Who are you? Who do you want to be?

Posted by Paula Christie on

The why and how of making a Personal Mission Statement….

Why make a Mission Statement?

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In this video I talk about how important and useful writing and having a Personal Mission Statement is for finding direction, helping make decisions, small and large, making change in your life.  This is a major step toward creating more happiness in your life as you identify what is really important to you, what you really believe, and who you want to be.  With this behind you, you will be more sure of yourself, and confident!

Exercise: Do the Happiness Survey If you start with the Survey before you start to work on your Statement, you will have an idea of how you feel before you begin.  Then once you have worked on the Statement, after watching the video below, you will be able to see the positive effect of spending time on these important ideas.

How to go about creating a Mission Statement.

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In this video I let you know how to go about creating your Mission Statement.  What should you think about?  What should you include?

Exercise: Write your Mission Statement! Think of the funeral situation, keeping in mind:

Take a look at my Mission Statement Use the FREE life tool by signing in on the right hand side – it will help you get your Mission Statement down on paper! Please comment!  Let me know how it worked for you, and inspire others to try something valuable.

How to use your Mission Statement.

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In this final video I let you know how to best use your Personal Mission Statement now that it is complete. I cover:

  • Keeping your Statement in mind as you make choices during the day
  • Writing in your diary
  • When big decisions need to be made

Exercise: Write your diary and follow for a week! For just one week, write a full week in your diary of activities, including family and friends and time for self. Everyday keep an eye on your diary and do your very best to follow it. Let some of the less important things go to make time for more with those important people and things. How do you feel? Good enough to do it every week? Did you notice any change in your relationships? Did you notice change in yourself? You could do the Happiness Survey before and after to get a good gauge of the effects.

Please let me know how it works for you below, in the comments section. (Please use the post below to leave you comments …. little glitch in the comments tag for this post.  Thanks. )

 

 

Paula’s Personal Mission Statement

Posted by Paula Christie on

09/04/2010

I challenge myself to continually grow and evolve.   I continually seek and pursue my true self and create a life that corresponds, supports and defines that self.  I consider my role as parent my most important.  Parent to Maxwell and Samantha, and myself.

As parent to myself I continue to steer myself toward a medative, conscious life.  I endeavor to be mindful in all I do, and to find pleasure and happiness in all I do.  I aim to listen to and use my inner voice to guide me toward highest action and good.

I work toward building spiritual connections in all my relationships, to see the oneness of us all in everyone I meet, and particularly my close relationships. I will be …… Read more »

Values in Your Mission Statement

Posted by Paula Christie on
This is an add on article for those creating a Personal Mission Statement, that speaks about the importance of making principles and values the base of your Statement and your self!

The idea of a Personal Mission Statement is to give us the chance to clearly form, then to start using as a constant guide for living, the vision we have for our life. At the very base of that, there needs to be a solid and unshakable foundation upon which the rest can be built. It is important to consider that base as you write your Mission Statement. There are lots of things that can seem a good basis for this vision of you. Family, relationships, career, money, possessions, pleasure, church, friend/ enemy, or self. And many people use just such relationships as their base, directing what they do, how they do it, and why. Or they may change from one base to another with the flow of life.

However, the problem with all the above relationships, and “things” as a base, is that they are not stable. Relationships of all types change, evolve and end. Pleasure, money and possessions can come and go with events. So, as a stable basis for your Mission Statement (and your self) they don’t really support you all through life. What Stephen Covey suggests in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, where the whole concept of the Mission Statement came from for me, is that we need a basis in principles. Life values, core beliefs, personal truths by which to guide our lives, our actions.

Principles as a basis to you, and all you do, gives you a wonderful sense of security, as they are not vulnerable to change, like the other before mentioned bases are. Principle do not change their mind, have a change of heart or die. They are not dependent on your financial position, the car you drive, or the job you hold. Principles aren’t eve effected by natural disasters such as flood or earthquakes! By finding, identifying, committing to a set of principles we have a stable, non-changing and secure foundation for ourselves. This gives us the knowledge and direction we need to make all choices, big and small, in our life. It also provides us with confidence and strength to make those choices and to take action based upon them.

As you write your Mission Statement, please consider the very base beliefs you wish to live by. These may be those you have always lived by, and still hold true. Or it may be a time to reassess those values. You may feel comfortable with a set of religious values, or a collection of individual values, such as Human Rights, acceptance, treating everyone equally, love, respect, bravery, openness to knowledge/learning, growth, benevolence, spirituality, grace, thankfulness, or a sense of wonder.

How: It can be difficult to come up with your base principles, and some prompting can really help get you started. Put the term “list values” into an internet search engine to find lists and lists of ideas and pointers for a principles guide. Sense which ones feel right to you. They will probably feel as though you recognise them, like they are familiar to you. Or they may excite you. There doesn’t need to be a lot of them to give you your base, but there should probably be at least three: One that defines how you treat others. One that describes how you look on life, and one that is how you interact with the world. When your principles are in place, they guide and empower all the other things you may want to include in your Mission Statement: family, friends, work and home. These relationships are still important and valuable, but will now be strengthened by your personal base principles. What principles lead you? What do your really believe?

I hope you are excited and interested in creating this Mission Statement for yourself. It is a gift to know who you are, what you believe, and how you plan to move forward. Give it to yourself – then let me know about it in the comments!

10-1000 Excuses to lol

Posted by Paula Christie on

 You would think that laughing is something that we naturally do, and want to do. But life can get a bit grim sometimes, we can get caught up in the drama and the problems, the rush and hurry, and we don’t get much time for laughter.

 

I used to go to a pub down the road that had a regular comedy night. What happened to that? Pub has closed down now, with weeds growing up around the building, and chains on the doors. Not a very good sign.

 

We are here for happiness, and laughing must be part of that. So here are 10 – 1000 excuses to Laugh Out Loud!

 

  1. Laughter reduces pain by releasing endorphins into the blood stream, which help you deal with pain and recover
  2. Laughter massages the organs of the body giving them a good waking up
  3. Laughter pumps up the immune system helping you stay healthier
  4. Laughing is fun and makes you feel positive
  5. Laughing brings about feelings of happiness
  6. Laughing practiced regularly becomes a habit, making you happier more often and giving you a more positive outlook
  7. Laughter disolves tension, worry, fear, anxiety, and is an all round chill pill
  8. Laughter can make SOME serious situations lighter
  9. Being a laugher makes you fun to be with
  10. -1000 Laughter is contageous, infecting everyone around you, then they infect others, and they infect others, then 1000 people are laughing, happy and positive

 

What I propose is that we make a concerted effort to take every opportunity we can to lol. To this end, I plan to regularly post the best baby laughs I can find, and other fun things I discover (remembering that humor is subjective, and may not always be to your taste) on the How to Happiness facebook page. This will give the chance to have a regular laugh that I challenge you to try.

You could even trying taking the Happiness Survey, then every day for a week seeking out chances to laugh, then re sit the Happiness Survey. Any changes? Has your week been any different for the extra laughs? Please let me know in the comments section below.

 Some ideas for laughs:

  • Check out How to Happiness facebook page for some lol clips
  • rent a fun movie, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stuges, or a movie someone else recommends as a great laugh
  • check the library for old comedy cd’s such as The Goons, The Two Ronnies, Bill Crosby
  • cartoons, The Roadrunner, Buggs Bunny (makes you smile just thinking about them)
  • maybe there is a comedy night still going near you
  • Check out the cheesy jokes in the sunday paper and, the best bit, tell them to a friend and watch them moan
  • look for clips on Youtube
  • play pictionary with friends
  • go out with a fun group of friends who you are sure to have a laugh with

A Gift

Posted by Paula Christie on

As you are new here – and so am I – I have created a welcome gift for you. 

This is a gift that you will use over and over again, for all types of situations, to help with all sized problems.

It is a Life Tool that you will carry with you to whip out at any moment, giving you the answers you need, the direction you want, the clarity of thought necessary, and the calm you would love to deal with any question.

Inside this gift box you will find me.  I will let you know about a time when I was quite overwhelmed with a big issue.  I pulled out my Life Tool and put it to work.  I got my answers, direction and the calm I needed to move forward.

I will show you how the Life Tool works, how to use, and what to use it for – ANYTHING!

So, go ahead, open your gift.  Just put in your details on the right there, and click through.

Let me know if you like it in the comments section below, because I love feedback. 

WELCOME TO HOW TO HAPPINESS!

The Dalai Lama says Happiness our right

Posted by Paula Christie on

Just found this from the Dalai Lama, where he agrees with me (as mentioned in the introduction video) that Happiness is everyone’s human right. 

“…naturally we want happiness – ‘I want happiness,’ ‘I do not want suffering’.  Not only is it natural, it is right.  It needs no further justification; it is a natural feeling validated simply by the fact that we naturally and correctly want happiness and do not want suffering.

Based on that feeling, we have the right to obtain happiness and the right to get rid of suffering.” The Dalai Lama, Kindness, Charity and Insight.

So we have it on good authority, we have a right to happiness, and every right to start to let go of suffering (or unhappiness).

Why “Change” is a Dirty Word – And how to do it anyway!

Posted by Paula Christie on

 

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    If I had to say what the most important element was for me in bringing happiness into my life, it would have to be accepting change.

     

    The way I lived, and thought, acted and felt was not bringing happiness my way, and once I decided I wanted a different outcome (happier self), I began to seek out what changes I needed to make. Having found HOW I needed to change, I then had to get my head around actually changing me.

     

    I discovered that making change happen can be very difficult, scary, challenging. Change is something we generally avoid. Yet, without changing something, life would just stay as it is – and that isn’t really an option when you want more happiness!

     

     

    That is why I wanted to get this out to you – Why Change is a Dirty Word, and how to do it ANYWAY!

     

    The whole of the How To Happiness site is a showcase of ways to bring more happiness into life, and minimising unhappiness. It is all about ways to change how you live to bring about a different outcome on the happiness scale. So it is really important that we take an honest look at the challenges we all face when dealing with change. By being aware, and recognising why we avoid change, and using some good tips I have here, hopefully we can get past our resistance, and make the changes we need to bring happiness into our lives. Read more »

Who chooses Happiness?

Posted by Paula Christie on

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This is the third video in the Introduction series, and covers why some people do not choose happiness, and why others Do choose happiness. It may give you some ideas on what may be holding you back from more happiness, and what others have used to motivate them to change toward happier lives.

Exercise: What is your motivation to seek happiness – what is driving you toward a change in lifestyle to gain more happiness?  Think about those things that have lead you to look for greater happiness, and how they can inspire you to move forward, and to try some new ways of living that will lead to a happier you.

 

Comments: In the comments section share how it feels to have made a decision to start being happier from NOW. It may be scary, or exciting, or fill you with hope and positive energy.

Happiness – it’s not a commodity!

Posted by Paula Christie on

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In this second introductory video I talk about deserving happiness, and whether it is available to everyone.  There is lots of good news in this one, and I am sure you will feel you have an option on being happier after seeing it!

Leave a comment in the comments section about deserving happiness, or how the survey went for you. This link will take you directly to the How to Happiness Happiness Survey.

 

The Happiness Survey

Posted by Paula Christie on

Here is the How to Happiness survey!  Check it out, and see where you stand.  The survey is also in pdf format, so you can print it out in both long happiness_survey1 and short sheets  happiness_survey_short1 (Long has the additional survey information, and the short version is the survey only.)

I would love to hear about your results in the comments section. 

Your Happiness Survey

 

       Date:___________

In the past few days:

 

HOW HAPPY HAVE YOU FELT?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

Not very                                                                             Very

 

HOW CONFIDENT HAVE YOU FELT?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

Not very                                                                            Very

 

HOW IMPORTANT HAVE YOU FELT?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

Not very                                                                            Very

 

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU DONE FOR YOURSELF?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

None                                                                                  Lots

 

HAVE YOU FELT POSITIVE ABOUT THE FUTURE?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

Not at all                                                                            Very

 

HOW MUCH ENERGY HAVE YOU FELT?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

None                                                                               Heaps

 

HOW LOVED HAVE YOU FELT?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

Not very                                                                            Very

 

 HAVE YOU BEEN SATISFIED WITH HOW LIFE IS GOING FOR YOU?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

Not at all                                                                            Very

 

IF YOU HAD YOUR LIFE TO LIVE OVER, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU CHANGE?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

All                                                                                     None

 

HOW WORRIED OR ANXIOUS HAVE YOU FELT?

1      2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10

All the time                                                                      Not at all

 

                                                                                   

Total your results here :___________

 

 

Your Happiness Survey Results

                                         How to read your results.

 

 

Discover your results of the Happiness Survey by adding up all the numbers you have chosen for all 10 questions. 

 

A result of 50 suggests a person who is neither happy nor sad.  Their happy experiences of life are completely balanced by sad/unhappy experiences.  These lives can be extremes of happy and sad, but are in equal proportions.  This happiness level is not uncommon.

 

If a result occurs over 50, then a person is more happy than unhappy, and if there is a result of less than 50, the person is more unhappy than happy. 

 

70-75 is a good place to aim for.  For those 70 or more, they are generally people who feel fairly confident and comfortable with themselves.  They are mostly satisfied and thankful for the way their life is going.  They do not suffer unnecessary anxiousness or worry, and they mostly have energy and enthusiasm for life.  Around this level and higher on the happiness scale, people feel generally valued, loved and comfortable with others.

 

The aim of the How To Happiness survey is twofold. As a starting point it can give you an indication of just where you fall on the Happiness scale.  Sometimes we simply assume that what we are feeling and experiencing is just how life is, but the survey can let you know that greater happiness can be achieved and enjoyed.

 

The survey is a great tool for monitoring progress if you want to try some of the exercises and experiments offered on this site to build happiness. Taking the survey regularly can help to motivate you to continue on with a happiness change when you can see the results in your growing general happiness levels. 

 

So.  What level of Happiness would you like to enjoy?  See more on the How To Happiness blog site for tips on creating happiness.

 

 

 

This survey is a compilation of several public and accredited Happiness Tests.  

The survey cannot be used to make any diagnostic decisions about a person’s mental health.  If you have concerns about your mental health, please seek professional help.  Advise is available on this site for finding help near you.