by Steve Nicholas
Last month, I won a contest hosted by Karen. The prize: a copy of Happy for No Reason by Marci Shimoff. I am delighted to make an appearance here to give you my thoughts on the book and give you some ideas from the book in your quest for happiness.
What Makes You Happy
Some people in life are completely unhappy, while others have a general sense of happiness that pervades everything that they do. However, most of us seem to be somewhere in between. The people whose general sense of happiness either have it for good reasons (success, achievements, etc.) or bad reasons (such as drugs or seeking dangerous highs). However, I think that Happy for No Reason makes a great contribution to the conversation about happiness by telling us that there are times when we can be happy regardless of what happens to us. This doesn’t mean sunshine talk, but an inner sense of calm.
How Does This Happen?
One of the general themes of the book is that all actions that we do fall under one of two categories: things that expand us, and things that contract us. If something expands you, it will lead to happiness; if it contracts, it will take you away from it. However, this book doesn’t leave you with talk that doesn’t really get you anywhere; it has a lot of practical ideas, exercises, and interviews from people who’ve made the steps that have made them Happy for No Reason.
What activities expand you? We would love to hear your comments below. Have a wonderful day!!!
Steve Nicholas is the founder of Steve the Owl’s Blog, where he discusses issues of personal development, business, culture, and more. He is a graduate of West Virginia University (B.A. ’05) and Palmer Theological Seminary (M.Div. ’09) and a Ph.D. student at Temple University. In the same year he earned his M.Div., he married the love of his life. After realizing that his education put him in a Catch-22 in the Great Recession where he was either overqualified for most jobs or unable to continue his studies for jobs that he was qualified for, Steve decided to take business into his own hands and start his own business. In addition to these interests, he won his party’s nomination for WV House of Delegates, 12th District, in 2006. To find out more about Steve: Visit his Blog, connect with him on Facebook or Twitter.
To Your Success,
P.S. Please click the “LIKE” button at the top of this post and share with your friends on Facebook. I also love it when you leave a comment and I will attempt to answer each one personally. Thanks and stay inspired!!!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Steve,
I love Marci’s work, so powerful.
Meditation and exercise expand me. Anything that provides spiritual or physical nourishment helps to create a feeling of fullness, a feeling of happiness.
Thanks for sharing!
RB
What expands me?
Playing music and socialising with people. Communicating with people shows proof that I am alive and that I exist. Being heard… I mean really heard in that we are understood is the most important part of this.
Great article. Thanks. BTW I think I’ll need to check out this book.
Marty,
Glad you stopped by. I appreciate your comment. Those are some great things in life you mention.
Have an awesome day,
Karen
Ryan,
Those are some great things to do to keep happy. Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your comments.
Take care,
Karen
@Ryan, I must admit that I hadn’t heard much of Marci before I read this book, but there was a lot of good stuff in it. I feel the same about those pursuits, and I also feel that learning and reading expands me as well.
@Marty, what kind of music do you like to play? I couldn’t recommend this book strongly enough. Also, when you read it be sure to do the exercises in the book; they will really help the message get through.
@Karen, thanks again for the opportunity to post here and for holding the contest last month!
Sure, Steve, great to have you here!
Hi Karen, Hi Steve!
Thanks so much for sharing this, I’m going to have to check out Marci’s book! I’m a naturally positive person myself, always looking for if not at the bright side of things (which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by the way, “If you can’t see the bright side of life, polish the dull side”.
I like the idea of giving people practical exercises because some people just aren’t sure how to create the habit of happiness, or even realize that they aren’t most of the time! If we can just learn to recognize as soon as possible the appearance of negative thoughts, and turn them into something completely different, it does become easier.
Thanks again for sharing, I’m definitely going to get hold of and recommend this book!
Vicki
Hi Vicki,
Thanks for stopping by! That’s a great quote!!! Yes, I believe having processes in place are important to
be a truly happy person. I’m glad you will be getting the book. It’s a great one. One of the processes
she describes in the book is the Sedona Method which I use all the time to let go of unwanted emotions
in the moment. It really works and it’s great to use it rather than suffer.
Have a great week, Vicki!!!
Karen
Hi, Vicki! We Appalachians are not usually an optimistic people, but it is always good to remember that we can always turn things around. Hearing about Viktor Frankl and the woman who lost her vision due to a medical error is good as far as it goes, but finding out ways to apply this to your life is even better. I must admit that I was surprised at where I came out of the initial quiz in the book. I guess all of this personal development I’ve been working on over the last year has been working after all
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