How are you doing today?
Most of the time we hear this question and respond with a mumbled, “fine, and you?”
Wouldn’t you like to happily say with confidence “Damn good thanks!”
That’s what this post is about. I’m going to teach an easy to implement five minute strategy to increased happiness, inner peace, and contentment.
Tip: Contentment = fewer purchases of things you don’t really need
Our society is not exactly one that appreciates the person who lives a simple, intentional life. We tend to think the person who is constantly busy, works 50+ hours to fund their lifestyle, and has mounds of debt is livin’ the good life. But almost always, the key to happiness is living an intentional simple life. Living the social norm lifestyle doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness.
Let’s get into the core of this discussion. Happiness.
First, we need to determine what happiness is.
My definition of happiness is a feeling of contentment and gratitude for what you have and where you are.
Being the personal development nerd I am, I have tried numerous practices to help me achieve “happiness.” I’ve spent hundreds of dollars of self-help books, countless hours in the gym, and even put my happiness in the hands of other people. I was disappointed, hurt, and still unsure of how to obtain the elusive happiness. What I found was, the old cliche, the key to happiness is within me.
But I needed to learn how to tap into my inner being, so to speak.
I discovered meditation and initially thought it was too “woo-woo,” so I shut it out completely.
Bad idea!
Knowing the drastic impact meditation has had on my life over 3 months has proved that it is not a practice to shun.
Meditation is the practice of being fully aware in the current moment (not focusing on the past or future). It’s a period of deep self-awareness.
The video details out step-by-step, how you can start incorporating meditation in your routine.
Now that you know how to meditate I would like to share with you some of the benefits I found:
IMMEDIATE: deep state of relaxation, clear mind, ability to approach decision making without as much anxiety/stress, increased happiness for the day.
LONG TERM: lowers blood pressure, improved heart rate, triggers more brain waves, and even helps control your metabolism. Meditation can also help ward off illness and infections.
These aren’t just my opinion, these are research backed.
So how do you know if meditation is working?
If you get feelings of warmth, heaviness and calmness, then you have gone deep enough. If you have a hard time with meditating on your own consider getting a guided meditation app. Here are a couple great ones:
That’s it. Practice meditating every day to start seeing increased levels of happiness, ability to make decisions easier, and have more mental clarity throughout your day. But most importantly, practice meditation so that when someone asks you how you are doing, you can respond, “damn good!”
Namaste.
Thank you! I think I found my New Years resolution!
Hailey,
That’s such a good goal to have! Keep me posted on your progress. 🙂
Hope you are doing well.
Whitney