Be Happy - Day 1

I've been listening to Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink". The whole book is fascinating, but I was particularly intrigued by research on emotion. He talked about studies linking how we feel physically with what we portray on our face. The studies showed that smiling and being positive has a direct, positive physiological effect. Likewise, frowning or thinking about negative things has negative effects on how we feel physically.

That got me thinking. I know people who are grumpy or have something to complain about no matter what. I also know people who are "doing good" and being positive no matter what.

I decided that I am going to make a conscious effort to be positive and not complain. For the next week I'm going to work extra hard to be friendly and happy. I'm going to focus on smiling. I have also put a rubber band on my wrist that I can snap to give a gentle reminder when I catch myself whining or being negative.

I've had to make use of it a few times today on Be Happy - Day 1. I caught myself telling Mel in a slightly whiny voice that I had a headache. SNAP! Ouch. Note to self: don't whine. I think everyone can find a multitude of physical ailments, but for this week I'm not going to give them focus or attention. So there body! You're just going to have to suck it up.

Here's the thing:

People who always complain still have at least a few good things going for them. They just choose to focus on the bad parts instead of the good. Sometimes I'm in this boat. And...

People who are always doing good still have bad things going on. People who are positive don't have any less physical problems or family difficulties or work struggles. They just choose to focus on the good parts. I want to be more like this.

It's possible that I'll be snapping my wrist so much this week that the rubber band will break. But if it does, I'm not going to complain. I'll just get another rubber band.