend to work at it. It’s easy for me to hide away and hope the bad/scary stuff goes away. But I will become a better person. I will feel that I am in charge of my life. I spoke in front of the audience at my father’s funeral. I went to the dentist. If you know me, you know that is confronting a major terror of mine. I will get control of the paperwork and things-to-do that always pile up. I will continue to grow.

Source: Time.com