Note: this article is part of the book I am writing tentatively titled Recovery Buffet– All You Can Free. What do you think of the title? Should it be Welcome to Your Recovery Buffet–All You Can Free? or should it be Welcome to Your All You Can Free Recovery Buffet? I really want to know what you think.
The book will help people create their own daily program for recovering anything they’ve lost — joy, hope, courage,peace of mind, the ability to stand up for themselves, or perhaps even an ability to throw a party without stressing. (My husband and I are Masters at this!)
When you create your own Recovery Buffet, you can tackle any and all addiction issues, and it doesn’t matter how messy your life looks at this moment. All you need to do is have the willingness to try something new, and make a little progress every day. Progress not perfection is what matters.
This is a great segue to my WHAT MATTERS Daily Recovery Plan. (And I’d like to take moment to celebrate the word “segue,” which I learned just a few short years ago. Where had it been hiding all my life? What a great word!”
WHAT MATTERS: the “H” In WHAT stands for happiness habits.
What is a Happiness Habit?
I’m defining a happiness habit is anything we do that raises our vibration. When you practice a Happiness Habit, you will feel better immediately. Will you be cured forever of all pain and suffering? No. If that is what you want I suggest either a lobotomy or a methamphetamine addiction. I hear meth works very, very well the first time.
But that’s true for most addictions. The first time you go on a shopping binge to make yourself feel better, you do feel better. Somewhere your body says, “I felt crappy and now I feel alive and powerful! Whenever I feel bad all I need to do is shop!” We can exchange the word “shop” with, get angry, drive fast, get busier, drink, have sex, even throw five parties for your two year old.
Why do we need to develop happiness habits?
Whatever we practice we become good at, and we’re always practicing something. If we get intentional about what we practice, we take responsibility for our lives and we are no longer victims. By making the commitment to ourselves to practice one Happiness Habit every day, a habit that can take one minute or less, we are taking action to free ourselves. Happiness Habits are something anyone can do, anytime, anywhere. You’re going to have to throw your excuse of “I don’t have enough time” in the Cosmic Toilet for this one, because no matter who you are, you can always find one minute during the day to consciously shift your vibration.
I want to emphasize that though a Happiness Habit doesn’t take long to develop, it is extremely effective. I know we don’t trust things that are simple, I know we have this tendency to make everything more complicated, but truly, taking one minute a day to consciously evoke happiness will make a big difference. I dare you to try this for two weeks and tell me it isn’t helping free you to think more clearly, feel more gratitude, and absorb more beauty around you. I dare you.
Happiness Habit #1: I really love it when…
(I got this tip from Carol Look, an EFT master. You can easily find her on You Tube.)
Finish the sentence “I really love it when…” as many times as you can, putting in as many sensory details as possible.
Here is a sample list from me to juice up your imagination:
- I really love it when I’m in the process of writing a book I believe in, a book I know will help thousands if not millions of people.
- I really love it when I’m picking raspberries off the raspberry bushes in my backyard and they are warm from the sun and ridiculously sweet in my mouth.
- I really love it when my husband and I have those moments of just putting cheek to cheek, and being completely in the moment appreciating each other.
- I really love it when I start listening to a new book and I think “Yahoo! This is going to be a doozy!”
- I really love it when I take warm clothes out of the dryer, and they smell so sweet and fresh and friendly.
- I really love it when I get a new software program or piece of technology that makes my life easier and richer.
- I really love it when it’s raining really, really hard and I’m snug and cozy by my fire, listening to the rain on the roof.
Get the idea? You can write your sentences down or say this out loud to yourself, which is a great idea. But if you’re a little shy and you’re out in public you can just look around and talk to yourself.
More examples:
Grocery shopping: I really love it when I picked the right line, and I get through that checkout fast.
Driving in traffic: I really love it when there’s nothing I can do and I am forced to slow down because the traffic is so thick. I think I’ll sing along with the Black Eyed Peas. “I gotta feeling…”
The first time you go to the bathroom in the morning: the Jewish tradition has a prayer for this moment – it goes something like “ I really love it when all the pipes are working.” (I have, of course, paraphrased this blessing.)
When you start creating your own customized Recovery Buffet, you will discover the Happiness Habits that work the best for you. I have lots of suggestions, but you can start collecting your own Happiness Habits. If you already have some, I’d love to hear from you and I’ll put them in this book, giving you credit of course.
Want to give this a try for two weeks and let me know what happens? That would be cool.
Blessings,
Vicki