It is hard to blog about “How to be happy”, when you haven’t been feeling particularly happy yourself. Everyone goes through periods of gloominess. You cant’ be happy all the time, and if someone acts gleeful 24/7 something must be wrong. Remember, you can’t enjoy the happy times unless you have low periods in comparison. According to the sacred texts of Hinduism, “We know the value of standing in the shade only after we have roamed in the hot day sun”.
Periods of unhappiness are normal and you can frequently recognize the reason why you are down in the dumps. I am suffering from post-vacation let down, something my mom called “too much birthday”. The last four weeks have been remarkable, with a girls trip to Europe, followed by multiple celebrations, a corporate retreat at Disney, productive meetings and very little down time. How do you find a happy place when you are feeling blue? According to the Harvard study on positive psychology, “There is also intriguing preliminary evidence that positive psychology techniques, in addition to preparing you for the ups and downs of life, can be valuable in times of stress, grief, or other difficulties.”
The effective positive psychology techniques include expressing gratitude for the lessons learned or opportunities presented when dealing with negative events. Participants are instructed to write about the positive consequences of their hardship for which they could be grateful. Focusing on finding the silver lining of your black cloud, helps with closure and intrusive negative thoughts about your despair. My fatigue has forced me to relax, re-energize and focus on things that need to be done around the house. Another assignment is to savor the pleasure and think about the good things in your life. When you accentuate the positive you develop a more optimistic outlook. Instead of lamenting my exhaustion after a month of going non-stop, I have been enjoying the shared pictures of our trip and discussing the lessons learned at our Disney Corporate Retreat with co-workers. Keeping busy or getting into “The Flow” with outside interests helps keep negative thoughts at bay. When you’re fully engaged in activities, you are less preoccupied by mundane thoughts. Nothing clears my head of dreary thoughts quicker than a long run with my I-Pod just thinking about the music and my feet hitting the pavement.Unhappy times are really a chance to appreciate that when one door closes another one opens.
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