happify – upgrade to simple

step twenty-one

be like a cute newt. float.

hyperbarics work. or, as the redmayne lodge in york/uk claims: floating solves problems you don’t know you have in ways you can’t understand.

if lying in a closed oxygen chamber doesn’t sound appealing, find a pond and watch a few cute newts. they are amazing semi-aquatic amphibians who can teach us a lot: how to be mellow, and how to regenerate limbs, organs, and tissue. this includes heart muscle and the lens of its eye. the newts i watched on my hike through a nature preserve today looked so relaxed as they slowly floated around pond lilies , stretching their plumb and broad limbs as if to ventilate a heated body. they crawled into the lilies to feed on larvae and drowned flies, and gave one another ample space.

but the best part was watching them spread their limbs in the still water and just float. as if they gave the water permission to carry them. as if they gave their bodies permission to just hang. to just be. they don’t always have to perform superhero magic like growing a new tail, or a new heart, or kill their enemy with the mere moisture of their skin. they can do all those things because they know how to take breaks and just float. just hang. just be.

simple.

step six

a motto someone shared with me many years ago, “ki-lined”:

prepare for the toughest outcome.

expect little, if you must expect anything at all.

hope for the best. and more: hope for everything.

if you prepare for “the worst that can happen”, and you can see that you will still make it through, you can relax.

if you expect little, if you are not attached to the outcome at all, you can relax a bit more.

if you can hope for everything, you can step into each day with a chance of joy, and contentment.

step five

have you noticed that some people, some news outlets, some shows, some businesses are barraging us with worst case scenarios?

if we can choose to look at any situation from more than one perspective, what makes us decide to see the worst, what makes us see the best?

both viewpoints can be useful. the worst case scenario can prompt us to prepare well, the best case scenario can show us opportunity.

today, be encouraged to take a closer look to see what else is there.

and if the day, or your screen, or your to do list, or the person next to you just look glum, try another filter. stand on your head, flip the script.

you might just be inspired.

step three

when our routine is interrupted, we tend to react. many make the mistake and overreact. many feel an overwhelming fear that this is “the end” of life. but it is only the end of life as we know it. everything flows.

don’t allow fear to cloud your vision.

be still. feel your roots. breathe in deeply and exhale fully. three times.

assess the situation. what is really there? what do you have, what do you need? take a moment to write it down.

be careful with the answer to the last question.

what do you really need? are you sure?

then, draw lines between what you have and what you need. re-arrange the list if you have to.

the needs that are not met? circle the most important one. take one small step to take you there.

done. simple.

step one

it really isn’t that difficult.

start today.

one small step.

write it down.

“i choose to happify my first thoughts as i wake up.

i write down one good thing i want for myself.

i write one thing i am grateful for today.

i think about it before i go to sleep, i lay it next to my bed, i look at it in the morning.”

do it one day.

then two more.

shoot for a week.

tell me how it changed your day.