Imagine a tv show that gives you access to one thing that would change your life and provide you with lasting happiness? All you would have to do is identify that one thing nestled behind the curtain. What if you could start your day by drawing back that curtain yourself? Would you know what to put on the other side? Money? Love? Health? Once you had it, would it actually satisfy you enough to help you maintain your happiness?
Too often when I ask my clients, "What one thing do you think you could do today that would make you happy?" the answer is "I have no idea, I think I have forgotten what happiness, real happiness, even feels like." It's true that maybe a million dollars, or a new car, or even better health might be a way to achieve immediate gratification, but there is a difference between being happy and getting stuff to fill up what we think is missing.
My professional and personal life has been devoted to feeling happy, figuring out exactly what that feels like and recreating that feeling as often in each day as I can. There are many things in this life that we have no control over, but learning how to feel happy again, even just for a little while each day, might be the best start at controlling what happens around us and how we can kindle happiness from what we used to think was only a few old, dry memories.
Dr. B. Marshall
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