I am having the most marvelous holiday season ever!  Seriously, I am!  It’s not that something grand or out-of-the-ordinary has happened.  On balance, it’s not so different than last year or the year before.  But somehow it feels different. 

I suspect the reason I am so very happy has to do with my planning on being happy.  About two plus months ago, in the beginning of October, just as summer was waving goodbye and autumn was saying hello, knowing that winter and the holidays were coming soon enough, I sat down with pen and paper in hand.  I jotted down a few ideas on how to create a daily practice that would set the stage for the best holiday season ever.

Now, you might think that this is a heck of a time to share this vital information.  After all, we’re already knee deep, neck high, in the middle of the holiday season.   True, true, true!  But I wanted to see just how great my plan was, how it worked out (or not), and really, it’s never too late to get happy.

Let’s call them Post-Holiday Happiness Tips!  Start now for the happiest post-holiday season ever!

6 Post-Holiday Happiness Tips: Start Now, Be Happy on New Year’s Day!

1.  Wake Up Happy.  First thing, when you begin to awaken; when your eyes are fluttering, when you are in the state of half sleep, get in the habit of chanting aloud or in your mind’s eye/ear “I choose happiness.  I choose happiness.  I choose happiness.”

2.  Practice Gratitude-in-Advance:  Each and every morning (while sipping your morning drink – coffee, tea or water), jot down three things that you are planning on being grateful for on that particular day.  Get it!  Not what you are grateful for.  What you are planning to be grateful for.  I am telling you that this is a life changer!

For instance, today I am grateful-in-advance that the weather is good (weather person promises that it will be in the mid-40’s and not rain; perfect for layering up and walking about).  I am grateful that any and all holiday gifts that I need to buy will present themselves to me.  So simple, so easy!!!  And I am grateful in advance that I am spending this day walking about, having fun, with my darling husband and favorite chosen family.

3.  Experience the Miracle of Fruit.   You know how your kids ask you for things and you say, “What do you think, money grows on trees?” Well, guess what!  Fruit does!  HOLY CowGIRL!!!  Fruit that is overflowing with vitamins, minerals and chi, a.k.a. life force, grows on trees, on bushes, pops out of the grown, on vines … it’s miraculously there for the taking!   Let your overflowing fruit bowl be the cornerstone of healthy habits!

4.  Learn a Happy Song.  Either to sing or to play on an instrument, or to dance to —  for your own entertainment or to share with others. La la la lahhhhh!

5.  Imagine Something Worthwhile.  I heard the ubiquitous Deepak Chopra say on one show or another that “worry is a waste of the imagination.”  It stuck like white on rice!  (Thank you, Deepak!)  Every time I worry, I remember his words,  and when my 96.5 year young mother worries (she is the Queen of Worry), I say, “Mah!!! Worry is a waste of your imagination.  Come up with a better imagining.”  She loves it!  And she has repeated it to every one of the ladies in her inner-circle at her Independent/Assisted Living hotel.

6.  Be Present for Others.  Sure, sure, sure.  Be present and in the moment.  Notice how that tree is blowing in the wind, or how the clouds are gray/blue and white and moving across the sky.  Okay — and then be present when another human being is speaking.  Stop thinking, stop looking around the room, stop wishing that they’d stop talking so you can.  Be present for them, acknowledge them.  Being present for another is the best present (gift) you could give to them. AND it creates a happiness ripple effect.  Happy karma.

I hope that sets the stage for a happy 2013.  If I were to choose one from this above list to practice on a daily basis, I’d have to say choose to develop the Gratitude-in-Advance Habit.  Seriously, you have no idea what this can and will do for you!  Again, this is a daily practice, as in daily – every day – not just today!  Put it on your calendar! 

Feel free to share your Gratitude-In-Advance thoughts on Kick in the Tush Club/Facebook!

Spread the word–NOT the icing!
Janice