happy

Do You Wake Up Happy?

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I do. At least now I do.

For many years however I did not. I would open my eyes and before I was even aware of having a thought I would feel like I had a fist in my stomach. A feeling of dread, of fear and anxiety, and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. Yeah, nice way to start your day!

So what changed? What changed was I worked really hard to change it. I knew this feeling was literally ruining my day and my life. I would not let myself get out of bed until I had changed that horrible feeling of dread to a feeling of anticipation for what the day would bring. How?

Try this: When you first open your eyes focus on your solar plexus area. That is where your feelings are. If you notice even the slightest feeling of discomfort, you must distract yourself immediately. This whole thing sounds insane but trust me on this: sing a song in your head or sing it out loud. As I said this may seem REALLY silly, however it changes your focus and has been proven to work.

Tony Robbins, a well-known motivational speaker, says that in order to change a behavior you have to do the opposite even if it feels weird. So find a song that makes you smile and visualize yourself singing and dancing to it. My songs (and don’t laugh) are “My Favorite Things” and “Get This Party Started”!

Oops! I just Googled “happy songs” and guess what folks, I couldn’t find any recent ones. All of the ones I did find were from the fifties and earlier. Were people just happier then? Alright, back up here. Just think of a tune that makes you feel good and add your own words to it, words that have a positive, uplifting feeling to them. It is impossible to feel bad while you are singing a happy song because your mind is focused on the lyrics.

I dare you to try this for one week!

If you want other suggestions for starting the day off right, check out my book, “The Magic of Zero” at Amazon.com.

©Christina Florence – January 2008

Sunshine & Lollipops – The Freedom To Be Happy

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Giving Yourself Permission to Be Happy.

What does this mean and why do we need permission? And who are we asking permission from, anyway?

Well, it seems that we in America (I can’t speak for other countries) have lost contact with the fundamentals of life here on earth. Our air and water are compromised as is our food. Our feet rarely touch the earth. We are plugged in yet disconnected. We are stressed and consumed by fear. Many of us are caught up in a daily existence that focuses on obtaining “happiness” from some place “out there”. Where, in reality, The Only Way Out Is In.

I had a client recently who said this to me:

“I feel lost in a sea of confusion. I want I want I want. It seems that all I want is to have “things”. I don’t seem happy just to be. That is what needs to change for me. I wish I could just wake up one day happy and never look back. Or never feel bad again. Instead I have a list of things I want.”

She continued, “I think ‘If I only had a bigger house I would be happy, if I only had a better car I would be happy”…but I got a beautiful car and felt happy for about a month. Then it was on to the next thing. I spend hours on the web trying to find something. What? WHAT? What am I looking for? It is like I need to always be in pursuit of something to be happy. If there is nothing to look for there is nothing to live for. This is a terrible dilemma and it is a trap. I also think that if I had more money I would be happy.”

MONEY!

Don’t you think my client might have it backwards? How about when she is happy, she will automatically generate more of everything she wants, including money!

How, then, do we feel grateful for what we have with out feeling that need for something more? Its not that we can’t want or have things. But, the pursuit of these things should not define our very existence.

Life is just a continual merry go round of “next” “next” “next” Until we stop wanting and start living we will never be happy! What we are doing is delaying gratification so that we will only be happy someplace out in the future. Fill in the blank; I will be happy when I am __________________________. Then, in a New York minute, you are 95 and that blank got really long.

Instead hop out of bed each day and remind yourself that the most important thing is to be joyful, happy and fulfilled PERIOD! From there everything, and I mean EVERYTHING else will take care of itself.

OK, I can hear you laughing now. So, all you skeptics out there, tune in next week for the next installment of Freedom to be Happy or How You Too can have Sunshine and Lollipops all day long.

©Christina Florence – January 2008

Move Away Old Stuff and Have the Life You Really Want with NLP

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I know, I know its been 5 months. I was out of the country but that is no excuse.

I’m done with my book, The Magic of Zero and on to it’s companion book. This one will have lots of exercise to help you move through any block that stops you from having the life you want and deserve.

Here’s an easy one that you can try right now!

Anchoring
It’s called “Anchoring” and basically it can change the way you feel about something in an instant, using NLP.

First: decide what feeling you want to get rid of.

Second: count backward from any number for about 3 seconds ( example: 78,77,76,75) This clears your mind.
Then think of something that gives you a clear contrasting positive feeling to the thing you want to change. For instance, say you have a fear of flying. You would think of a memory or an instance in which you feel extremely safe. Think on this safe feeling until you really have it fully in your body.

Now, create your anchor by putting the thumb and middle finger (of either hand) together while focusing on that safe (or what ever positive) feeling. Hold it for 20 seconds,

Lastly, Let go of the anchor and count backwards again for 3 seconds.

That’s it! Simple. You can test your anchor by thinking of the situation, wait till you feel the anxiety of it and then “fire” your anchor by putting the thumb and middle finger together and holding for 10 seconds. You should feel a wave of good feeling come through you taking away the negative feeling. If not, repeat the process above until it works. It will!

 

These anchors hold for about a week then you can do another one if you like. See more about anchoring in my book The Magic Of Zero.

©Christina Florence – November 2007