Natural Success

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend who'd just done some brilliant work in a challenging situation.

What soon became obvious though, was that he really didnt realise just how brilliant he was. And when I complimented him on what he'd achieved, he said "Oh it was nothing, I didnt do anything special, I was just being myself!"

And isn't that often the way? We hear about courageous people who've dived into rivers, or entered burning buildings, to rescue someone and yet when recognised for their bravery they reply "Oh it was nothing". And when giving people praise, or asking how they did so well, we'll often hear the same response. Infact, when was the last time you felt something similar or denied your own brilliance?

It reminds me yet again that when we are being our true authentic selves, we do what comes naturally, and that's when we get to discover and reveal our own magnificence.

So how is it that so many of us, for so much of the time, don't feel free to just be ourselves?

We're often so busy doing, fitting in, living up to expectations, striving to achieve or proving our self worth that we become disconnected from who we truly are, and lose sight of our own greatness and natural talents. And it's then that we begin to think that we're not good enough, doubt our abilities and sabotage our efforts.

So to be naturally successful perhaps it makes sense to start by being natural? Letting go of unhelpful inner dialogue and being totally present.

What would it take for you to really be yourself more of the time?
What would you have to let go of?
What would you need to embrace?

Take a moment to reflect.......... and commit to being your true self.

And remember "Whatever you think you are, you're much more than that" ;-)

Positively Happy

Happiness and Well Being are now regularly talked about in scientific, psychological, education and political circles. And many experts agree that not only does feeling good make us function better but that people with a more positive style tend to be more engaged, more productive, more creative and have better health (Diener & Seligman 2004).

So it seems our level of happiness can have a significant affect on our performance, our health and our relationships.

How happy are you?

According to Positive Psychology, we may have more control over our own levels of happiness than we first thought. And that doesn’t mean we need to rush out and get married, change jobs or eat more chocolate to become happier!

Martin Seligman, founder of Positive Psychology has demonstrated that it is possible to be happier regardless of our circumstances. In his book ‘Authentic Happiness’ he introduces a formula for Happiness;

H = S + C + V
where H = overall level of happiness, S = your set range, C = the circumstances of your life and V = factors under your voluntary control.

And research suggests that whilst 50% of our overall happiness might be determined by our psychological make up, only 10% is determined by the circumstances of our life such as salary and marital status, leaving a significant 40% within our own sphere of influence.

This means that each of us can train ourselves to feel happier. Changing the way we think about things is one way.
Here are a few more ideas for starters.

1 Identify 3 things in your life that you feel happy with right now
2 Identify 3 things about yourself that you feel happy with right now
3 Reframe negative thinking into positive thinking
4 Look for something good in everything and everyone
5 Meditate
6 Notice how much you’ve achieved, not just what else is still to be done
7 Find opportunities to help others

In answer to the question ‘how happy are you?’ try out the on-line questionnaires at

www.authentichappiness.com

And remember "We don't laugh because we're happy, we're happy because we laugh." William James