A moment of happiness - for the grumpiest of soles

Do you know people who seem to be grumpy every day? When my colleague Claire sent me the below video – it moved me. The simplicity of the message. It is absolutely worth a few moments to experience a wonderful source of happiness – that is available to the grumpiest soles.

Most people go through life as a passenger. They feel they don’t have control of their life because they think they are helpless when things happen ‘to’ them. They react, often angry or feeling directionless – rather than making a considered response. Many people who appear ‘unhappy’ are often playing the ‘blame game’; that is it is everybody else’s fault that they have the life they have.

Lesson One “Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.” –Unknown

Some of the poorest nations in the world – and considered the happiest. [According to the World Happiness Index]

Lesson Two “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”– Frederick Keonig

In our western cultures we have somehow established that to have ‘things’ means that we will be happier. We also have a notion that some day everything will be perfect, ie the absence of problems and difficulties will mean that ‘everything will be fine’ – in fact the reverse is true.

When we give generously of ourselves; our time and listening – our general sense of well-being is improved (and sustainable over time). [According to the New Economic Forum]

Lesson Three “A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.” — Helen Keller

If life was perfect an we had no bad times we are less able to appreciate good times. In fact when people toil together to overcome adversity – the shared experience also improves our overall well-being.

Seth Godin’s recently wrote the below blog

The loneliness epidemic

The next time you feel lonely, disconnected or unappreciated, consider that unlike many other maladies, this one hits everyone. And unlike other challenges, this one is easily overcome by realizing that you can cure the problem by connecting, appreciating and leading.

The minute we realize that the person sitting next to us needs us (and our tribe, our forward motion and the value we create), we're able to extinguish their aloneness as well as ours.

When you shine a light, both of you can see better.

How succinctly put! I have recently published a book simply called ‘Five Thanks a Day’ – and in the spirit of generosity I am happy to give copies away – Just got to FiveThanksADay.org – and order a complimentary copy...

This little book shows how easy it is to improve your own well-being – by authentically saying ‘thank-you’ to others; at least five times a day.

When you meet someone who seems to predisposed to being 'grumpy' give them some extra appreciation.

Have fun – and I look forward to hearing how you go.

Naomi Simson is the founding director of Australian online tech success story RedBalloon. She has written more than 800 blog posts at NaomiSimson.com, is a professional speaker, author of Live what you Love (pre-order now) and now TV personality on Channel 10’s Shark Tank (airing January 2015). Get to know her further on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.