Arise and Shine by Ian Lynch

Its another day, the light has come, the birds have sung, and the alarm clock has chimed. In this twilight moment, how do you respond? Is it a snooze button press, an extra duvet dive or a yippee, bounce out of bed hurrah?! Personally, it varies for me, depending on the demands of the day to come or perhaps the excesses of the night before. What I do know, is that how I spend that first half an hour of the waking day will have an extraordinary effect on the way my day unfolds.

In this first opening phase, I am still present to my waking dreams, which often carry messages for me of hidden concerns and blockers in my life, as well as the seeds for solutions to them and new opportunities for me as a result. When I can, this is priceless time to write down my thoughts, echoing the 'Morning Pages' prescribed by the Creative Artist author, Julia Cameron . Here, over time, lies some of the key issues and desires to help live a greater life. There are pearls of wisdom, patterns of behavior, fears and doubts, and beautiful ideas all pouring out onto the page.

Doing this immediately is not always easy, and two cats jumping on the bed and howling for their breakfast, often make for a sensible compromise of cat food, bathroom, cup of tea and back to bed to sit up and write. In doing so, I feel that the night can be put to bed, so to speak, and that I start to feel excitement and meaning for this day ahead coursing through me. I am energized, though still a little tired.

Next up, the shower awaits. It is a ritual for me, and a way of really getting going. In this wonderful space lies the opportunity to be bathed in hot streams of powerfully jetted water that awakens my skin, and also my mind. It is time to be refreshed and inspired for the day. What is so interesting, is that that shower is often a moment to think about how I will be during the day.

It is uncanny, but if I am feeling tired and not on my best form, I can influence this simply by deciding from 1 to 10, how happy I choose to be today. This simple question makes me smile, for even on a day when I feel fit and energized, I notice that I don't choose higher than a 9, usually going for either a 7, 8 or 9! I guess I am still holding back something. However, if I had simply rushed into the day, which I have done many many times, my day would most likely have turned out to be a 5 or 6. By choosing a 9, I watch myself being kinder, lighter, less judgmental, more open, and much more likely to be present, than I would have been otherwise. My day is by virtue of this choice, a richer and happier experience. Why not try it yourself, just for today?

By coincidence, if there is such a thing, I had fun talking with Roger Crabb of the shower manufacturer Mira Showers, about some recent research his firm had conducted on how showering can effect our mood, and also gives us some of our best thoughts and ideas. It is sometimes surprising when talking with CEO's, that the boardroom does not always score so highly as the place for grand thinking and vision! Together, Roger and I got to discuss this fact, and I shared with him 5 simple tips from our work at The Happiness Project, that help bring more happiness to the day. A happy life is born from living each day well, and to help anyone be even happier, our annual Be Happy program, run once a year in London (the next one starting in October), is a fast-track to a happier life. After all, it is what we all want, to be happy.

And just for fun, the next time you take a shower, whether first thing in the morning to awaken or in the evening as a de-stressor and relaxant before bedtime, do so with consciousness. Just how happy do you wish to be today or tomorrow, from 1 to 10?
How will you interact with other people to be at this level of happiness?
What would it be like to be one point higher, just for fun and personal research?

As Robert has often said, 'today will never happen again', so what is there to lose?!

Daily Express: Discover Your Joyful Side

The DAILY EXPRESS published an article today, “10 Steps to Happiness”, that outlines my (Robert Holden) ten tips for facing Blue Monday, the economic recession, and for rediscovering your joyful side. Here is the article in full. Enjoy.


UNTIL recently psychologists dismissed happiness as a “pleasurable emotion with no evolutionary value”. The theory was happiness feels good but it isn’t useful. However research reveals happiness has a powerful effect on the brain that helps you to think broadly, to come up with creative solutions and makes you generally more resilient.

In short happiness helps you to bring out the best in yourself. Follow my tips below to rediscover your joyful side.

1 The big rethink
Real, enduring happiness cannot be bought. Research confirms that money is important for basic needs like food, rent and clothes. However the link between higher income and increased happiness has been described in one study as “surprisingly weak” and “virtually negligible”. In fact a third of all millionaires are less happy than the national average.

2 Have a reality check
Work out what is truly important to you. Research shows people with consistently high happiness scores prioritise their life according to the things they value. They’ve worked out what is most important to them and don’t allow themselves to get sidetracked.

3 Do you need more?
In recent decades our purchasing power has more than doubled which means we can afford to buy more stuff than ever and yet more stuff hasn’t made us happier. To be happy you have to know what you really want. After all, you can never have enough of what you didn’t want in the first place. True happiness isn’t a thing or a commodity, it’s something you cultivate and share.

4 Discover life’s riches
Money is important but it is not everything. Make a list of everything in your life that is more precious to you than money. Think also about everything you already have that money can’t buy. Obvious examples are family, friends, health, laughter, creative hobbies, your imagination and spirituality.

5 Be positive
Research shows that life circumstances influence your happiness by only 10 per cent in the long-term. Obviously life events have a short-term effect. A loss of job or divorce can be devastating. Winning the lottery or falling in love can be wonderful at least initially but the key to being happy in the long‑term is not circumstances but attitude. Set an intention to enjoy today 10 per cent more than yesterday. Back up your intention with three specific actions like calling a friend, smiling more and doing something you love.

6 Treasure relationships
Investing time, energy and attention in your most important relationships will increase your happiness. A recent study confirms that having rich and satisfying social relationships is the key difference between people who are quite happy and those who are very happy.


7 Make time for fun
Most of us are so preoccupied with life’s chores that we can sometimes forget to enjoy ourselves. Make a commitment to having fun. See your best friends and make time for your hobbies and passions.

8 Count your blessings
Keep a gratitude journal. Write down at least three things a day you are either thankful for, made you smile or genuinely inspired you.

9 Have faith
People who have a strong spiritual faith report greater than average happiness. Research shows practices like meditation, prayer, yoga and tai chi can help you to de-stress and feel more balanced. Most importantly, a spiritual faith encourages us to look past our individual egos.

10 Look after yourself
To be happy you must never compromise on your health. Getting enough exercise and sleep and eating a healthy diet will improve your mood and energy levels.


To order Be Happy by Robert Holden (Hay House, £9.99) with free UK delivery, call 0871 988 8367 (10p/minute from BT landlines) with your card details or send a cheque payable to Express Newspapers to: The Express Bookshop, PO Box 200, Falmouth TR11 4WJ or order via expressbookshop.com

365 Gratitudes

On January 1st 2009 I made my first entry in a journal called 365 Gratitudes. One of my new year’s resolutions to myself was to make a daily entry of “one-gratitude-per-day” for a calendar year. Why? Because I wanted to experience the power of gratitude and how it might affect my life, my relationships, and my ideas about happiness, success, and abundance. Just now, with a few hours to go before mid-night on December 31st, I made my final entry for the year.

365 Gratitudes, as I like to call it, has been a challenging and enlightening experiment. The challenging bit was maintaining the discipline of setting aside 10 minutes a day to record my daily entry. Finding 10 minutes out of every 1440 minutes sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? I did okay for the most part, but sometimes I would slip, and suddenly I was having to think back over four or five days. What happened? Where had I been? How could I not find 10 minutes to stop and be grateful?!

I have engaged in many gratitude-related exercises over the years, and enjoyed them all for the most part, but none have been as confronting and beneficial as this one. I would recommend wholeheartedly that you try this experiment for yourself. 365 Gratitudes has given me a deeper appreciation for the power of gratitude. I have learned that gratitude is much more than just a positive attitude or a nice idea; it is a spiritual practice that can transform your perception of who you are and how you experience the world. Gratitude teaches you how to live.

Here are ten lessons I’ve learned about the power of gratitude having done my 365 Gratitudes.

Gratitude is a spiritual compass: Practising gratitude daily helps you to stay on course with your life-journey and with the essence of who you are.

Gratitude is a training in vision: Being willing to see each and every situation and encounter through the eyes of gratitude helps you to see possibilities that you would otherwise be blind to.

Gratitude helps you to connect: Gratitude creates a deeper intimacy and oneness with life. It’s impossible to feel truly grateful and lonely at the same time.

Gratitude is from the heart: When you remember to be grateful, you also remember to live from your heart. Gratitude helps you to love your life more, and also to be a more loving person.

Gratitude is a healer: Being willing to be grateful for everything helps you to handle everything better. Gratitude is a willingness to see the gift in everything, eventually.

Gratitude teaches you what is real: The more you practice gratitude, the clearer you become about the truth of your life, and what is truly sacred to you.

Gratitude helps you to feel safe: Gratitude gives you a basic trust that you really do live in a friendly universe. Gratitude gives you faith that every life-event, no matter what it looks like,  is ultimately for your highest purpose.

Gratitude is a key to happiness: Gratitude shows you that the grass beneath your feet is greener than you think. Gratitude teaches you that happiness is always now.

Gratitude is a NOW thing: Gratitude helps you to enjoy your life as it happens. Gratitude has a spirit of immediacy that forces you to make contact with what is, right now, right here.

Gratitude helps you to be present: The more you practice gratitude, the more alive you feel. Less often do you get lost in modes of “doing” and “going,” and “chasing” and “waiting.” Gratitude helps you to be in your life.