Strategic Happiness

I realise that the year is still relatively new, but I have to say that for me, this has been the best start to a New Year in a long time.

Have you ever had the experience where you heard something, or you read something, and then suddenly… Click! … An epiphany…A flash of insight occurs that at the time feels almost life changing? Such an event happened to me just after New Year's Day.

I was reading Brian Tracy's book, "Focal Point" and I came across a paragraph which read, "Don't wait for good things to happen to you… Go out and make them happen. Take charge of your time and your life." This got me thinking… He was right. Looking back on my life, with rare exception, virtually every great event that has occurred has happened for one reason… I made it happen.

The quality relationships, the standard of living, the incredible experiences of joy… Each occurred because of a decision to make them happen. (The opposite was also true. I worked out that my greatest sources of frustration and unhappiness tended to occur when I failed to take action.)

So I decided that in 2005, I would do things differently. 2005 would be the year that I took massive action towards being happy. Great! Where do I start?

Once the decision to be happy had been made, I found myself repeatedly asking the question, "Wouldn't it be great if…" Anytime I came up with an answer, that answer would end up going onto the "Make Patrick Happy" action list. Once an item was placed on the list, I created a simple step by step action plan for achieving the intended outcome. (Note to humans here. Your chances of success massively improve when you keep things simple.)

"Wouldn't it be great if I was 5 kgs. lighter?" I started taking long walks with my wife every night. Result. Weight came down. Fitness improved. My wife and I got to spend some really enjoyable "us time" together.

"Wouldn't it be great if I had a way of prospecting for new high-value business?" I went on the internet, found, and then ordered some brilliant books on the subject. Result, many of the mysteries surrounding prospecting have been resolved. Three "new business" meetings were scheduled within days. Sales are up. I'm meeting with new prospects and discussing new business opportunities that could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

"Wouldn't it be great if my office wasn't such a mess?" Each day, I committed myself to throwing out papers etc. that hadn't been touched in over a year. I'm still working on this one, but each day, I can see that things are improving.

I admit that none these activities in themselves may sound like much… and to be fair, they're not. Nevertheless, the results have been amazing. Most importantly, I'm feeling happy!

I once heard it said that it's a waste of time trying to motivate people to become more productive. The truth is that when people become more productive, they become more motivated. Millions of people have in the past bought expensive day planners and have created action lists,(myself included). What was different for me this time was my commitment to actually stick to them! Whenever something was on the list that I didn't feel like doing at the time, I forced myself to do it. The more I completed, the happier and more fulfilled I became.

It's true that with momentum comes motivation and eventually, success. I've also found that happiness can become contagious. Once people hear that you're happy, very quickly they're wanting to associate with you to find out how they can get their own slice.

So my advice is this. Make happiness a clear priority this year. Decide to be happy. Moreover, the good news is that no matter what day the calendar says it is, I guarantee you the year is still new. There's at least another 365 days to go, before the next one.

P.S. Remember, it's not the cards that life deals you that determines your levels of happiness. It's your determination to make happiness a priority that makes all the difference.