It’s not realistic to expect that the goal of life is to be happy all the time. I’m usually a bit suspicious when I meet someone who is overly happy all the time and prefer authenticity and the acknowledgement of the full range of one’s emotions. Emotional literacy, or the ability to effectively identify, label, understand and act upon my feelings and the feelings of others, is a bonus.

 

Humans are complex psychological-social-emotional-spiritual-physical beings wired to experience a full range of emotions, including anger, sadness, joy, fear, shame and more. From a Jungian perspective, it is our journey to acknowledge, explore and integrate our emotions, leading us to ultimately grow and transform into an emotionally aware and psychologically balanced individual.

 

With that being said, there’s nothing wrong with being happy. To the contrary, we know that a happy and positive mindset provides distinct practical advantages on many fronts, including health outcomes, productivity in work, athletic performance, relationships and more. Thanks to two decades of research in Positive Psychology, we now know more precisely how to attain and sustain happiness—it’s clear that when we change our thinking and act repeatedly in positive ways, our brains rewire themselves and happiness settles  into our daily life. Proven strategies include aiming for a three-to-one ratio of positive to negative experiences and reframing them, invoking self-compassion, questioning painful assumptions, deepening gratitude and practicing meditation, prayer and mindfulness.

 

A new, cutting-edge mindset tool called Positive Prime is also emerging, which helps prime the brain with positive video images in as little as three minutes a day. Visit PrimeForGold.com to receive a free gift of two video sessions entitled “Being Happier” and “Feel Good,” yours to keep and use for free forever and a great way to jump start your personal, positive priming habit.

 

Many times I’ve heard people say, “I just want to be happy.” There’s a lot of depth behind that desire, and most likely a lot of self-exploration and personal growth work required to accept and integrate all of our experiences and ultimately be able to choose and cultivate happiness as a mindset.

 

It’s no surprise that one of the most common human desires is happiness. Let this issue be your gateway for learning how to choose and integrate even more happiness into your life, as we collectively continue our journey to feel good, live simply and laugh more.