I am super excited to have this guest blog written by Sarah Craig!  She discusses happiness and how to cultivate happiness right now.

Sarah Craig is a personal development blogger, who writes on ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com. She is interested in living “the good life” and helping others do the same.

She writes about 30-day personal challenges, personal development book reviews, and her thoughts on the good life.

Sarah lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, 2-year-old son, and tortoiseshell cat. She’s also a full time medical salesperson, and she is writing a book. ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com is her hobby blog, which she began on New Year’s 2018.

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Happiness is a beautiful thing. This blog article features 10 ways to promote happiness right now. I’m no expert; I’m pretty much an armchair philosopher. But I do have plenty of thoughts about happiness, and I love to discuss the subject. With that in mind, this happy little list just might brighten your day, add color to your world, and inspire you to soak up the goodness surrounding you.

This happiness list will come to life in an upcoming Facebook Live event. I’m Sarah Craig, a personal development blogger at ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com. On FB Live, I’ll be joining Dr. Teralyn Sell, who will add to my list and bring the expertise to this conversation. She has a PhD in addiction psychology, and her dissertation was on happiness and life satisfaction. She’s also a licensed professional counselor. The Facebook Live event “10 Ways to Promote Happiness Right Now” will be on Monday, September 17th, 2018 at 5pm PT / 7pm ET. You can sign up here.

We’ll be giving away a free copy of the book StrengthsFinder to one randomly chosen FB Live commenter. This life-changing little book corresponds nicely with one of my 10 happiness ideas.

Like everyone else, I’ve experienced fantastic happiness, as well as bitter unhappiness. We can’t always be happy. But I prefer happiness. Obviously. That’s why I’ve given the subject a lot of thought. I believe the recipe for happiness is unique for each individual. I’ve developed my own unscientific, yet effective, strategies for staying as happy as possible. They work well for me! And I hope they will add happiness to your days too. Here are some of my favorites:

1. FRIENDLY UNIVERSE

It helps tremendously to assume that the universe wants you to be happy, successful, and satisfied. This concept is powerful. It’s a paradox. While not everything in the universe is friendly, and some things are truly terrible, I truly believe the universe itself is friendly. It seems goodness, truth, and beauty generally rule reality, when the consider the countless things that are going right. Even Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists in history, believed in a friendly universe. He said: “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” My favorite astrologer, Rob Breszny, agrees. He says: “The whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings.” It’s a comforting thought. Accepting the universe as friendly allows us to best cooperate with it.

2. LOVE AND TRUST

The most powerful force in existence is love, in my opinion. Love of all good things: life, people, the universe, yourself, everything. It’s helpful to love even the bad things; it dilutes their power. Love is transformative and makes life worth living. Hand-in-hand with love is trust. Have trust, or faith, that love will win the day and the long game too. Extend trust and be trustworthy. It’s relaxing and freeing.

3. PRIORITIZE SLEEP

Take extremely good care of yourself physically. Start with plentiful sleep. The whole world looks like a brighter place after a long, restorative night of sleep. If you don’t sleep well, do everything you can to improve your slumber. With adequate sleep, you’ll stay healthier, think clearer, feel happier, and likely live longer. Make sleep a high priority.

4. FOCUS FLOURISHES

Pay attention to what’s going right in your life. Tend to the good things, and they will likely multiply. Life is complicated. It’s full of good and not-so-good things, with both require thought. But as for your primary focus in life, do yourself a favor and pay close attention to those things that make you happy, fulfilled, and glad to be alive.

5. MAXIMIZE STRENGTHS

Recognize the areas in life at which you are really talented. Everyone has talents and strengths. Discover yours and emphasize them. The world needs your unique gifts, and it feels fantastic to do what you are designed to do best. I highly recommend the book StrengthsFinder by Tom Rath. This Gallup research-based book describes 34 possible strengths in detail. It includes an online test which reveals your top 5 strengths. We’ll give a free copy of StrengthsFinder to one lucky commenter during the “10 Ways to Promote Happiness Right Now” Facebook Live event.

6. PRESENT MOMENT

Now is the most important time to feel happy. The present moment is the perfect time to enjoy life, live your highest values, and plant seeds for the future. So it’s good to recognize the gravitas of the present moment. The better you live today, the better your future will be. As John A. Schindler says in the book How to Live 365 Days a Year: “The best insurance for a satisfactory future is to handle the present moment well.”

7. RECOGNIZE MAGIC

Life is overflowing with everyday magic. Sometimes life is absolutely fabulous, seeming almost too-good-to-be-true. But sometimes the magic is subtle. As in, we have a world full of amenities, bodies perfectly designed for the human experience, and happy serendipities are commonplace. Existence itself seems so improbable, but here we are. It’s an absolute miracle, and we are all part of the magic. Spending time in nature is a great way to get in touch with the magic and promote happiness.

8. EXTREME GRATITUDE

This might be the best way to feel happiness right now. Let yourself feel extreme gratitude for all the wonderful things in your life, big and small. Your family and friends. Your hot cup of coffee and warm shower. Your ability to solve difficult problems and see the humor in situations. There are an infinite number of things to be grateful for. Make a habit of counting your blessings. Sunshine, hot tubs, champagne, good books, opportunities for self-expression, the beauty of nature…

9. NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS

The people in our lives are so very important. Relationships with family, friends, and colleagues are quite possibly the best part of life. They add tremendous meaning and satisfaction. Nurturing your relationships can add to your happiness in a big way. So enjoy good times, have great conversations, give abundantly, and let people know you care. Fill up the lives of your loved ones with good things.

10. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Thankfully, we usually have some control over our own happiness. This reality is empowering. It can be helpful to renew your commitment to take personal responsibility for your life. You are in the driver’s seat. Even so, be persistent in the things that are important to you, be good to extremely yourself, and love yourself tons. Paradoxically, we don’t have control over everything, so sometimes it’s best to just let go and trust everything will be okay.

So those are 10 of my best tricks for staying happy. They work well for me. Hopefully my ideas benefit you too. I recognize that each person has their own unique happiness formula. It’s great to have a tool box full of effective strategies to promote happiness.

THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES ON FACEBOOK LIVE

Join Dr. Teralyn Sell and me on Facebook Live for a lively conversation on “10 Ways to Promote Happiness Right Now”.  This FB Live event is set for Monday, September 17th, 2018 at 5pm PT / 7pm ET. You can sign up here.

During the FB Live, Dr. Teralyn will share her professional take on my 10 happiness ideas, and she’ll share some tips of her own. We’d also love to know your best strategies for promoting happiness.

We encourage comments during the FB Live! All commenters will be eligible to win a free copy of the book StrengthsFinder, which includes a code to take on online test revealing your top 5 strengths. It’s an amazing little book, and I bet you’ll be happy to discover your strengths.

In the meantime, I wish you satisfaction, success, and lots and lots of happiness.