Arguably, there is one skill even more important than the skill needed to install happiness in your daily life. This skill is the one used to notice when you are not happy and then get happy once again. It is the skill used to stay happy, even after a setback.

Anyone can initially get on the happiness bandwagon and be inspired to make happiness central in one’s life. The motivation might last for two weeks or even a month. But what happens when you fall off the wagon?

Happiness is like going to the gym. It takes consistent mental effort to become a buff happy person. In addition, just like the gym, as soon as you stop your efforts, you begin to regress.

Expect setbacks. The hurricane of life will hurl situations and people at you that will challenge your happiness. You will loose your motivation.

Set aside time in your schedule to re-group your mental efforts. Spend 30 minutes or an hour reviewing your happiness goals. Do whatever it takes to reaffirm your commitment to being happy.

One measure of a black belt martial artist is his ability to get back up after being thrown on the ground. The marital artist expects to be thrown on the ground. The martial artist practices skills that help him to recover and jump up.  

Develop the skill needed to breathe new life into your motivation.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 10th, 2007 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Happiness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.