how to achieve happiness

Anchors Away!!

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Here is the 5th installment on how to choose happiness.
Use energy exercises to shift your outlook from sad to happy. I have 20 exercises in my book, “Be Alive in Five” about EFT (emotional freedom technique) and NLP (neuro linguistic programming).
Here is an easy exercise from my book:
ANCHORING (NLP exercise)

1. Let’s start with what is called “break state” – to clear your mind and prepare for the anchoring process. Count backwards five numbers starting anywhere (for instance 67, 66, 65, 64, and 63).
2. Think of a time when you felt totally relaxed and confident.Think of something that is the opposite of the problem state, for example, if the problem is fear of speaking to an audience, you could think of yourself talking and laughing with family or friends.
3. While you are remembering this place of relaxed speaking put the thumb and middle finger of either hand together (this is the “anchor”) and hold it there for about 20 seconds while you keep remembering that relaxed state. This anchors the feeling for later use.
Do this two or three times to to create and strengthen your positive anchor.
4. Release the thumb and forefinger after 20 seconds. Repeat step one to end the session. You have now created your anchor.
“Fire off” your anchor any time you are about to go into the fearful speaking situation by placing the same thumb and middle finger together to recreate that relaxed state.
Anchors stay in place for five or six days, so I recommended that you repeat the above process five days or less before an important event.
The use of anchors has truly changed my life and the lives of many others.

Banking your Anchors:
When you are feeling good or happy or content, remember to just put your thumb and middle finger together for 20 seconds! I call this “Banking Anchors” because it is like putting a deposit in your happy bank to use at a later time. There is no limit to the amount of deposits you can put in your happy bank so go ahead – bank those anchors!
You don’t have to feel bad. Remember Happiness is a CHOICE!!!
I hope it was fun and easy to access your inner happiness using these tips.
for these tips and more be sure check out my book, Be Alive in Five at Amazon.com.

©Christina Florence – June 2012

Tip # 4: In Pursuit of Happiness, Your Blue Suede Shoes

Christina Florence, ,

 

Pursuit of happiness

Take a walk to clear your head.

Walking is one of the best ways to untangle those confusing and sometimes paralyzing thoughts. Exercise of any kind for at least 20 or 30 minutes releases endorphins, which are like mini happy pills running around in your brain, singing happy songs to you.

Next time you are feeling the blues, put on your blue suede shoes and head out the door in pursuit of happiness!

©Christina Florence – June 2012

 

 

Laughter is the Best Medicine

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I believe that laughter is the best medicine. Why? Because it feels so good! The act of laughing causes an instantaneous production of hormones such as endorphins, serotonin and other hormones in the body that are associated with feelings of contentment and happiness.

Laughter shakes up your body and uses muscles that you don’t use otherwise. Laughter can even help you lose weight! Laughing changes a bad mood to good instantly because of the increase of serotonin levels in the body. Laughter spreads fast, moving quickly to those around you. Next time you are in a group, watch people’s reactions as funny things are said.  Notice how seeing and hearing someone laugh causes a laugh response, like a ripple in a pond, to the next person and the next, who then continue the passing of the laughter, to the others in the group. For this reason, laughter is extremely important to your emotional and physical health.

Get a bunch of funny books and videos that can make you laugh. Or look at funny pictures or comics. Then laugh as often as you can. I recommend  laughing for at least 30 minutes per day! It’s so important to your health.

I recently found out that there is something called “Laugh Yoga” which is spreading like wildfire in India and now in the U.S. Go to www.laughteryoga.org  to find out more.

©Christina Florence – September 2010

Is Happiness a “Thing” or a “Feeling”?

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Now that I’ve explained that Be Alive In Five is a guide to happiness and a tool to help you choose happiness, ask yourself this question once more: “Am I happy?” This question is a tricky one. In order to answer it, we first must answer the question: WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

According to The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, happiness is defined as a noun, “the feeling of being happy”. That isn’t very helpful, is it? Upon looking up the word ‘happy’ in the same dictionary, we are told that happy is an adjective which means “feeling, showing or causing pleasure or satisfaction”. Somehow these definitions seem a bit vague. In my opinion, these standard definitions give more questions than answers.

Is happiness a “thing” or a “feeling”? What is “true happiness”? Has the definition for happiness changed over time?

Further research on the definition in specific reference to the philosophy of happiness gives us another word, “eudaimonia”. Eudaimonia is a Greek word which is often translated to English as the word “happiness”. Eudaimonia differs quite a bit from happiness as it is defined above, adding some clarity to it’s definition. Whereas in English, the happiness definition references a subjective state or measure of the quality of one’s life, eudaimonia’s definition refers to the experience of a life course which is objectively desirable in and of itself. This definition describes what Socrates considered to be the highest degree of happiness, or “true happiness.”

So, now that we have this improved definition of happiness, let’s put it to use by reading a bit about more about Socrates:

Socrates was a Greek philosopher (469-399 B.C.), widely considered to be the first western philosopher to develop a philosophy of happiness. In this philosophy, he states that the highest good achievable by any human being is happiness. Socrates’ philosophy also states that whatever action a person chooses in life, this choice is motivated by his/her desire for happiness. He furthermore declared that knowledge, virtue, and wisdom were all the same, since people choose an action according to what they think will bring them true happiness. Therefore, according to Socrates philosophy, the more a person knows, the greater their ability to reason out the correct choice and to choose those actions which truly bring them happiness.

From Socrates’ philosophy, I learned that knowledge is a key to finding true happiness. And that the knowledge that is most important in finding happiness is self-knowledge. In my book, Be Alive In Five, I tell you how I got to know myself and found true happiness. By sharing what I have learned, I can show you how to explore the knowledge inside yourself. By using the helpful exercises I discovered along my journey towards happiness as a guide, you should soon be upon your own path towards true and lasting happiness.

©Christina Florence – August 2010

New Year’s Resolutions That Stick – Your Perfect Weight!

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This year instead of telling yourself you should, need, have, or must resolve to change something, try one of my quick change exercises.

These are fun, easy exercises taken from my book “The Magic of Zero” and you can take them with you anywhere.

After a holiday season of the Christmas Cookie diet, let’s start with everyone’s favorite topic, weight loss.

The Magic Mirror:
Start by sitting comfortably where you won’t be disturbed, (yes, shut off the cell phone). Close your eyes. Take several deep, complete breaths and picture yourself going down a flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs picture a room with many doors. Each door has a sign above it. Go to the door with the sign that reads “My Perfect Weight”. Go through the door and find yourself in a beautiful room. In this room is a closet. In the closet you will find beautiful clothing that is exactly what you love and in the exact size you want to be. Take an outfit off the hangar and drape it over your arm. Turn around and see your reflection in the full length mirror. What do you see? Do you see your self the way you are? Do you see yourself at all? If you don’t like what you see, no matter, we are about to change it!

Along the bottom edge of this mirror are 4 knobs you can turn and one button that says “Save”. The first knob on your left will sharpen your image. Turn it and see your image become crystal clear. The next knob will make the colors brighter. The one in the middle will control the horizontal. Keep turning it until you see yourself at the size you want, then press the “Save” button.

The next 2 knobs control the background. Create a background the way you want it. Whatever makes you feel thin. Is it walking? Dancing? Eating well? Lets choose “Eating Well”. Turn the 4th knob and a table and chair appears in the background. The table is covered with luscious, vibrantly healthy foods. Vegetables, fish, grains, fruits.

Put on the clothes you have been holding and imagine yourself stepping into your new image in the mirror. Feel how it feels to be this thinner body. Take a seat at the table and begin eating. Savor the goodness of these healthy foods. Take your time. They really taste great. When you are finished eating stand up and go back through the mirror and into the room. Turn around and admire again the beautiful you you have created. Press “Save” one more time. Now leave the room, walk back up the stairs and into your life as the new thinner you.

Visualize yourself in the mirror everyday for 2 weeks. It takes to weeks to create a habit. Some people find that in 2 weeks they begin to associate themselves with eating better and being at the weight that they want. For people who have trouble visualizing a thinner self find a picture of the body you would like and paste a picture of your head on it. Place this picture where you can see it everyday.

For those who want other exercises, please see my book “The Magic of Zero” available at Amazon.

©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