The country of Happiness

"Happiness  is not  the absence of problems but the ability to navigate  them "

source image:   Rob Gonsalves       
 

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If happiness was a country what would it look like?
How would you name the capital of happiness?  Who would live there?
Would it be an island, would it have a costline or would it be landlocked? 

Happiness is not so much a state of being, rather it is a never ending ability to navigate through life, not avoiding change and difficulties but rather embracing change and accepting that difficulties are part of life.   

If happiness was a country it would not be a country without problems or difficulties, it would be a country where people use an inner compass called resilience. 
 
Resilience is your ability to get up after a fall.  We all encounter fall backs in life and life changing experiences can be overwhelming, how we react and deal with change is an important factor in experiencing  happiness.  

Different elements can help to stimulate or develop your inner compass of resilience: 

1.    Self-knowledge is an important factor.  Being aware of your reactions when in difficulty and
       knowing your preferred coping mechanism are important factors to deal with change.      
       Asking yourself the right question: Why am I having such difficulty with this? 
       Knowing what you want and what is important to you will help to determine which actions
       to take. 
 
2.     Accept reality don’t fight it. Resilience is about accepting your new reality as it is. You can
        scream and shout about it or you can choose to accept the situation and take action to 
        make something good of it. 

3.    Reframe and choose a different perspective. Looking at your difficulty from different
       angles, also called reframing, is a cognitive ability that sheds new light on a situation
       in order to creatively look for alternatives.

4.    Trust the process. Take appropriate action to deal with the problem and trust the process 
        that things will get better, not by itself but by taking actions in the direction you want to go.
 
5.     Trust in the goodness of the world. Positive attitude towards life, believing in the 
        goodness of the world, embracing support that is out there, are key elements to deal with
        difficulties.  
 

If you want to know more about how to take your life into your own hands, you are welcome to come enjoy the workshop by Brenda Davies on 23/11/2013:  'Creating the Life you would Love to
Live' or on 2 4/11/2013: 'From Then through Now and into your Future'. For more details feel free to contact us:  sarahneirinckx@bloom-cocreation.com
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