Without this, you can't be happy

Most of us don't know how to be happy. We only feel joy or bliss when there is an exaggerated awareness of it. Thanksgiving this weekend was the opportunity to heighten our sense of gratitude.

What about the rest of the time? Do we miss those opportunities to feel pleasant feelings? I think we do, and I believe it’s up to us to change that. Here is how.

As I noticed what I am grateful for in my life, I realized these are my happiest times of the day: ​

1. Stretching during my AM yoga routine
2. My first sip of coffee 
3. My afternoon walks in the sunshine
4. My husband’s daily hug when he gets home from work
5. Crawling into bed at night

Do you know your happiest times of day? 

Here's the thing; if you don't know your happiest times of day, how can you even identify what happiness is?

Do you know the feeling you have when you're happy?
Do you know what it does to you and those around you? 

Happiness starts with being able to feel it. You need to be able to get an understanding that something different is happening. To lock it in, you also need to expressive it in some way to yourself.

When I'm stretching, I feel my body relax. During reclined twist, I understand that my body chemistry is changing in that exact moment and that it is reducing the stress in my body. I can say that to myself, I am feeling my body unwind and soften.

When Ernie hugs me in his big bear hug at the end of the day, I feel myself leaning to him. I can sense us become one. I know that there is an exchange of love between our hearts at that moment. I can say to myself, I am loved, and I love. 

To feel happiness and experience happiness you need to be able to:

1. Identify it as a good feeling. “Hey, something satisfying is happening here!”
2. Feel it. Allow your body and mind experience this sensation.
3. Notice it. Be aware that you are feeling happy, joyful, relaxed or just plain good.

Look back over your day so far. What have your favorite times been?
Why?
What was different about those moments? 

To feel happiness, you must recognize happiness. Learn to look for happy moments in your day. Study happiness in your life. Slow down long enough to identify happy times.  Feel the joy. Notice what it does to your body, mind, and notice.

​When you become a student of happiness, you will find more happiness in your life. 

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