I learned so many amazing things at the Women's Health Conference that I thought I would begin this by sharing one of the things I really loved. One of the speakers spoke about how to increase your state of happiness. Sometimes, especially as women, we tend to get down on ourselves and become overwhelmed with feelings of depression or low self-worth. She (Dr. Ulrich) gave a list of 12 things that have been proven to increase happiness that we can and should spend time working on.We all know that increasing our spirituality is the best way to find true and lasting happiness. In addition to that, we can also do the things listed below to add to that happiness. From the list she gave, these are my favorites:
- Exercise - this is the single best thing to increase your sense of well-being
- Learn from your problems instead of dwelling on them - spend 20 minutes a day for three days writing about your problems or difficulties. Make a list of things you can learn from them and how you can overcome them.
- Forgive - spend 20 minutes a day for several days vividly imagining letting go of resentment and forgiving someone. Write about how you are letting go. Practice thoughts of self-forgiveness.
- Use your signature strengths to better the world - go here to take a test to see what your greatest strengths are (take the "VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire"). Then infuse your strengths into everything you do. Focus your attention on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. Weave your strengths into your daily activities and goals. Remember that the greatest leaders are those that contribute their strengths to the world.
I plan to try some of these this week and encourage you to try them too! Wouldn't this world be such a better place if it were filled with happier people? Let's help the cause.
(This information came from Wendy Ulrich, PhD. If you would like a full list of the 12 ways to increase your happiness, email me or leave a comment and I'd be happy to send you a copy)
