This is what I have learnt as the key to happy happy days, no matter what is bringing you down; finding happiness in the present moment, no matter what your life situation. I have learnt this by trial and error; from over a year of soul searching, reading self-help books and blogs, taking countless self development, mindfulness and emotional intelligence e-courses/online programs to name a few. I will talk about more tools as we go, but we’ll talk about the most important ones here. It boils down to:

Mindfulness, Gratitude, Self love

Mindfulness

Mindfulness, in short, is:

• Being in the NOW – the present moment
• Observing feelings, thoughts and reactions
• Acceptance ( non-resistance)
• Non Judgement…

Wikipedia defines mindfulness (in positive psychology) as:

“Mindfulness is moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, characterized mainly by “acceptance” – attention to thoughts and feelings without judging whether they are right or wrong. Mindfulness focuses the human brain on what is being sensed at each moment, instead of on its normal rumination on the past or on the future.” 

“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.” 
~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

Gratitude: Being grateful for every little positive thing, from your morning coffee (or if you´re like me, tea!) to having wonderful sunny weather, to appreciating nature, to getting a job. Keeping a gratitude journal, counting your blessings in your head every morning/night, being grateful in the moment are all ways you can work on your gratitude practice.

Self love: Loving yourself as you are, without judgement or self-criticism. This involves a lot of self compassion, being gentle with yourself and positive self talk. And of course, reducing negative thoughts about yourself.

I will elaborate these in the next blog posts. Next time I will talk about the simplest tool, Gratitude.

Kramar (Hugs in Swedish),

Dr Happiness.xoxo