Training for the Olympics of Happiness

We all have to admit that we have a desperate craving during our life in pursuing happiness. Why do we have this urge in being in a specific mental state the we can categorize as happy. Although the triggers that we associate in helping us to get in this mental state can vary per person, being in this state is the same for everybody.

Let's have a small look how our body facilitates in this proces as an FedEx service:
A myosin protein dragging an endorphin along a filament to the inner part of the brain’s parietal cortex which creates happiness see visualization below

How is it triggered?
Think of all the happy moments in the past and do you see a pattern for yourself? Was it it you and only you that decided to choose to be happy at each situation. A new car money holiday etc… can’t enforce you to be happy only one that can is you.
So is it just like a light switch that you can turn on? In theory it is and I am training myself now for a couple of years in choosing in which mental state I want to walk around in life. From my experience I can say it was hard in the beginning but I am now more on the driver seat regarding my emotions.

Training for the Happiness Olympics
There are a couple of rules that I apply on a daily base to train myself.

• Be aware of the mental state that you’re in. Sounds easy but it is not. Most of the time we are in auto pilot and not aware of our emotions until we are surprised with it . So what did I do in the beginning to train this. Set a reminder for myself a couple times a day (you can use your phone or any other device to do a little check on your emotional state.
• After a while you become more aware during the day and less on auto pilot
• Acknowledge each emotion as it is (do not enforce yourself to be happy)
• When you become more the observer of yourself it is easy to let go of emotions that do not serve you

Where do I stand now
I am now in a phase that I walk around in life with less negative emotions. I still encounter situations that I get angry , sad or afraid but the time to transfer this to a positive emotional state is as fast as lightning. As we all know we can only be in control of ourselves and how we react on situations but we are not in control of the environment.