Four Happiness Exercises

Four Happiness Exercises

In 1982, L. Ron Hubbard wrote a poem called, "The Joy of Creating"

"Force yourself to smile and you'll soon stop frowning.

"Force yourself to laugh and you'll soon find something to laugh about.

"Wax* enthusiastic** and you'll very soon feel so.

"A being causes his own feelings.

"The greatest joy there is in life is creating.

"Splurge on it!" -- L. Ron Hubbard (*Wax: to gradually increase in size, strength or intensity. **Enthusiastic: having or showing enthusiasm.)

You can use the advice in this poem in several ways, including the following four exercises:

Exercise 1. "Force yourself to smile and you'll soon stop frowning."

A. Force yourself to smile.

B. Stop forcing yourself to smile.

C. Repeat steps A and B above until you are cheerful. Some people feel happier immediately while others take 10 minutes or longer.

Try the exercise in front of a mirror for an extra boost.

This first exercise is especially useful if you are upset, depressed, angry, apathetic or resentful.

Exercise 2. "Force yourself to laugh and you'll soon find something to laugh about."

Do this exercise when you are feeling stressed or taking life too seriously.

A. Force yourself to laugh.

B. If you cannot force a laugh, say, "ha ha ha ha ha." Then say, "ho ho ho ho ho." Then say, "he he he he he." Repeat until you can force yourself to laugh.

C. Continue to force yourself to laugh until you find something to laugh about. Sooner or later, something very funny will come to mind. You will feel less stressed, less serious and more optimistic.

Exercise 3. "Wax enthusiastic and you'll very soon feel so."

You have the power to motivate yourself. You don't need a bonus, an energetic boss or a seminar to get you excited.

When you make yourself enthusiastic, you make better decisions, get more done in less time and produce better results. You can motivate yourself by "waxing enthusiastic" or increasing your show of enthusiasm, you make yourself interested and excited.

While doing this third exercise, do not actually start working on the task until you feel fully enthusiastic about doing it.

A. Select a task you are avoiding or hate to do. Put the task in front of you.

B. Pretend to be slightly enthusiastic about a small part of the task, but don't start it yet.

C. Act a little more enthusiastic about another small part of the job.

D. Show even more excitement about another part of the job. Remember to not do anything yet.

E. Gradually show more and more enthusiasm about the job.

F. Wait until you feel enthusiastic and motivated to do the job before starting.

Example: You walk into the dirty bathroom that you need to clean, but hate to clean. You pretend to be a bit enthusiastic about cleaning the mirror by doing a little jump. You act a little more enthusiastic about emptying the bathroom garbage can by smacking your hands and smiling. You gradually show more enthusiasm until you are jumping up and down with a big smile on your face. Suddenly, you grab the toilet brush and start scrubbing!

You might be surprised at how quickly this can work.

Exercise 4. "The greatest joy there is in life is creating."

What are your greatest joys in life?

Being a parent? Starting a company? Finding new customers? Forming new relationships?

Notice how each activity creates something new?

A. Write down something you can create right now. Examples: a fabulous meal, a redecorated room, a new section of your garden, a new friendship, a different appearance to your hair, a furniture arrangement, an interesting photograph, a new source of income.

B. Write down something you must maintain. Reword it to emphasize the creating aspect of it. Examples: continue to show up at work each day so I can finance my new home business; keep exercising so I add a few extra years to my lifetime; protect my time with my kids so they grow up to be happy, useful members of society.

C. Write down something you must stop or destroy. Reword it to be a creation. Examples: stop smoking so I can start a healthy lifestyle; throw away the junk in my garage so I can create a place to store my car at night; stop trying to bother my ex-husband so I can find a new boyfriend.

D. Add these activities to your plans for today or this week. When you do them, stay focused on the creation aspect of the task.

The happiest individuals in the world are those who create things. The most exciting goals you can have involve creation. You create your success.

"Splurge on it!"

To hear musical versions of "The Joy of Creating" by Isaac Hayes and Doug E. Fresh, go to www.joyofcreating.org/hear/index.htm

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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