How To Be Happy

How to be happy should probably be the name of my website, and all of those websites geared for depression self help. However, we tend to look for, and hover on "how not to be depressed."

This is sort of backwards. It's like having a basketball star with a bad streak start searching for ways how not to mess up. Do you think Michael Jordan had that kind of concept in mind?

Not hardly. Michael would most definitely want to concentrate on "how to best play, and continue to improve the game of basketball."

Lets make this a lesson in life. "How to live, and continue to improve the game of life."

Author Michael Anthony, in his book "How to be happy, and have fun changing the world," explains about the reason we humans tend to hover over, seek, search, strive for, hunt, investigate and explore our possibilities to be happy (I highly recommend this book).

We seem to have been created to be happy. Whether you believe in God, or the universe as a creator, we have a common theme to find happiness, and our evolution depends on it.

Just as Casino's in Las Vegas dole out millions of dollars to gambling winners, in the end, the casinos end up winning that much more. It is statistically proven that profits in casinos averages out to pay the "house." People's bio-chemistry works in the same way.

People are created with the need to be happy. Many people may be able to do harm, be angry, and be unhappy, but in the end, the brain and body's chemistry reward those who are happy.

Happy people tend to function mentally and physically a lot better than those who are unhappy and have negative thoughts.

Anthony's book describes this principle, proving it in sports. This theory is proven immediately with sports, because those who think positively outperform those who are unhappy. "Immediate feedback" for the mind-body connection.

The same feedback exists for daily live, but it is not as immediate. We may take days, weeks, or even years to realize what our negativity has done to our lives and relationships.

Seeking the age old question how to be happy, even Harvard University offered a very popular course called "how to get happy." The NPR article entitled "Finding happiness in Harvard classroom" shares a glimpse about what was taught in the course:

1. Accept all emotions, whether positive or negative.
2. Engage in activities that you love and enjoy. If not possible, then find happiness boosters throughout the week that provide enjoyment and meaning.
3. Find the glass half full. Try to find the positive, even in seemingly negative situations.
4. The mind and body connection. Take care of your body by exercising, eating and sleeping well.
5. Express gratitude whenever possible.

Michael Anthony in his "How to be Happy" book says it well by sharing age old secrets of happiness. He explains how our body and brain function with electro-chemical reactions that change according to our moods and state of being.

We can do many things to control our own eletro-chemical reactions in our body to ensure our happiness. Here's how:

1. Thoughts. What we think is what we are.
   
2. Nutrition. Eat well and the proper meals.
   
3. Exercise. Sweat it off, and be strong.
   
4. Rest. The proper amount of sleep.
   
5. Environment. The people around us and the energy they produce can affect our being.
   

Anthony also explains the human inherent need to be social. This does not refer so much as to making friends, but in "helping others," and yourself. This is done by:

1. Being positive,
   
2. Truthful, and
   
3. Helping others.
   

So there you have it. Some wonderful and very effective advice on "how to be happy."

Live well, be happy, and enjoy life.



Return from How To Be Happy to Depression Help HomePage