Yesterday as I was driving up to the mountains, I stopped for gas at my favorite Race Trac. I say my favorite because they have the cheapest gas prices of any station in two states for a couple of hundred miles and even if I do have to use Visa or Master and forgo my Amex points, it’s worth it. Yesterday is was more worth it than usual. I’d left Atlanta at 7:10AM, and while I’m an avowed early bird, I am not generally social much before 10am. It was just past 9am when I stopped for gas. I went inside to grab something for breakfast and noticed immediately that the gal at the register was in an awesome mood. She was doling out smiles and good cheer to every customer in line.
I just had to ask her if she was always this cheerful and she said absolutely. She even admitted that she is a night owl and is even happier in the late evening hours. Now, I don’t know about you, but I go to a lot of convenience stores since I’m on the road a fair bit and it is generally rare to get a compliment (she gave one personally to each customer about their shirt, their hair, something unique to them) and a big smile and welcome from most convenience store clerks. This totally stood out for me and made my day. And this was clearly a mindset choice that this clerk had made and makes every day.
It’s not enough in business today to market well and be motivated, you’ve got to have a prosperous mindset. You’ve got to stay upbeat and even keeled no matter what crisis occur, no matter what major challenges or minor frustrations arise (and they will.) A prosperity mindset isn’t limited to thoughts of money but instead encompasses all kinds of good fortune and abundance. Imagine living a truly healthy life with boatloads of energy to accomplish all the activities and tasks you enjoy (and even some you don’t). Imagine relationships of joy and support instead of those that are toxic and draining. It’s all possible and it’s all up to you.
Now before you bury your face in your hands and groan that “but you don’t know my problems . . .” let me remind of that old adage. “If all of our troubles were hung on a line, you would take yours and I would take mine.” There is always someone better off than you and others who are far worse off, your troubles are relative. This is a chance and your choice to set them aside in favor of a new mindset and a prosperous attitude. Here are 3 Surefire Ways to Be Happy Every Day.
#1 Decide to be Happy
It’s simple you can decide how to feel and act at any given moment in time, it is dictated by your thoughts. As much as you may not want to claim reponsibility for them, you are squarely in charge of your thoughts. It is the cult of you. Take charge of your thoughts and you’ll take charge of your life and your business both.
#2 Find Something to Like About Everyone You Meet
So often we first go into judgment about another person, based on ridiculous factors like how they are dressed, the kind of car they drive, the house they live in, how they smell, if they have an accent, and more. STOP, I dare you to look for something good in each person that you can compliment them on. It could be their smile, their shirt, their voice, anything at all and then TELL THEM. This is going to feel a little weird at first but once you get the hang of it you will fast realize how rare compliments are and how much fun they are to give.
#3 Count Your Blessings and Say Thank YOU
Have you ever found yourself complaining about bad weather only to turn on the news and read of hurricane victims or flooding disasters, and suddenly find yourself grateful for the rain that isn’t so bad, or the snow that didn’t even knock out power? Particularly here in the USA we tend to lead very spoiled lives and we don’t realize how good we have it. I know there is homelessness and illiteracy here and globally, I also know there is AIDS and starvation, here and around the world. Honestly if you don’t have any of those four, what are you grousing about? I’ll bet that if you just look around you’ll have dozens of things to be thankful for, a roof over your head, a car to drive or bus to ride, food to eat, clothes to wear, and that is just the basics. Get grateful and you’ll get happy.
I invite you to share in comments your favorite ways to get happy and stay happy, let’s make the prosperity mindset contagious.
