Imagine you are waking up with a smile on your face feeling fresh and excited to start the day! The smell in the air is like a fresh meadow and the temperature outside is perfect. You say to yourself "Today is the happiest day of my life!" and then you jump up with your fist in the air and exclaim, "I AM HAPPY!" Then you are so exhilarated by your dreams of what gifts today may bring, you do it again, because it feels so good… You jump up with your fist exerting in the air toward the ceiling and you exclaim, "I AAAMMMM HHHHHHHAAAAAPPPPYYY!!!!!!"
WOW!
That feeling is possible! You absolutely can have that as the beginning of your day if you choose it. The only thing keeping you from what I just explained above if your decision to actually say to yourself "Today is the happiest day of my life." Everyday and it is your decision to jump up with your hand in the air exclaiming, "I AM HAPPY!"
Now it may seem weird and way to simple just to do this for your happiness. The happiness deep in your soul likes it simple in fact. I have studied sustainable happiness from a variety of worldly people and science so these happiness exercises are credible. Plus I have a thriving coaching practice in San Francisco where I teach sustainable happiness. For those skeptics, I am going to have to ask you, "Don't knock it till you try it." More than likely you are not happy anyway.
One of my mentors, Robert Mueller, PhD, < http://www.robertmuller.org/ > (Former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, Nobel Peace Prize nominee nineteen times) told me that he felt that happiness saved his life in a Nazi Death camp because he said to himself "Today is the happiest day of my life." Just by setting the intention that today is in fact the happiest day of your life it very well could be!
The "I AM HAPPY!" exercise came from my mentorship with a Swami named Jinendra < http://jinendra.org/ > who's job title is Messenger of Sustainable Happiness. Jinendra's focus in sustainable happiness is on the physiological effect so when you jump up with your fist in the air saying "I am Happy!" then you will feel a very "happy" sensation in your body thus preparing you to experience a deep happiness that day. Also creating this level of zest is supported by the positive psychology movement because they say that zest as a strength is highly related with happiness.
Stop thinking happiness is out there in a person, place, thing or circumstance and start taking responsibility for your happiness and you will therefore in deed have the best year ever!
First we need to achieve happiness in ourselves and then the best year ever can be our experience. In 2005, a study from the University of California in Davis compiled all of the empirically demonstrated benefits of what a happiness experiences in life: more money, deeper love, greater success, optimal health, and greater sense of fulfillment. Achievement of happiness in your life consistently is what brings all of the things that you think comprise your best year ever.
So when you are inspired for to create your new years resolutions, allow yourself to choose happiness < http://happinessclub.com/pages/decision.html > in every moment and watch all of the benefits follow. Thanks to the happiness club who supplies a certificate for us to sign to actually make that decision to take responsibility for your happiness.
It starts with three steps every morning:
1) Choose happiness
2) Say to yourself, "Today is the happiest day of my life."
3) Zestfully jump up and exert your fist in the air exclaiming "IIII AAMMM HHHAAAPPPYY!"
