How to Be Happier

Every human on this earth is on the search for happiness. Everyone's greatest desire is to be happy. But how do we get there? A lot of people think money or fulfilling your pleasures brings the most happiness, but in reality they don't. Look at celebrities, they seem to have everything: beauty, money, cars, fans, unlimited trips, but they lack happiness. They end up getting hooked on drugs and alcohol, and many of them commit suicide. Why aren't they happy? Don't they have everything? No. They actually have nothing. They have nothing because they do not have Christ. 

People who have the least things are often the happiest, most generous, and most compassionate. They learn to give not because they have much, but they know exactly what it feels like to have nothing. But the truth is, that they have everything if they have Christ. He is all we need. My family and I go on mission trips to Mexico every year. One of the things we do is to go door-to-door and bring the gospel to extremely poor towns. Now, Imagine walking into a house made out of milk cartons with no electricity or running water, and 10 people living in it. You would imagine that the people there would be really unhappy with life, but actually they are the happiest people you could ever meet. They offer you all they have and greet you with a radiant smile. Why are they so happy? In having nothing, they find strength and hope n the Lord and are filled with his grace and love, and that makes them shine with joy. 

Last year, Pope Francis tweeted,

Then, he said,

A couple months later, he added,

This year, he tweeted,

Finally,

To be completely honest with you, I was a little offended when I read the first tweet which said that
a Christian should never be bored or sad. What about all those people who have gone through tragic things or those who are in a lot of pain? Are they not allowed to be sad? Jesus came to the earth not to take away our suffering, but to teach us how to bear suffering, for he knew there was no life without suffering. Then, when Pope Francis tweeted the last tweet, I finally got it. He did not mean that nobody is allowed to be sad. He meant that Christ brings so much joy into our lives, and that we should share that experience with everyone we come in contact with. We should not keep quiet about our 'secret' source of hope and happiness!

So, Christ brings the most happiness and joy into our lives, but of course, there are many other things that influence our happiness. I am really interested in psychology, especially positive psychology, and I came across a positive psychologist's TED talk, which I found amazing. His name is Shawn Achor.  He has published several books, some including The Happiness Advantage, and Before Happiness.  He explains that there are actually some ways to re-wire your brain to allow it to be more positive and to block negativity, therefore, seeing everything in a new light, and allowing you to be happier overall. He came up with the "5 Steps to a Happier Life" which I found really awesome and interesting, so I decided to make it one of my Lent resolutions! It has actually been a really cool experience and I have only been doing it for about a week. I really encourage you to look at some of Sean Achor's research and videos on youtube because it is so interesting. I want to share his steps with you!

5 Steps to a Happier Life

1. Write down 3 things you are grateful for each day.

  -You will realize that there are so many things to be grateful for, and remember to thank God for them.

2. Journal for 2 minutes a day describing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours.

 - Remembering that positive experience will double your positive experiences because the brain is often confused about whether it is recalling a positive event or actually experiencing it.

3. Exercise for at least 10 minutes a day

 - Everyone knows exercise is good for you, even if you don't ant to do it. It brings so many good effects to your health.  Exercising creates a pattern in your brain leaving a  belief that your behavior matters, leading to better decisions like healthy eating, productivity, and positivity. 

4. Meditate/Pray for at least 2 minutes a day

-  Meditating creates a positive effect in the brain because it trains your brain to do a single thing at one time. 

- Prayer is the best and fastest communication device! Daily prayer gives us an opportunity to share all aspects of our lives with God and chance to express our gratitude for the things He provides. It also provides the platform for confessing our sins and asking for help in overcoming that sin. Lastly, daily prayer is an act of worship and obedience.

5. Participate in Random acts of kindness! Think of others before yourself.

-Random Acts of kindness create a ripple effect that leave everyone in the world happier, and you feel happier for making someone else happier. Random acts of kindness are the best. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 8 of Lent

• Live for others Jar- I actually did not pull out a name today because I spent about two hours writing more names and placing them inside the jar, and I thought it would not be fair to pull out a name when all of them weren't in there. I will be posting a picture of the jar tomorrow, because it looks awesome!
• 'Good deed a Day' - Smile. So this one seems really easy, but it actually wasn't. I don't know what my problem is. Even when I am really happy, my face doesn't really show it. So today, something happened, and I wasn't really happy with the situation, but instead of putting on a sad face, I smiled. It felt awesome and it actually made me stop being upset. It was a stupid reason to be upset about anyways. 
• Positive experience of the day- I got to see my friend Brittany. She is a really good friend and I miss her a lot. She texted me because she needed someone to talk to, and I was really glad to see her, even though she was clearly upset. I wish I could have done more to help her, but I had no idea how to comfort her. I was really happy to see her though, and I will hopefully get to see her again tomorrow.
• 3 Things I am Grateful for

1. My friend Brittany
2. Ice Cream
3. My Ipad

• Prayer intentions-  For flight 777 and the passenger's families, for my friend Brittany, for all of those who are lonely, and those who are fighting an illness.