Becoming More Positive And Happy

A few days ago I received a very positive and happy note from a friend of mine.

He noted that during his week's visit with us, he had felt much happier than usual. He noted his wife had been very happy as well.

They'd mentioned their children's joyful personalities and experiences.

He didn't use the word "enjoyment," but I believe he was referring to that positive inner feeling or happy emotion.

After reading this, I remembered some articles I wrote some years ago regarding becoming more positive and happy.

In those articles, I had described in some detail what I believed the key was to be happier.

Since I had, several times, sent copies of the articles to the people I'd sent them to, I thought I'd share them with you, to give you an idea of what I believe to be one of the keys to happiness.

Let's look at the six keys to happiness:

1. Start with a happier attitude than you used to have. If you had a bad attitude, get rid of it.
2. See the best in people, and the worst in them. If you didn't before, see it now.
3. Learn to forgive and forget. Do this and you will have a much happier life.
4. Look to the future. The past is gone, the future is in front of you, and there is nothing you can do to change the past.
5. Start building something of value, and think how happy you will be when you're finished with it.
6. Have fun, and find some enjoyment in the things that truly make you happy, even if just one or two.

I shared with my friend that after reading the above articles, I had begun to take these ideas to heart and apply them to my daily life.

He was pleased that I had done this and thought it would work for him, too.

What it takes to become more positive

Now let's talk about how to become more positive and happy.

A positive attitude can be defined as having a favorable and optimistic attitude towards life and its situations.

We can all choose our thoughts, but not our attitudes. We can choose to have a negative attitude toward people and things, but only we can change that attitude.

Many people say they want to be more positive and happy, but don't make the effort.

Most people spend a lot of time thinking about all the negative things in their lives. We try to avoid people and situations that make us unhappy.

We try to avoid situations that make us unhappy because we worry about what might happen if we were to act on our feelings.

So we find ourselves unhappy for much longer than we would like to be.

Living with a positive attitude

Let's look at a few examples. My friend who mentioned his pleasant experiences this week is very health conscious.

He enjoys following a vegetarian diet, and he doesn't drink alcohol.

I know him well, so I would know if he were unhappy or depressed about something.

I believe he is a happier person than he was years ago, and he's spending more time in happy times, too.

My friend from down south owns a computer company, and he also has a small trucking business.

Both are very successful. He likes to plan and is very business-minded.

He also enjoys playing golf, and some of his best memories are from when he used to play golf with his friends.

Here is a true story of how I met one of my best friends, Dave, who lives in Wyoming.

We met on a blind date and began a long-lasting friendship.

Our wives became very good friends, and one time, when Dave and I decided to go camping, we met our wives for the weekend at a resort not far from where they lived.

We had a great time together hiking, biking and just relaxing in the sun.

We had a ball! After that weekend, we arranged to meet for dinner and a concert, and we were treated to dinner at the restaurant of our choice. (We chose the same restaurant for our anniversary a couple of years later!)

Several years ago, we spent some time camping with a couple of Dave's relatives

We all had a great time and later over dinner, I learned that my friend Dave was much like myself, but he was more conservative in his outlook.

He is also a non-smoker and drinker. He decided that he wanted to get healthier and began eating better, so that's when he discovered the joys of healthy eating and the feeling of being healthy and having a strong heart.

I believe this is when he decided to become more positive.

Many people are willing to give up eating food with fat in it and try a different diet. They are willing to give up drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes, and when they succeed, they feel good for a while.

But eventually, they fail and get back to their old ways. So, a negative attitude occurs, and eventually, the person is back in a place of unhappiness.

Most of the time, a positive attitude and a good attitude have to be fostered and developed.

I believe there is a formula that we can follow to develop a good attitude, and if we follow that formula, it's likely we will be more positive and happier in our lives.