Happy Saturday friends. I hope this one is planned to be a good one; that there’s no work today, the children are calm, the sun is shining, and you get to do whatever it is that you fancy.
However, even if that’s not the case and things don’t go to plan did you realise that you can still have a great day? It’s true. I’m sure you’re rolling your eyes at me now and wondering what I’m bleating on about, but I discovered about ten years ago that we really do make our own happiness.
Being happy and more importantly, content in life is all about frame of mind. Yes of course, external factors can have a bearing, but the most powerful source of contentment is your mind. Let me share with you what I think are the three keys to a happy life…
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Choose to be Happy
It sounds simple doesn’t it? Wake up in the morning and decide that you are happy and feeling good. Today will be a good day and you’ll have a good time and guess what? It is that simple, I appreciate that its not always easy and of course if you’re suffering from something like depression it will be a whole different ball game, but I do think we over complicate things nowadays.
Everything in life is a choice, you don’t have to lie down and accept what is thrown at you. It is how you approach life’s challenges that will define how you feel about them. Years ago, I worked in a busy hotel reception and on a Friday morning it was so busy with check-out that there was no human way I could do the work efficiently in the 60-minute window of everyone wanting to leave for work. But when I woke early and decided to have a good day, it really did make all the difference. I made it through the whole 8-hour shift happy and content.
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Want What You Already Have
We live in an age of instant gratification. If you want a new car, go on buy it, there is finance available. If you’ve had enough of your husband, just divorce him. Everyone does it, why not? It’s true, you can do whatever you want and within reason get whatever your heart desires, but does it work? Does it really make you happy? I don’t think so, just think about the last time you bought a new gadget, maybe a phone or a laptop. You might have spent weeks researching it, but I bet once you had it the thrill didn’t last long, and you were soon on to thinking about your next purchase.
Endless seeking of things, money, status, time or anything else will never fulfill you! The key is to want what you already have. To look at the car you already have and to be really grateful that it works, that you don’t have to waste twenty grand on a new one and that it is a comfortable drive. You get the picture, you look for the gratitude. Or maybe it is your husband that you’re fed up with and you think that everyone else has a better relationship than you. It’s too easy to head into a downward spiral and assume the grass would be greener with a change, when actually, if you just change your mind and with it your actions I bet things can become far better and you’ll start to remember all those qualities that you once loved about him.
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Get out of Yourself and Do Something for Someone Else
This one has been a new discovery for me in the last few years and it’s a game changer. Some days I just feel bleurgh, I honestly don’t know how to describe it any better than that, but I just feel out of sorts and a bit discontent. What I have found makes a massive difference to that day is to stop focusing on me and at first it feels a bit counter-intuitive, as all the self-help texts tell you to take some me-time and to treat yourself if you feel a little down. Of course, sometimes that it necessary but in the main I have found it is far more helpful to move my focus to others.
On the days when I feel down the best tonic is to say yes to someone who needs help; I’ve given neighbours lifts, cooked a cake for friends to share, done an errand for someone, tided one of the kids’ bedrooms, done some voluntary work and any number of other things. Not only do you brighten someone else’s day but by taking your gaze off yourself you come to a place of contentment and the heaviness just seems to lift.
So, there you go, three very simple things you can do that will help you to feel happier and more content with your life just the way it is right now and if there are things you want to change, then I bet you’ll find that your improved mood will help you to be positive to tackle those too.
I wish you all the best and pray you find these tips as useful as I have. Mich x
About Michelle Pannell
Mummy from the Heart is the fourth baby of Michelle, a 46 year old (manic) mother living in East Sussex. Having moved to the countryside and ‘retired’, Michelle can now be found eating too much cake and taking long walks. She lives life on the bright side and looks for the joy in every situation, even the excess pounds those cakes keep adding! Michelle’s blog is a very honest place where she shares tales of imperfect parenting, being a Christian digital activist and anything else that takes her fancy.
Michelle Twin Mum
Wednesday 18th of July 2018
That endless seeking of 'more' and 'other' just leads to sadness in my opinion. Thanks Uju X
Uju
Wednesday 18th of July 2018
Lovely post, Michelle! There's so much said about gratitude and its life-changing effects, but I really like the way you've phrased it as 'want what you already have'. That's really the key. Thanks for sharing x