Friday, March 25, 2011

Happy Quiz

Once I felt well enough Wednesday to open my eyes for any length of time, I watched Oprah. She had Goldie Hawn as her guest and I've been one of her fans for a long time. LOL - it could be because she's connected to my most favorite actor, Kurt Russell {grin}. Man, did I do I have a school-girl crush on him!

Back to the show... The topic of discussion was happiness and how we as a society no longer instinctively know how to be happy. We are constantly being bombarded with things and external influences that tell us we need this or we need that in order to be happy. As such, many people have to be taught how to be happy and that the choice to be happy is within themselves, not because of things they do or do not have. Goldie has a program to teach children how to be happy and even has a foundation to help children thrive and be happy.

That's all well and good, but where down the road did we lose the ability to be happy within ourselves without someone telling us how to do it? What happened to normal childhood and the joy of just "being" that made us happy? I don't know. Studies have shown that some people have a higher happiness quotient than others and that some people are born with more ability to be happy than others. I know of people who have every reason to moan and whine about the circumstances of their lives, and they're still some of the happiest people I know. I know others who have so much to be happy about and they can't see beyond the right now to embrace the future. To test myself, I took the Happiness Quiz. I've always considered myself pretty resilient and able to maintain my happiness in most situations. Yes, I sometimes fall off the wagon, but I don't let myself stay down too long before I give myself a swift kick in the rear and get back going.

Goldie advocates meditation and deep breathing. I can't say that I'm a "meditative" person but I do enjoy having quiet time and just letting my mind relax. Sometimes that is more difficult than others. Letting it wander to pleasant thoughts is almost as beneficial to me as emptying it completely (and easier to accomplish). She said that we should give ourselves 1-2 minutes several times a day to just be still and relax - close our eyes and deep breathe. She said when she needs a timeout, she'll take herself to the bathroom and just hide from the world and "chill" until she's ready to resume what she was doing. I've done that myself so I do know that it is very beneficial. There is no private place at work and sometimes no private place at home so the bathroom can become your sanctuary (if you need it to be).



I'm happy to say that I'm a happy person. I passed the quiz. Happiness is a choice and each day you have to decide to find something to be happy about. It could be anything, however minute to massively important. Even negative situations can have a happiness part to them. It's there - you just have to be willing to look for it.

9 comments:

SkippyMom said...

You are definitely one of the most resilient and upbeat people I know. No doubt about it. I knew you'd pass that test with flying colors.

[PS - even if I did sell this Longaberger you aren't getting any of it because you are DOWNSIZNG woman and trying to save money. ::running off:: giggle]

SkippyMom said...

PS I know you were kidding about the baskets. So am I.

I just have to figure out which each one is. I have about 40. It's ridiculous - and that is only HALF - Sissy got the rest.

Southhamsdarling said...

Lovely post Teresa. I always try to look for the positive and can feel happy just over little everyday things, such as finding a parking space, or the lift in the car park working. Silly little things, but it works for me!

Sandy said...

You are definitely an upbeat person even when life seems to throw you some curves. I'm inspired by you. I think the secret to being happy is to keep the negative ones as acquaintances, LOL.

Kristen said...

I am doing a toungue in cheek reply to that quiz on my blog. I'm glad you are happy, you deserve it!

Kristen said...

Never mind, I typed it for 30 minutes and then proceeded to lose it so now I have blog something else very UN happily. ;(

Anonymous said...

First off I am so glad you shared your blogs with me. I felt so bad because you knew all about me and here I was not knowing anything about you. Thanks for following me!
As for your post, I love it! One of the wisest women I know once said, "I believe that happiness is something we create." I would have to agree with her. I used to choose the negatives, now I choose to make myself see the happy side of everything. A good choice for a post. I will definitely be following you now :D

labbie1 said...

Very interesting quiz!!!!

I consider myself happy most of the time--though the snow today is making me very UNHAPPY!!!! SPRING!!! I NEED SPRING!!!!

That said, I see that the more sex you have the happier you are...hmmmm...

I am glad to hear that you are able to look at the happier side of life as it appears that you have your share of "growth opportunities"! You go girl!!!

caterpillar said...

A very thought provoking post....and I agree, sometimes, bathroom can be the best sanctuary.