This happiness series has been a blast! We've covered a few of the essentials: how love and relationships help fill our hearts and make our lives meaningful; the role of friendships in helping us feel connected and positive; and the importance of our pets in promoting healthy, less stressful and more joyful living.
Hopefully you've taken a little time to reflect on each of these factors for yourself. You might be mulling over the ways you can deepen your connection to a partner, your friend(s), or spend more time relaxing with your favorite furry pal. As a wrap up to the happiness blog posts, I'd like to spend this post outlining and enhancing your personal plan.
So let's get going, shall we!?
Happiness is an emotion that's hard to pin down. We know when we feel happy, but why do we feel happy? What causes that emotion? Here are a few of the emotional springboards to happiness and some prompts to help you begin to reveal an even deeper connection to these emotions in your life.
You may want to print it, fill it out by hand, then keep your answers somewhere easy to glance at, like your fridge or next to your computer at work. Hopefully, this will serve as a daily reminder for you to connect to the actions, thoughts, and choices that promote the most happiness for you.
Happiness is:
Good cheer Energy Self-Esteem
Creativity Flow Hope
Good cheer: That friendly, bubbly emotion that makes the day just peachy.
What thought(s) fill me with the most good cheer? What mental image or memory is the happiest, brightest spot in my life?
Energy: The physical manifestation of positive emotion.
When do I feel the most energetic?What choices can I make daily to increase or improve my energy level? Diet? Exercise? Sleep?
Self-Esteem: Feeling capable, worthy, and deserving.
3 Things I Do Well:
3 Things I Like About Myself:
Creativity: Individual expression & new ideas coming forth!
Here's my pipe dream or new idea I've dreamt up. even if its for far into the future:
Flow: Being in "the zone." The mental state where you're fully immersed in, energized by, and enjoying an activity.
List at least one activity you do (could be personal or work related) where you completely forget yourself and feel completely in the zone. What is it about this activity that makes it flow?
Hope: Optimism and confidence for the future.
Describe what you hope for:
When do you hope for it?
What are you doing now, no matter how small, to make this hope a reality?
Phew! Are you feeling better yet? Did filling this out make you realize that you're in much closer touch with your own happiness than you thought? Or that perhaps you've got a bit more work to do to reveal its power on a daily basis?
Sure, its a wrap for now on this Happiness Blog Series, but it's certainly only the start to much more content to come in the Best You Blog that will be geared at your well-being. My blog posts will almost all be designed in support of your fulfillment and happiness, because, well, that's the whole point of the therapeutic process... So that you can get in tune with yourself, realize and engage your strengths, and develop the lasting insight to live your best life possible.
I'm grateful to be a part of your journey!
- Lauren
Lauren L. Drago, MSEd, LMHC, LPC is the founder of Lauren Drago Therapy in Old Saybrook, CT and in greater CT, NY & PA. She specializes in working with smart, insightful and capable women to overcome stress, anxiety, loss of identity, self-limiting beliefs, perfectionism, marriage strain, and the pressure of "trying to do it all." Lauren has a passion for helping others to achieve the happy, fulfilling, productive, and meaningful life they deserve by changing how they experience and understand their world. She believes that every woman can and should live out her personal definition of her own best life. Follow Lauren on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Call (860) 339-6515 for your free initial 15-minute consultation.