Chris

STEP 1

Rate your happiness on a scale from 1-10.

Example:
Let’s say I feel like a #7 right now, but I want to have a Level 10 experience.

STEP 2

Determine what kind of number you want to feel like (it doesn’t have to be a Level 10 experience all the time)

Example:
You want to feel like a #10 right now

STEP 3

Determine what you have to do in order to feel like a #10

Example with cooking:
You feel unmotivated when you have cook for yourself – just think of ideas of making this task ahead more exiting.
For example try a new recipe, sharpen your knife (that often helps – haha) or invite some friends.
Maybe these are things that bring you from a #7 to a #10 experience of cooking/life in that moment.

STEP 4

Go out and do it!

Be creative. Be curious. Be happy.

Have a sunny day & keep smiling
Chris

The secret of happy people is not that they don’t experience negative feelings, they just know to get out of that state as quickly as possible.

Here’s what helped me to become the control my emotions  little better. It requires a high level of awareness. Now you need to know that I am still learning, in fact I think it is a life’s task to become master of your emotions, but the earlier you start the more you grow.

Here are the 5 steps to liberation/mastery of negative emotions:

1. Recognize it.
2. Accept it.
3. Don’t think about it.
4. Don’t judge or analyze it.
5. Just observe.

Let’s do an example together so you get what I mean.
My mom criticized me lately for not being organized enough. “Christian, we’re disappointed in you and your lack of organization you showed while your move TO…….”
This made me feel guilty and angry at myself. I felt I was not satisfying my parents expectations. I felt not enough. I really hate that feeling, especially towards my parents (who doesn’t?!).

Back at that time I read a book that reminded me of the 5 steps above so I got to that awareness (sometimes you need a friend or a neutral observer to point that out to you).

1. So I recognized the feeling of “not enough”
2. I accepted it. Just see that it’s there.
3. I didn’t think about it.
(don’t ask why etc. just accept)
4. I didn’t judge or analyze it
(this is what we tend to do the first thing when we are emotionally involved, we judge – and this is where all misery comes from – we judge it to be bad so we put ourselves in a negative state of mind. We need to stop judging everything, it’s all okay, it’s all part of your journey – just accept it, surrender)
5. I just observed
(now I needed a book to remind me of that fact, so you can imagine how hard this is during an emotional conflict to be so present and aware and to do the first step without a reminder)

I hope these 5 steps help you to become a happier human being and a master of your emotions, because you are already pretty beautiful. Don’t believe me?
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT I THINK OF YOU

Here’s a reminder – because we forget. Too fast.

It is never too late:

To take your life in your own hands.
To quit your job.
To say no to a boring meet-up with your friends.
To take full responsibility for your life.
To start that work-out.
To finish that project you once started.
To call your mom & dad and tell them you love them.
To quit your voluptuous lifestyle and simplify.
To be kinder than you feel.
To follow your ♡.

A documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at SXSW 2011.

Have you ever wished somebody gave you a shortcut to happiness.
Me, too. And it has a name: It’s called travel.

[HOW COME]

Because travelling includes all three types of happiness (according to science)

[WHAT ARE THOSE TYPES]

1. Short-Term Happiness
– everyone knows that type of happiness, it’s the one that grants us immediate gratification but doesn’t last very long: the next piece of chocolate, the next coffee, the next time you have sex (uups did I say that?!)
2. Flow
– according to Csikszentmihalyi flow is a state in which we are so immersed in the task we’re doing that we forget about our surroundings, athletes also call that “to be in the zone”
3. Purpose
– this one is the longest lasting type of happiness, if we have a sense of ultimate purpose it gives us a meaning and makes us feel significant.

[HOW THESE 3 TYPES APPLY TO TRAVEL]

1. Short-Term Happiness applied to travel
In my opinion there are a lot of little situations that make you feel happy. It might be the thrill of skydive or just enjoying a piece of chocolate when there’s not any food left. Other situations are, being on top of a mountain and enjoying the view or just driving on an empty road.

2. Flow applied to travel
In travel there are lots of situations/challenges in which you are fully present and immersed in what you are doing. It might be asking people for the way, walking on a trail you’ve never been before or building a tent. These are all things that make me forget about the future and the past – I am fully present/alive.

3. Purpose applied to travel
Well I think there’s not much I need to say about here. Your travel always have one single purpose: to feel alive & connected. This urge to feel alive & connected makes you spend all this money and efforts for travelling.

Now you know why travel is a short-cut to happiness and can help us all to learn more about ourselves, connect with one another and grow personally.

Wish you all a day full of bliss & sunshine.