Train yourself to be happy

Train Yourself Happy

PHILADELPHIA (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Are happy people born that way? Or is happiness something you have to work at? The answer may be a little of both. If you’re not naturally a "glass-half- full" person, you can get that way, starting right now. In today's Smart Woman, we look at a five step happiness prescription.

Stay at home mom Wendy Carrick calls herself an eternal optimist. But even Carrick had a tough time making the transition from career woman to new mom. She wasn’t depressed, but she also wasn’t herself.

"I always describe it as if someone took a bomb to my life and exploded it. I could look up in the sky and say, I remember that part, oh, I remember that part," Carrick told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo is an expert in stress management and author of "A Happy You- Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness."
"Happiness is a skill. It’s a skill just like playing a sport or the piano. If you get the proper coaching and you practice, you can be really good at it, " Dr. Lombardo said.
 
Dr. Lombardo coaches her clients to be GREAT, an acronym for the five top things you can do to be happier. The first is to keep a gratitude journal
Carrick starts her day by making a daily list of things that make her happy.

"What I would do is fall back on what I wrote that morning, and it grounded me again," Carrick explained.
The rest of being great? Dr. Lombardo says take a few minutes to relax and have fun.
No matter how busy you are, exercise.

"Exercise has been proven to be as effective, if not more effective, than anti-depressant medications for people with clinical depression," Dr. Lombardo said.
Assist others in need, it will remind you of the positives in your life. Finally, make sure you talk it out. Maintain strong relationships with the people you love. Small changes that reap big rewards over a lifetime.

Dr. Lombardo says 50 percent of your happiness is inborn, meaning, some people are naturally happier than others. Ten percent is affected by outside events, the economy, for example. The remaining 40 percent is the happiness that is within your control.