Happiness Set Point
My mother started me in my quest to be more positive at an early age. “The Power of Positive Thinking” and other similar books were part of our home library. But does thinking more positive make you happier? Or maybe people who are happier just tend to be more positive. Is happiness the same as optimism? If we don’t know what it is how do we know if we are indeed happy?
Growing up, I was labeled “Pollyanna” by my little sister. I really didn’t realize at the age of 12 that I was that positive a person. I remember feeling pretty lonely, bored and unhappy. But her perception was that I was unrealistically happy. Which of course I hated at that time. However I believe that it was that ability even when bored and lonely to find something positive that has made me so resilient in life. To some degree I was better at choosing the more positive thoughts
Louise Hay is an author and speaker who has spent her life demonstrating the power of positive thought. She agrees that we can and do choose our thoughts. It is her contention that she cured her cancer with positive thought. But is this idea helpful to others? How does the average person become more positive and happier in their lives. Is it possible to change your happiness set point?
I believe it is. Throughout my life I have used self-hypnosis, hypnotherapy and NLP to increase my ability to be positive, resilient and yes, happier. By using hypnosis to develop better focus and the ability to subconsciously increase my positive self talk I have increased the amount of time spent in the state of happiness.
