Happiness Strategies | How to be Happy

1. Woody Allen

Failed motion picture production at NYU and City College of NY. Oh and also failed English at NYU. Before winning Oscars for directing, producing and writing.

2. Thomas Carlyle

Loaned The French Revolution manuscript to a friend whose servant used it for kindling. Carlyle went home and re-wrote the whole thing.

3. M*A*S*H

Richard Hooker received 21 rejections for this novel before it was published, became a bestseller, a huge movie success and a massively popular TV series.

4. Star Wars

Yoda et al were rejected by every Studio in Hollywood. Eventually 20th Century Fox relented and the film became one of the highest grossing movies evah.

5. E.T., Forrest Gump, Home Alone, Speed and Pulp Fiction

All were passed on by major studios. All are now iconic pieces of popular culture.

[Source: Adapted from Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul (2000) by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Bud Gardner]

The lesson from the lessons:

It’s only failure if you stop there.

More Quick Tricks

Image: carlsilver

1. Pay attention

You can’t retrieve information that doesn’t go into your memory in the first place – it’s like searching for a  file your never saved. If you want to remember something, make a point of noticing it – consciously.

Example

Want to remember where you parked the car in the 52-story movie car-park? Make a deliberate point of noticing the location (Red 45, or whatever) and even telling yourself ‘I’ve parked at Red 45′.

Cletus memory tip:

Take a photo of the ‘Red 45′ pylon with your camera phone. And don’t let Lurlene leave the phone in the car.

2. Hang it on a hook

Mnemonic systems are great for organizing your memories for easier retrieval. The idea is to link new information you want to remember to existing stuff you already know well.

Example

Say you want to remember 5 items to pick up at the shops: a magazine, toothpaste, chocolate, an iPod case and coffee beans. If it’s a path you know well, you could choose landmarks along the way: the entrance to the lane, the tunnel, the oval, traffic lights and the Chinese restaurant. Now you just link the new items you want to remember to the already well known landmarks. Be creative and OTT to help your memory.

Visualize:

• A huge pile of magazines blocking the lane entrance
• A choir of buskers brushing their teeth for money in the tunnel
• Chocolate bars jogging around the oval (give them sweat bands or leg warmers for a nice retro touch)
• Music blaring out of the traffic lights (if it’s anything from an Australian Idol contestant you could have people moaning and covering their ears for added realism)
• Coffee beans spilling out of the windows and doors of the Chinese restaurant.

Try it – it really works!

Cletus memory tip:

So does a list. Shell out for some post-its and save them brain cells for alcohol to do its work.

3. Play it again, Sam

Repetition strengthens the neural pathways and this helps ’set’ a memory. Mental rehearsal is a great way to establish those pathways.

Example

Want to remember someone’s name when you’re introduced? Repeat the name aloud immediately (’Charmed, I’m sure, Mr Hypotenuse’), then repeat it mentally after a few seconds, then after a few minutes and then perhaps after a half-hour.

Cletus memory tip:

Or you could just akks the dude what his dang name was again.

More Quick Tricks

Image: clsawyer

1. Write it down

A written rant is a neat way to let off steam. Not only does writing it down take the sting out of a situation, it can bring you all kinds of insights that elude you when you’re in the throes of throwing things.

2. Breathe

Inhale deeply. Exhale the yuck.

3. Have an out-of-body experience

Instead of losing yourself in a frustrating situation, observe how others respond. Watching others deal with the delayed flight, the rude waiter or the customer throwing a hissy fit and holding up the queue can take you out of your own skin and turn down the tension.

4. Be a boy scout

If you know the things that routinely rattle you, you can be prepared for them.

Hate being hassled by hawkers?
Have a big smile and a firm ‘Absolutely no thank you!’ ready to roll off your tongue.

Loath it when people/trains/planes are late?
Always have a book in your bag.

Irritated by inane chatter?
Carry an iPod loaded with music/podcasts/audiobooks.
(Warning: Not recommended if the inane chatterer is your boss/spouse/parole officer.)

5. Go to your happy place

Mine has chocolate, Pepsi Max and new episodes Arrested Development, Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. Yours can be anything or anywhere you like, as long as it lowers your blood pressure and stops that vein from throbbing. Try lying on a warm beach, sailing a calm ocean or chilling to death metal.

6. Remember – it’s not always about you

If someone is being a giant clod, there’s a good chance they have iss-ewes that don’t concern you. They don’t mean to make you mad, you’re just collateral damage. This perspective can turn your anger into compassion. Or at least remind you that Tom Cruise wasn’t always this weird.

7. Smile

It’s very hard to be angry with a smile on your face. Just curl those lips and let the good feelings displace the bad. (Did you know the Mona Lisa’s smile was her anger-management strategy when told about Dan Brown by a clairvoyant? You can almost hear her screaming serenity now.)

Image: kiwanja