is happiness your default state?

If not, then why not?  On phototripping outings over the past few months I’ve been watchful of a lot of things around me that might have gone un-noticed otherwise. One thing that’s struck me is that little kids always seem joyful, happy and pretty care-free. So maybe happiness is everyone’s default early on in our lives! But how do so many people lose that along the way? Maybe it’s because of assumptions we make over time or habits that we’re not even aware that we have. Maybe it’s the chatter in our heads, the self-talk that goes unchecked. Perhaps we’ve bought into some negative comments made by other people or heck, maybe we just listen to network news much too often and it’s poisoning us without us even realizing it.

So how do we try to recapture happiness as our default? Well, what are you passionate about? Do you feel like you’ve found your true purpose?  “Live in the moment” is a pretty worn out chant these days but if you can find something, a project or purpose that pulls you into it’s current then you’ll probably find that you’re not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future, you’re concentrating fully on what you have in front of you right now. No worries, no regrets, just 100% focused on this moment. You may be so focused that time flies by and nothing else can compete for your attention. Musicians are often totally in the moment when they play. Same goes for an artist working on her/his craft. So try to find that engrossing activity or experience that makes time stand still for you, that keeps you totally focused. It’ll be a great first step towards re-setting your happiness default.