Get Happy: Improve your outlook
By Cara Hall
JUICE (A Des Moines Register Publication)
December 31, 2008
Those bitterly cold days when it's dark by 5 p.m. can make it really tough to cheer up when you're already down. Rita Henry, a personal coach and reiki master at Inner Prosperity, says the key to happiness and a positive outlook is to really focus on yourself. Take time out of your day for a little introspection. "We're taught to give until it hurts," she said. "It's a very brave thing to disengage and work on your relationship with yourself."
- Give yourself permission to be happy, even when others aren't.
- Work on accepting yourself for who you are, and forgiving yourself for past mistakes. "It's empowering," Henry said. And "it carries into the acceptance of others."
- Ask what's important to you and why. Are you working three jobs to afford a huge house and a nice car, or because you're passionate about that job?
- Ask these questions about your actions: Is it easy? Is it fun? Is it getting results? "When you're doing something because you have to, there's nothing easy about it," she said.
- Be thankful for what you do have. "You cannot simultaneously connect with gratitude and be depressed," she said. "It changes the focus of our lives."
- Be aware of what's going on in the world, but don't let yourself be consumed by fear. Henry emphasizes that you can't be happy if every decision you make is based on fear of consequences.
- Henry also talks about a concept called the "gift of pain." When the pain of an event, such as a layoff, is greater than the fear of changing jobs, you can finally be moved to action. It helps you turn a negative event into a positive one.