You Want Happiness? Then Work! I am thankful to the universe for giving me lessons in happiness to which I finally got around to understanding 100%. Happiness is something that we already have inside of us. For instance, a depressed individual claims they lost their happiness somewhere along the line and find that it is hard to reach happiness in their current state. In fact, most depressed people think that happiness is an emotion that they cannot attain or they must obtain as a result of administering tons of anti- depressant meds.

I know because I was never clinically diagnosed for depression but at one point in my life, I was severely depressed. See my Jamaican family does not believe in therapist or the word depression so even suggesting to my mother or dad that I didn’t feel 100% was a waste of time. I thank them at least for not rushing me off to see some psychologist trying to pull out deep rooted causes. Looking back now, I can almost guarantee the cause of my slump which made me smoke cigarettes like an old man, gave me the flu, and made my bones bleed pain was caused by me not producing.

I thought I was unhappy when really I was not productive. The body needs motion, the mind needs to be busy with goals – action is the medicine for all depression. How can one be or remain depressed if he/she is constantly moving and accomplishing their goals. I believe depression doesn’t exist .. it is a fancy name for being lazy or having a sustained period of inaction. The mind is however a very REAL and tangible part of our universe and soul and when the mind doesn’t have an activity to focus on, it will fall back into a preconditioned set of thought behavior. I know your probably saying to yourself. .. “Stacy, how do you gain more happiness?”

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines happiness as a “state of well-being : joy : a satisfying experience.” Ask yourself, what makes your experience satisfying? For me, it is when I am in total control doing what drives results. When I further define the word, it brings me to another word – aptness, which Merriam-Webster defines as “likely to do something” “suited to a purpose” “fitted or qualified” – I believe we gotta get real with what we are doing and how it makes us feel.

Jack Canfield said it the best in “The Success Principles” he wrote, “You know when you are on and off purpose by the amount of joy you are receiving” That one line has transformed my life and what I do and continue you to do. We need to get real with ourselves and be honest. If you are doing something that doesn’t align with your purpose or goals you WILL NOT be happy. You will be in a state of confusion and uncertainty. It is in this state where lack, depression, hate, negativity, failure breeds. It is also where you feel unhappy. To gain your happiness back, simply start working on different things that fulfill and uplift your spirits. Here are a few examples you can try, even if you believe you do not have goals yet.

1. Go for a walk – The body needs movement .. and you need to be in control of your body. Once you realize that control creates happiness then you will want to take back control more and more things in your life. When your body feels lazy and your answer the call to go lay down and watch some TV, then your body controls you. You will be extremely happy when you notice the laziness and take action to change it. Start small and you will immediately gain happiness. 2. Read a book – Any book. Oh you haven’t read in forever? Great its a good time to start now. I get most of my best ideas when I start reading books – sometimes I cant even finish a whole chapter because I get so excited and full of energy to start working on my own project. Start reading. 3. Do something that you would never think of doing – Like take karate, piano or cooking lessons. Jump on groupon and get going! Next month, I have flying lessons this will increase my happiness triple fold. I want to jump out of a plane and para-sail. There are great opportunities available to all! Go to a meetup group, take a hike, climb a mountain – get out of your COMFORT ZONE – it’s killing you. 4. Stop taking medication – Your body knows exactly what you need to stay in positive homeostasis – If you want to continue your

anti — depressant sleepy, zombie pills then do so at your own risk. Most times, this is what is keeping you depressed and lethargic. You need energy and lots of it to be in a constant state of happiness. How can you get out of the house when you are controlled by the limited release of nano receptors blocking your endorphin release! Listen, I am no doctor, not even a pharmacist but I do know that we are equipped with the best machine on earth – we have 37.2 trillion cells in our body and they are all doing something specific and unique to keep life going, we were made to survive. Being depressed is a natural state in our human life caused by not doing shit. It isn’t caused by you losing your job, or the economy, or what happened in your childhood or who is picking on you at school. Depression is being unhappy and being unhappy is caused by not producing positive results and you DON’T produce positive results because you don’t take action! The activity of life is hard – I get it. I been there, thankfully it wasn’t assisted with pills but I was there and it hurt like hell! I got out of the loop and you could too! I am here to help you and always available to anyone that needs a chat.

Remain uncomfortable,

Stacy Cross