Be Well, Stay Happy - Positive Brainwaves Make a Difference

From HappyNews.com -- "Happiness is a choice we make - over and over again in the course of the day. It's a choice we make to listen with a sense of curiosity rather than judgment, and a choice to intervene in our habitual thought patterns that often lead us right down the rabbit hole to negativity. We can make the choice to be happy - or at least happier - in most situations by changing what we put our focus on and how we talk to ourselves."

"Here's what I mean. Last week I found myself slipping from a perfectly wonderful mood when a friend said something that I interpreted in a negative way. After I hung up the phone I played his words over and over in my head, each time fanning the fire of indignation and resentment at the comment I took personally and negatively. (A habit pattern of pessimists, by the way.)

In a relatively short period of time I had quite a head of steam going. My sunny good mood turned stormy and the thunderclouds were just beginning to form when I said aloud to myself, "What ARE you doing?" The sound of my voice startled me.

All of a sudden I became acutely aware that I was having an argument in my head AND I was defending my right to be miserable. Whoa! Here's where my training in positive psychology really came in.

I talked myself out of the negative mood and back into a more positive one by focusing my attention on the big picture (my wonderful friend) and not on the little one (a comment taken out of context, with no real supporting information.) I recognized that I was generating a lot of negative energy in my body. Not good for the health and not the way I wanted to be spending a Saturday!"

To read this entire article, go to HappyNews.com.

Make it a great day!