h a p p y campers :)

I have been loving my positive psychology class and I feel like I have found my new path in psychology.  This study and research and way of life is ME!  I can really identify with it a lot and I have so much interest in it.  I love those moments in life when you truly find out what you love to do and each day of learning and growth is more enjoyable than effort or work to you.  It is discovery and excitement.  It is lighting up a dark room and just filling that amount of dark space with numerous bright and flashing lights that just continue to get brighter and brighter.  It is quite thrilling!  So in this class we have been learning a lot about mental imagery and vision.  This method of thinking teaches us how to not just the "hows" to be happy but also to become successful and achieve the goals and things you want in your life.  Our professor talked about it all starts in the mind and that we literally need to paint a picture or set up a scene in the stage of our thoughts and SEE what we want to be said, thought, felt, and done in specific aspects of our day to day life.  We are the creators of that blank stage in our mind and we are the directors to our own plays in life so it is crucial to first have the vision of the play and then the action can occur.  He related this to the movie "Sherlock Holmes" and how he always played out the scenes in his mind first and then made them happen.  He also gave us a digram from our textbook that proves how much of our happiness and success is actually "in our control".  It states that 50% is set point such as genetics, disorders, etc. that we are just given, 10% is circumstance like where you are living, what country, and who you are with, and 40% is intentional activity which is your attitude and choice.  So we have 40% to deal with and change, adjust, fix so we can become more happy and successful.  How do we do that?  Begin with this mental imagery theory and apply it to anything you are working towards in your life whether that is getting a new job, getting a boyfriend/girlfriend, developing a new skill/hobby, parenting your children, mending a relationship with a friend, etc.  Begin to invasion every word said, emotion felt, the smells, the setting, the mood of each scenario and then go make it happen.  Do this not only once but over and over because it is also proven that "practice/effort and time" make perfect.  

There are also three happiness myths in the book that I think are very valid to acknowledge in life and the twisted perspectives on these, if changed, can alter the way we see, feel, and do things.

1) happiness must be found- stop waiting and looking for an exact definition of happiness in your life and CREATE your own happiness for yourself through things you enjoy and like to read, do, study, and apply.
2)happiness lies in changing our circumstances- stop playing the "victim" and "poor me...my life is hard" card and just embrace who you are, where you are, what you are going through or things that are happening to you, and just LEARN to love and be happy.  you cannot blame anyone or anything that you are not happy and you need to understand that joy and happiness is created within the MIND and soul and once thought out and "rehearsed", things do and will work out.
3) you either have it or you don't-  there is no such thing as some people are happy and some are not and that is just how it is. happiness is a choice and any human being has the ability to change that.  it all comes down to a persons ATTITUDE and not their APTITUDE.  You can choose to be positive or negative and that is the attitude you have and then the emotions that you feel, being happy, sad, hurt, ,oct, worried, confused, troubled, annoyed, upbeat, etc can be felt and processed with whatever attitude you have chosen for yourself.

So at my work we had the opportunity to go on a nature hike as a group and all the staff,girls, and therapists attended.  It was a spiritual and really moving experience as a whole and I think we all got a lot out of it.  Everyone set goals before we went out to hike that made us all invasion our day and experience together and what that would look like to us.  We then did the hike and all laughed, played, conversed, enjoyed, and just did with enthusiasm and positive energy.  Everyone was happy.  We all got in a circle at the end in the woods and linked arms and went around one by one reporting the positive about our experience.  We all were smiling, crying, laughing, and enjoying together in the end and we all created that moment together as a whole. We were the ones that made the choice to have a positive and enjoyable experience and we all did that.  It happened!  A lot of girls and staff were struggling in the house and had their own issues to work out but we all were able to deal with those things in a more positive and happy manner because we all choose to have a positive attitude and picture a good and happy experience occurring.  It works!

I also had the chance to talk with my roommates about this type of thing because they are all girls that have been through some really hard, challenging, upsetting, and unpleasant life obstacles.  As I heard their personal opinions and stories I was stunned and just in awe about how strong and how much power each girl had over her life regardless of the details of what had happened to them.  The all have made the choice to not be the victim and take accountability for the things that have passed, looked at it as a growing/learning experience, and as a new or second chance at life to try things again and do it right.  We all have power and we are all creators to our script.  Shit happens and life is indeed hard but this does not have to mean we then get to through ourselves pitty parties and sit in our crap for the rest of our lives feeling bad for ourselves and everyone thinking life was once pretty but now lost its color.  Life is still bright and exciting and has the potential to fill our souls up with joy but it all begins in our M I N D S and how we choose to SEE our life.  Open your eyes and picture what you really want for yourself and your path and envision what you can do to get whatever you want so you can, throughout the experience and journey, not just the ending, feel real, lasting, enjoyable, and pure happiness.

SO TRY IT!!!!  Start rehearsing your goals and aspirations in your life, specifically sorted out, in your mind and then go out and throw in some effort, practice, and time (patience obviously), and get what you want our of your own life.  This quote that I love that our teacher gave us before we ended class was...

"your ATTITUDE, not your aptitude, will determine your ALTITUDE." - Zig Zigler

to end on a spiritual note, I really wanted to share this amazing scripture that was shared in institute today that really gives us the VISION of who we are and who we must become.. 

Alma 13:3
 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being^acalled and ^bprepared from the ^cfoundation of the world according to the ^dforeknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to ^echoose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great ^ffaith, are ^gcalled with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

2 Nephi 10:20

 20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been ^adrivenout of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a^bbetter land, for the Lord has made the sea our ^cpath, and we are upon an ^disle of the sea.

The path is laid out for us from a loving God and we must remember our holy calling, have faith, apply that POWER in our daily lives, and we will obtain greatness, glory, and more importantly eternal happiness!