{"id":1434,"date":"2010-07-01T15:42:46","date_gmt":"2010-07-01T19:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=1434"},"modified":"2018-10-03T16:03:11","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T20:03:11","slug":"put-the-13-happiness-principles-into-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2010\/07\/put-the-13-happiness-principles-into-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Put the 13 Happiness Principles into Action"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>For the past 32 years I’ve been married to an amazing woman who has partnered with me in raising a great family, but who pretty much left me alone when it came to running my coaching and consulting business (except for balancing the books!).\u00a0 A few years ago, however, she started to pay more attention to my work on Happiness as she noticed they have a real impact.\u00a0 Please join me in welcoming guest author Cheryl Smith as she shares some of her accumulated learning.<\/p>\n <\/span>by Cheryl Smith For the past 32 years I’ve been married to an amazing woman who has partnered with me in raising a great family, but who pretty much left me alone when it came to running my coaching and consulting business (except for balancing the books!).\u00a0 A few years ago, however, she started to pay more attention … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,119,40,50],"tags":[146,315,115],"class_list":["post-1434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about-happiness","category-everyday-happiness","category-practicing-happiness","category-relationships","tag-13-principles-of-happiness","tag-happ","tag-practicing-happiness","infinite-scroll-item"],"yoast_head":"\nThe 13 Principles of Happiness Applied to Real Life<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nI am an accountant, not a writer.\u00a0 Still, I\u2019ve learned a lot about Happiness over the past few years.\u00a0 What follows are some of my \u201caha\u201d moments that relate to some of Jim\u2019s 13 Principles of Happiness<\/a>.
\nBecome Positively Self-ish, #1<\/span>
\n<\/strong>I always used to put everyone in my life before me — whether my husband, my children, my parents, or my friends, I always suppressed my own needs.\u00a0 I remember one Christmas when Jim and I were writing our holiday letter, and I had no personal highlights.\u00a0 I was the \u201csupport\u201d behind most of Jim\u2019s and the kids\u2019 highlights, but I actually had none of my own.
\nI feel differently now.\u00a0 I realize how I can give even more if I prioritize my needs, too.\u00a0 I love children and truly enjoy every minute I can spend with young kids.\u00a0 Several years ago I seriously considered foster parenting, but life and various health issues altered that path.\u00a0 I do, however, volunteer once a week at Providence House<\/a> (a crisis nursery for children) and I get a lot of joy from working with the kids.\u00a0 When I returned to work after my surgery, in the \u201cheat\u201d of the tax season, I felt that I would have to give up my volunteering.\u00a0 However, after thinking long and hard, I decided to be positively self-ish and I found the time to maintain my training hours and have continued my volunteer work despite everything else.
\nBe Authentic, #13<\/strong><\/span>
\nI witnessed an example of this last month when my son got married.\u00a0 He and Katie chose to celebrate their wedding in the way they wanted whether that met with others\u2019 expectations or not.\u00a0 They had a small private event in northern Michigan with two dozen of their closest friends and family and then the next weekend they had a celebration in Chicago with a comedy show and a party at a venue decorated with eclectic 50\u2019s d\u00e9cor!
\nMy daughter and son-in-law married several years ago in the gracious splendor of the Basilica of Notre Dame and for them, it was perfect.\u00a0 Last month was perfect for Justin and Katie.\u00a0 Neither event was better, just different.
\nWhen you Live Your Values<\/strong> (#2)<\/span> it is much easier to remember what is most important.\u00a0 When it comes to marriage, it is about making a lifetime commitment to the one you love, whether on a beach in northern Michigan or in the Notre Dame Basilica.\u00a0 I believe they have both chosen wisely, and in the process been true to themselves.
\nBuild Reserves, #5<\/span>
\n<\/strong>I have realized recently that what I want to build reserves of in my life is Memories.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need extra things; what I want is extra experiences.\u00a0 I told my family that I don\u2019t want gifts for birthday or Mother\u2019s Day.\u00a0 Instead, what I want is a chance to get together or to receive a phone call.\u00a0 I guess that is why Jim, Kelly, Paul, Jared and I gave Justin and Katie a honeymoon trip for their wedding gift.\u00a0 What we were really giving them was an adventure and an opportunity for memories.
\nTolerate Nothing, #6<\/strong><\/span>
\nThis principle is one of my favorites and I practice it often, frequently in small ways.\u00a0 The recent wedding gave me an opportunity to really put it to use.\u00a0 Because Justin and Katie chose an unconventional path there were some friends and family who were less than supportive of the plans.\u00a0 At first I was worried about \u201chow to make it right.\u201d\u00a0 But Katie\u2019s mother and I decided that we would not tolerate, nor worry about, those folks.\u00a0 We decided that those who came to the events would be those who were supposed to be there, and we would happily celebrate with them.\u00a0 And we did.
\nChoose to Respond, #7<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Just 6 months ago I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.\u00a0 It was not within my brain, but rather inside the lining surrounding my brain; and it was not cancer \u2013 but was still a brain tumor!\u00a0 I chose to respond with all resources available to me.\u00a0 I had a wonderful surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and nine days after my diagnosis I had 10 hours of brain surgery.\u00a0 The only open date on the surgeon\u2019s calendar was Christmas Eve, and for a moment I worried about \u201cruining\u201d the holiday.\u00a0 But I decided that I have to take care of me (I guess that\u2019s also Principle #1 again).
\nThere are many things in life that we cannot control, but in whatever way possible we must respond and face things head on. \u00a0I try to face things as quickly as possible now.\u00a0 I find that it gives me much less time to worry and far more energy to act.
\n <\/strong>
\nPay Attention, #9<\/strong><\/span>
\nI think that staying focused on what is going on around you is critical.\u00a0 I don\u2019t just mean what is going on at the global level.\u00a0 I mean what is going on right in front of you!
\nI will always remember a conversation with my 25-year-old brother-in-law, Sean, the Thanksgiving before his death from Leukemia.\u00a0 Sean was trying his best to be with family, even though he\u2019d just learned that the cancer had returned.\u00a0 After dinner I noticed that he had moved away from the group and eventually headed upstairs.\u00a0 After a few minutes I followed him up.\u00a0 He was in his cousin\u2019s bedroom crying.\u00a0 I walked in and just held him.\u00a0 He said, \u201c No one wants me to be here, I make them uncomfortable.\u00a0 No one even came looking for me.\u201d\u00a0 It was not a time to debate his statement or correct him.\u00a0 It was just a time to hold him and remind him that we all loved him.
\nAlways pay attention to those around you.
\nSimplify, #10<\/strong><\/span>
\nThis is the principle I find easiest and hardest to incorporate into my life.\u00a0 I like things simple, very simple, if possible.\u00a0 But I also like things to be predictable, and I hate change.\u00a0 But Jim has helped me to learn that change and simplify need not be mutually exclusive.\u00a0 Change does not have to complicate your life, unless you let it.\u00a0 Sometimes the very best way to simplify is to allow a change or let go!
\nCheryl Smith, CPA, is a wife, mother, and tax accountant.\u00a0 She lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her terminally happy husband and two unnamed goldfish. <\/em>
\n~~~~~~~~~~
\nAnyone can make the decision to be happy when they PRACTICE an aspect of happiness every day.\u00a0 Why not post a copy of the 13 Principles on your workstation wall or on your refrigerator so you can put them into action like Cheryl has?\u00a0 You can download a 1-page summary<\/a>.\u00a0 Choose Happiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"