Happiness is... | Family Matters

Today, as we are very close to the end of the year and wrapping up our achievements of the last year, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to send you blessings of happiness from the Be Happy in LIFE team. We have had the most wonderful year, with many workshops, many new clients, many new children and parents, traveling and new excitement and with plenty of successes added to our record. We would love to share our own happiness with you in a slide show that we have put together.

As a happiness life coach, I get to be asked a lot about the definition of happiness. As much as I would like to take the credit for being the ultimate definer of happiness, I am not. I teach happiness but my definition is far from being ultimate and is limited to my personal experiences in life, my needs, beliefs and values. I am sure your definition of happiness means a lot to you, which is just the way it should be.

This month, I decided to celebrate happiness together with two young achievers, Lee Naziri, my 16-year-old niece, and Tsoof Baras, my 13-year-old son, who both inspired me to move forward in their own special ways.

I was happy and proud to bring both their talents into the "Happiness is…" presentation and I hope it will make you happy too.

Click this link to view the "Happiness is…" presentation

Hiding behind her camera, Lee Naziri has her own unique way of looking at the world. She took her first inspiring photos at the age of 12 – so young and so talented. I am honored to bring just some of them here. (Photographers are so particular about their photos that we can witness only some of those treasured moments – all the rest are just not perfect enough). Lee’s photos are published in magazines and on the Internet and she is asked to come and document special events, particularly ones revolving around teens.

Tsoof Baras, the sweet essence (that is the meaning of his name) of my life, started playing music at the age of 4. It started with drumming on everything around the house and ended up with playing with the biggest percussion instruments (that we can hardly find space for in our house) and winning national Australian awards for his talent. He plays music most hours of his day and he wrote the music for the presentation by himself and recorded it with very basic equipment.

2009 ways to be happy

2009 is approaching and for us to increase happiness in the world, we each need to have our own definition of happiness with 2009 ways to be happy. I certainly used the opportunity to enjoy Lee’s photos and listen to Tsoof’s "Happiness is…" composition over and over again to add to my happy list. Each moment of it gave me a lot of pleasure.

I would like to take the opportunity to encourage you all to take the 2009 challenge and make your 2009 list of what can make you happy. If you do not have enough ideas, here is what you can do to help you reach the 2009 mark.

Ask friends and family for ideas
Go over your day and find moments of joy – write them down
Think of hobbies you have
Imagine food you would be happy to eat
Imagine what would make you happy to receive as a gift
Think of achievements that made you happy in the past and some that will, in the future will make you happy
Search the Internet for the word "happy" and related words ("joy", "happiness", "pleasure") to get ideas
Write people who make you happy
Write moments of bliss that will make you happy
Make a list of all the books that have made you happy and you can read again
Make a list of happy events in your life that you would love to repeat
Write down happy memories that you could recall to be happy
Think of treasures you keep that you could look at to make yourself happy
Think of all the things you are grateful for – gratitude brings much joy and happiness
Write special holidays you love to celebrate
Write down achievements that would make you happy
Write down movies that have made you laugh
Write down places you have visited that have made you happy
Write down songs that listening to them makes you happy
List feelings you love to experience
List surprises you would love to receive
Think of things that motivate you – there is lots of happiness in motivation
Think of all your senses when compiling a list: smells, touches, visions, sounds, tastes

Remember, the more items you have on your list, the happier you are.

I hope you enjoy the presentation and I hope the inspiring kids who contributed their talents to it will be an inspiration for you too.

If you find it inspiring, please forward it to everyone who could use a bit of inspiration.

May 2008 conclude as a positive and happy year for you.

To help you summarize your 2008, I have prepared a happiness assessment, which you can use to find out just how happy you are at the moment. Go to this page for your happiness assessment – it’s free.