Merriam-Webster defines happy as enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment. There is a lot going on in the world that makes happiness seemingly harder to find, but what if I told you happiness is a choice? Despite all of the crap going on and the many WTF moments we are facing, it is still possible to find contentment and well-being.
Yes, I am veering away from my usual content to share with you a new book that just came out this week. Lisa Cypers Kamen’s book Are We Happy Yet? is a guide to finding joy in our lives. Lisa is a positive psychology coach and expert in life-crisis recovery. In the book, she discusses her eight keys to unlocking joy in our lives and through exercises, she provides the reader with the skills to up their happiness factor. As she points out, happiness is an inside job.
From time to time life throws us curve balls, whether it’s a job loss, the death of a loved one, a divorce or the odd feeling that we are trapped in an alternative universe. We all face adversity at some point in our lives. We can allow the adversity to keep us stuck and miserable or we can chose to rise to the occasion and find contentment. It all comes down to how we react, think and feel about our circumstances and ourselves.
For some, the path to contentment in the face of a crisis is easy. For others its fraught with challenges thought to be insurmountable. It’s easy to wallow in the negative and find a safe place among poisoned thoughts, but after awhile those thoughts become too unbearable and something snaps. It either snaps us out of the funk or drives us deeper. The search for inner peace and a sense of happy is a journey.
I’m on that journey right right now, reading everything I can get my hands on to help guide me. My reading list is a litany of self help books by authors Gabby Bernstein, Brendan Burchard, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Lisa Nichols. It’s because of this journey that I am looking forward to adding Are We Happy Yet to my reading list.
“Positive psychology focuses on what’s right with life here, now and tomorrow, rather than ruminating on what’s wrong with it and what happened in the past,” says Cypers Kamen. “Are We Happy Yet? helps readers embrace the absolute best parts of life, each and every day.”
Through the pages of Are We Happy Yet?, Cypers Kamen teaches readers how to:
- Accept the past for what it is—a reference point, not a destination
- Embrace the truth that, while life is tough, you can be happy
- Transform your relationship with yourself from enemy to ally
- Appreciate why less is often more
- Focus on what’s right with your life, not what’s wrong
- Control the only person you can—yourself!
- Invest in yourself to become more mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually fit
- Use your newly discovered joy to become a more positive and productive influence in the world
We chose our reactions to life’s dramas and traumas. I know from experience it’s easy to let curve balls knock you out of the game. Negative past experiences can derail your life if you allow them to. My hope is that Lisa’s book will guide readers to learning how to be brave and let go of the baggage that holds one back. I know I could use another tool in my box.
*this post was not sponsored and all opinions expressed are my own.
