Two Great Secrets to Happiness

Double Rainbow! Taken from the side of Hwy 1

It always makes my heart hurt a little to see people rush through their lives. Statements like “ I wish this week was over so I can…” or “ I’ll be happy when…” are toxic. They create a constant underlying unhappiness and stress our systems. Let me tell you…when the week is over…You still won’t necessarily be happy and you are in no way attracting happiness to you.
I am a busy chick. I have my hands in a ton of pies. I am the first to admit I need to cull my activities a bit and it is something I am definitely working to change. Sometimes it can be completely overwhelming but most times I am happy with it even if my level of time commitments is significantly higher than most. I have a secret. Actually I have two of them.

Secret #1:
Eliminate the sentence “I’m bored” from your vocabulary.
Yes. I am being serious. This world is chock full of beauty, amazing people and new things to learn. My mom told my when I was 10 or 11…that only boring people ever get bored. I have to say of all the Mom-isms in my world…this is the one that has stuck with me the most. I have never wanted to be boring for sure! So…the next time you are feeling bored…stop immediately. You can. Go appreciate the beauty around you. Take a walk. Pay attention to your pet. Fix one of those 10 minute things that have been nagging your subconscious. Phone a friend. Learn something new. Get ENGAGED in your life. We are not put in these bodies to sit back and let the world entertain us. We must be the ones to put ourselves in motion. Ditch the words “I’m bored” for 6 months and I can virtually guarantee that you will not go back.

Secret #2:
Be Happy NOW…and Later too!
You can be happy when you win the lottery. I will even be happy for you. The thing is….if you are not practicing being happy NOW…even winning the lottery will be a short lived form of happiness. You are relying on OUTSIDE sources to make you happy when happiness is really an INSIDE project.
Take the time to allow joy into your life. There was a time that I thought that other people’s opinion of when I ‘should’ be happy was more important than mine. I allowed their practice of dissatisfaction to permeate my being. I became silently depressed and didn’t see a way out of it. One day I ‘woke up’ and said ‘Yes’ to myself, to my wellbeing. Even though some evenings I am running kids to 3 yes THREE different towns for activities…or I have 3 million (okay, 8 but it FEELS like 3 million some days!) projects on the go…I will still take a moment to pull over and take a picture of a rainbow. I will smile at 2 year olds in the grocery store. I will drop everything to help a friend in need. I look for opportunities to create random acts of kindness. Now, people wouldn’t blame me if I didn’t…but the thing is…you have to fill your cup daily. Many of these things take seconds. Take a moment to smell the roses, literally. Stop putting off being happy. Allow it into your world NOW.
If you adhere to the Law of Attraction then you will understand that being at a higher vibration will allow good things into your world, so you are really doing yourself a favor. If you think Law of Attraction is all hokey then consider this….If you are a happier person…will you be more relaxed? Will people find you more approachable? These are natural ways you can improve your relationships. The other thing is…it shifts your perspective. If you allow yourself to be happy…you will fight to keep that feeling. Your body and mind will crave it. You will rewire yourself to look for opportunities to be happy.
Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all added a few extra smiles to our day? What are your best secrets to win the Happiness Game?

©Jolie Engelbrecht 2013

Social Media for Do Gooders! 3 Ways it has uplifted me.

So in the past couple of days the opportunities to do some good deeds have surrounded me. I have been smiling at the pictures of humans helping humans and hearing wonderful stories.
Social media is being used to spread these  stories quickly. The eastern United States just suffered a terrible storm, Hurricane Sandy, and hundreds of thousands of people in New York City are without power. One guy had an idea that since he HAD power, he would share, and set up a charging station for people’s cell phones. A picture was taken and spread like wildfire. This simple, helpful idea inspired many others to do the same. They may not have had the idea themselves, but it is an easy and do-able way to help. I love the idea of posting great ideas like this and will make an effort to do it in the future.
This spirit of giving has shown up in other ways to help as well. A cousin of mine passed away at the young age of 33, leaving behind a 1 year old daughter who is deaf. Her aunt has decided to raise money to be able to get her the implants she needs and to fund all of the expenses around the travel and care of this beautiful little girl. Within minutes of posting the need for auction items I personally had 8 people offer their help. Tickets to the steak night sold out within a day.
For those dog lovers out there…I live near a small town. A gentleman I don’t know lost his beloved yellow labs. I don’t know him at ALL, but a friend of mine texted me and asked me to post asking if anyone had seen them since I have a large amount of people that see my posts. 3 people responded and 2 referred me to a closed Facebook Group they were part of and I was not. A lady had found them and posted there. These amazing connections allowed me to make a wonderful phone call to the dog’s owner and tell him where he might find his companions. Connecting them made my day.
You don’t have to actually know people to do good deeds. The opportunities surround you…all you have to do is take them.

©Jolie Engelbrecht 2012

Random Acts of Kindess

So often I talk to you about giving random acts of kindness. Today I was on the receiving end and wow. It touched my heart.

I was at a gala this week when I got some truly devastating news.

My coat was inside so I went back in to sit for the last 15 minutes of the presentations so I could get it and get out. The perfect stranger who was sitting next to me took one look at me, asked what was wrong. I whispered the news and she nodded and watched me walk up to the front when I was called and pose in a little bit of a daze for a picture. She didn’t know me, but she took my business card.

Today she made a call that is hard to do even with your good friends and checked on me and offered a shoulder and some support. That lady has a huge heart. Wow. I am humbled by that kind of courage and ability to touch people.

I want to be like her when I grow up.
©Jolie Engelbrecht