Happy All The Way Through!

Most days I’m pretty zippy, happy, carefree and full of inner glee. But then we all have days we wish we could just throw the covers over our head and go back to sleep, right? Then there are days we get half way through and long for the end of the day so we can shut it down in anticipation of a brand spanking new one!

What exactly spins me off course from my usual Happyville? There are certainly a lot of possibilities, but usually something has made me feel a negative emotion of some sort. And emotions are powerful things, yes they are. In fact, when I started thinking about emotions and trying to list them, I got a bit flustered, not being able to put a quick list of them together.

So I went on a web-walk and found this really cool emotions chart called Plutchiks Wheel of Emotions. It's really pretty in a color wheel kind of fashion. Some of the emotions listed that I couldn’t bring to mind right away are: apprehension, surprise, pensiveness, annoyance, serenity, distraction. And there are many more beyond the usual anger, love, grief, etc that often come right to mind. It’s an interesting chart to see. I never really thought about distraction being a "feeling" before. Huh.

Anyway, nothing and no one has the right to take away your happiness. Experts say if you find yourself sad, make yourself glad by changing your mind. It’s really only one thought away, you know! One great way to do this is by using transition tools. By using something that makes you smile or gives you some sort of happiness, you can turn sad into glad, anger into thankful. I really like being happy inside and out, so I use this idea to help me change my disposition all the time.

For instance, if I’m feeling less than my best, I might plug into Bruno Mars’ Just the Way you Are or Hey Soul Sister by Train or the classic Joe Cocker song You Are so Beautiful (I love the second verse of this song!). There are many others to choose from. I have entire feel-good playlists! But then you already knew that didn’t you?

I also keep a file of notecards and letters from various people over the years. They’re notes that tell me something I did that made a difference or made them smile in some way. There’s even one I received over Christmas that has nothing to do with me except it’s so off the charts funny that it makes me smile every time I think of it.

If I’m MIA-kinda-sad/mad, you can place a pretty good bet that I’m hunkered down at the river playing some really bad guitar and singing my heart out…..singing makes me happy, or at least gushes out the ugly so happy can have its right place again. And besides, the cows are there and who else could make me smile bigger than the girls singing along? Thankfully, they don’t seem to mind the horrifying sounds that come out of my guitar!

Smiling. It makes me feel good about myself. And feeling good about myself makes me feel happy. Doesn’t it make you feel that way too? Doesn’t feeling happy just make life better all the way through?

So, I’m curious. Whether it’s music or a note from a friend, cows or guitars, what straightens out an emotionally tilted world for you? When you’re feeling the negative side of the chart, who or what makes you feel like you’re taking a stroll through Happyville?