Tag Archives: marci shimoff

Happy for No Reason

hamster

 

Yeah, I’ll admit it. I’m into the whole “positive attraction” concept, and recently read Marci Shimoff’s “Happy for No Reason.” It’s now on paperback for those of you who are open to happiness at a lower price point. Here’s a video she just sent her e-mail list…

  • The old way of thinking: my situation sucks and I can’t stop thinking about it. So now I feel crappy, and as a result things cycle downward.
  • The new way of thinking: I selectively tune into the parts of my situation that are nice. Now I feel better, and things improve.

It’s far more simple to understand than to put into action, but it’s a nice goal. After all, most of the things we do are in avoidance of pain and pursuit of happiness. What if we didn’t need to do anything to be happy? It was just a default state? 

Then I went back to “Road Less Travelled,” and thought about the premise that “life is difficult.” That book, by M. Scott Peck, is more about discipline, discipline, discipline. That’s also important, but I find it’s a lot easier to do a difficult task if I trick myself into enjoying it. Then it’s flowing with the current instead of against it.