The Secret to Happiness - Revealed

When was the last time you caught yourself in a moment of total happiness?

I can remember many times during my 20s, being on my way out to meet girlfriends, the stereo cranked in my car, that melded feeling of unknowing and endless possibility thumping in my chest. I would catch myself thinking I am so happy right now.

I felt so alive and so free just sitting behind the wheel of my Toyota.

Now, that same feeling creeps up on me when I set out on a hiking trail or spend the morning pulling weeds, listening to my chickens twittering back and forth. It happens when my husband and I try a new wine and watch each other's faces to try to guess what the other thinks. It shows up when I'm sitting around a table with family, listening to my parents tell a story I've never heard about something they did as teenagers.

Happiness pops up when allow myself to settle into the moment. When I'm fully consumed by the present.

According to a TED talk I recently listened to, that lost-in-the-moment feeling may in fact be the key to happiness. According to Matt Killingsworth, even when people are engaged in tedious activities like their morning commutes, they feel happier when they are fully present in traffic or on the train than when they let their minds wander.

It's reassuring that this small, widely and easily accessible step could be the key to maintaining a state of joy.

It means that happiness is right there with you, wherever you are. All you have to do is allow yourself to be in it. 

Check out Matt's talk below learn more about finding happiness. And be sure to stay fully present while you watch....

Zen Gardening

A couple weeks ago, two of my life coach pals were staying with me and very aptly pointed out that I have a tendency to spend too much time focusing on the future rather than being in the present. I love planning—and come from a long line of highly anxious individuals—which is the perfect combo for projecting about 80% of my thoughts into future goings-on instead of those that are happening right in front of me.

Do you spend most of your time grounded in the past, present, or future?

Cultivating mindfulness has a myriad of benefits, some of which can actually help protect your brain against mental illness. But for many of us (or is it just me?) staying present is about as easy as keeping ice cream from dripping down its cone on a summer day. Sure, it's possible, but it requires commitment.

The good news is, we're probably all practicing mindfulness already and we just don't realize it. 

As I contemplated my own forward-thinking nature, I realized (thankfully) that there are times I'm fully present in the now. When I'm gardening, I'm wholly devoted to what's happening right in front of me. I use all my senses—eyes scouting out dandelions that need to be pulled, ears tuned to the sound of my garden gloves rooting in the dirt, nose engaged by the scent of damp earth and cut grass, hands gripping my trowel to move dirt and gravel.

Who knew that weeding could be so Zen?

The more I can allow myself to approach other day-to-day tasks like I approach gardening, the closer I'll get to maximizing my mindfulness. (I'm feeling the keyboard right now as I type this, as a start.)

What opportunities in your do you see in your everyday life for grounding yourself in the present moment? And what activities already keep you in the now?