Happiness is a creative way to teach people how to develop coping strategies and support systems to handle stress better. Think proactive mental health, like working out at the gym, but for our brain health.
I am sharing a valuable tool and encourage you to share this with your networks and teams, The Happiness Habits Planner. Here are the steps to take, and the worksheet is embedded as a fillable PDF for your use.
Overarching Goal: Set an overarching goal for happiness that is measurable and obtainable. You might say, ‘I will increase my overall happiness by replacing pessimistic responses with optimistic ones 1x daily for 3 consecutive weeks.’ This will take atleast 3 cycles to develop a HABIT. Once this overarching goal is accomplished, then you can set another goal.
Aim: Daily, write down what you are aiming for. This could begin with identifying what those pessimistic responses sound like. You may need to elicit support from trusted friends or colleagues to identify what needs to change. It’s with clarity to hear ourselves from emotionally intelligent active listeners. We simply cannot see the forest from the trees at times and naturally have blind spots.
Steps: What steps are you taking to accomplish what you are aiming for? This could be to write down every time you hear yourself say something pessimistic, or when a trusted peer brings it to your attention. You could also write a step to practice self compassion. The steps serve as a reminder to intentionally stay focused on that overarching goal, not give up or get discouraged, with forward moving momentum. Think small incremental steps as you have over 60 days to practice.
Reflection: In this section, write your heart away. Don’t think about it, just write. This will help you to be in touch with your emotions. If you are not used to this, trust me, you are not alone and in the right place. Keep reading, participating in courses, and practicing what you are learning. Change is one step at a time.
Watch the recent webinar: https://bit.ly/HappinessHabitsWebinar
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