Happiness The 10-Day Challenge 2014
Sweep the earth as with a flood... The Lord is hastening His work, and it is no coincidence that these powerful communication innovations and inventions are occurring in the dispensation of the fulness of times. Social media channels are global tools that can personally and positively impact large numbers of individuals and families. And I believe the time has come for us as disciples of Christ to use these inspired tools appropriately and more effectively to testify of God the Eternal Father, His plan of happiness for His children, and His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Savior of the world; to proclaim the reality of the Restoration of the gospel in the latter days; and to accomplish the Lord s work. My beloved brothers and sisters, what has been accomplished thus far in this dispensation communicating gospel messages through social media channels is a good beginning but only a small trickle. I now extend to you the invitation to help transform the trickle into a FLOOD. Beginning at this place on this day, I exhort you to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood. - Elder David A. Bednar Keynote Address Education Week 2014 SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, #sharegoodness, #multiplygoodness Contact any of the Relief Society Presidency to tell them experiences. More tips for sharing on social media? 1) Use your own genuine voice and pictures. 2) Be positive as you share the goodness from your own life. 3) Respect the rights of others. 4) Remember social media posts are forever.
Christian Dior, the famous French fashion designer, noted, Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty without happiness. Deep down most women want to look and feel attractive. Many of us would be thrilled to get a makeover of cosmetics, hairstyle, and wardrobe. But how many of us would welcome getting a makeover for our attitudes and thoughts? Yet ultimately, the way a woman looks on the outside is very much influenced by what s happening on the inside. Since happiness is the most attractive accessory a woman can have, join us for our 10-Day Happiness Challenge to cultivate those habits that will enhance your happiness and beauty.
November 3-12, 2014 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God D&C 18:10 In the first meeting of the Relief Society, Sister Emma Smith said, We are going to do something extraordinary. She was right. The history of Relief Society is filled with examples of ordinary women who have accomplished extraordinary things as they have exercised faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Relief Society was established to help prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life. The purposes of Relief Society are to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and provide relief by seeking out and helping those in need. Women fulfill these purposes as they seek, receive, and act on personal revelation in their callings and in their personal lives. Join us as we "do something EXTRAORDINARY!" Joseph Smith admonished the sisters to live up to [their] privilege. With that encouragement as a foundation, sisters in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taught to live up to their divine potential by fulfilling God s purposes for them. As they come to understand who they really are God s daughters, with an innate capacity to love and nurture they reach their potential as holy women. With charity in their hearts, they fulfill the purposes of Relief Society: to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need.
Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. Mary Lou Retton
Happiness Habit #1 Optimism Optimism is associated with success and happiness more than any other quality. Optimistic thinking promotes positive moods, vitality, and high morale. Researchers have shown that optimists are more likely to persevere and to engage fully even in the face of difficulty. They also set a greater number of goals and more difficult goals for themselves. Optimism motivates us and leads us to take initiative, which can positively affect our mental and physical health. Like pessimism, optimism is contagious. By associating with other optimists, you are more likely to be optimistic yourself. Optimism Challenge: Choose to See the Good and BE the GOOD! Choose one of the following challenges: Maintaining optimism is easier when you feel healthy. Lack of sleep, depleted energy from poor eating habits, and too little exercise are all factors that interfere with one s ability to moderate moods and positive energy. Evaluate your sleep, eating, and exercise habits. Do you have some quiet time? How do you manage stress? Do you get in some vigorous exercise? Implement a healthy habit today. Imagine your life in one, five, ten, fifty years. What does it look like? Or rather, what do you want it to look like? Figure out what you have to do to get there, and write those down as goals. Pull out your goals from time to time to make sure you are on course. Whenever you catch yourself focusing on a problem, experiencing negativity, or feeling self-doubt, ask yourself this question: What s one thing I can do differently that could make this situation better? This technique replaces a problem-focused thought with solution-focused thinking. FLIP THE SWITCH!
For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others. For beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness. Audrey Hepburn
Happiness Habit #2 Kindness Health and happiness comes from thinking more positively, and kindness is a positive mental state. While kindness is about giving and about being open to others, giving returns a sense of well-being and connectedness to us that improves our own mental state and health. The very ability to be kind is in itself a powerful and consistent reward, a self-esteem booster. Kindness is a habit that everyone can cultivate. Being kind is karma in practice. Kindness Challenge: Make a habit of focusing on kindness! Choose one of the following challenges: Be kind to unkind people. They need it most. Refrain from criticizing others behind their back. Don t listen to or repeat gossip. Practice random acts of kindness.
Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Happiness Habit #3 Hope The absence of hope leads to serious consequences for our souls and emotional health. We must make hope an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose it. Regardless of our present situation, background, personality, upbringing, or circumstances, we can be a person of hope. Hope is a choice. It is a combination of setting goals, having the tenacity and perseverance to pursue them, and believing in our own abilities. Hope Challenge: Remember, there are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. (C.S. Lewis) Choose one of the following challenges: Try to envision something realistic that you want for yourself in your life. Create a plan on how to get there. Be like the little engine that could and keep saying, I think I can. If you are feeling particularly low, start with something very small like cleaning a room or organizing a closet. Live with anticipation that something great is going to happen today. Say "I am grateful that something great is going to happen!" Pay attention to small victories today. Hope emerges and is sustained when we regularly discover evidence for it. Draw attention to the small specific acts of hope that unfold today such as completing simple tasks, doing a load of laundry, or exercising for a few minutes.
On the days when I feel love and compassion and forgiveness in my life, I m happier and more attractive to other people. Marianne Williamson
Happiness Habit #4 Forgiveness One way to increase your own happiness is to forgive others. This is often hard to do, but it is a powerful way to reduce negative emotions and boost your health and well-being. Forgiveness is the act of letting go of one s anger towards someone for having hurt, wounded, betrayed, injured, or harmed you. Forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting the harm someone has done or your disappointment in them, and it does not mean giving them a second chance to harm you, but it does mean letting go of the anger one attaches to the hurtful incident and of begrudging the person for it. Forgiveness involves accepting the shortcomings of others, giving people a second chance, and not being vengeful to those who have done wrong. Forgiveness Challenge: Focus on forgiveness rather than resentment! Choose one of the following challenges: Write a letter of forgiveness not necessarily to send, but to write out what happened, how it affected you, and what you wish the person had done, and to end with a statement of understanding and forgiveness. Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, or the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most successful, the cutest, or the one with the fastest time. Forgive yourself for not winning every round. Forgive yourself for being afraid.
There is no model, no actress, beauty pageant contestant that can outshine a happy, confident, secure woman. Mandy Hale
Happiness Habit #5 Confidence Self-confidence is about doing what you do well and not thinking too much about how you are perceived by others. Confidence is not the result of a quick fix or secret trick. It happens slowly over a long period of time. It is the result of a series of small, manageable actions. The key to building real confidence is to always keep stretching your comfort zone. Confidence Challenge: Confidence is like a muscle the more you use it, the more it grows! Choose one of the following challenges: Sit down today and write a list of all the victories, no matter how small, that you have had in recent memory. Next, list the traits that you are proud to possess. Face a fear! The quickest way to acquire confidence is to do exactly what you re afraid to do. This is not easy, but the reward is big. If you face a fear then your confidence takes about ten steps up. Smile at a person you don t know. It feels positively uplifting to confidently lock eyes with another person and, rather than look away, smile at them. When someone returns the smile, it is a beautiful connection that naturally makes you feel better about yourself.
As you develop integrity you can be more beautiful. Integrity will bring a twinkle to your eye and look of confidence that will magnetically draw people to you. Carol B. Thomas
Happiness Habit #6 Integrity Integrity makes you whole and complete. Having integrity means your actions are consistent with your beliefs. It means you have the courage to do what you know is right, even when no one is watching. It means you are honest in all aspects of your life. There is a confidence, serenity, and happiness that comes from being a person of integrity. Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, and what you believe shine through every aspect of your life. Integrity Challenge: To thine own self be true! Choose one of the following challenges: Don t over-commit. Only commit to what you truly believe you can deliver. Keep your promises. Be truthful. Avoid even little white lies and half-truths. Speak up when your silence might allow someone to believe something that is not true. Write out a statement of who you are (i.e. I am a daughter of God) and the joy this knowledge brings to you.
Pride makes us artificial. Humility makes us real. Real is what makes us beautiful. Thomas Merton
Happiness Habit #7 Humility Humility inspires and lifts those around us, generating learning and growth, and provides a firm basis for self-esteem. Humility can help you be more content with your life, and it can also help you endure bad times and improve your relationships with others. It s also essential to being an effective learner. If you think you know it all, you won t be open-minded enough to seek out new knowledge, and if you feel superior, you have no incentive to improve. Most of all, being humble allows you to be honest with yourself. Humility Challenge: True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. (C.S. Lewis) Choose one of the following challenges: Appreciate the talents and qualities of others Make someone feel important today. Show respect to those you don t agree with. Invite and pursue correction.
The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something of substance or beauty. Everyone can create. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Happiness Habit #8 Creativity One of the biggest myths about creativity is that it s bestowed on a lucky few, and the rest of us don t have a creative bone in our bodies. But this couldn t be further from the truth. Being creative does not mean you have to be an artist. Being creative is about expressing yourself, and the more we express ourselves, the more good we create in the world. Our energy and effectiveness flow from our ability to tap into our creative spring. Whatever your passion is, practice it. Whatever you love, pursue it. Creativity Challenge: Practice your passion! Choose one of the following challenges: Write a poem. If you re in a bad mood, use it to inspire music or art, writing, decorating, dancing, and even creative cooking. Take time for solitude. It s hard to find that inner creative voice if you re not getting in touch with yourself and reflecting on yourself. Go for a walk. Stanford researchers found that walking boosts creative inspiration. Seek out new experiences. Create your life as you want to it to be. Take charge of the joy you can have in your life. Write down possitve affirmations about what you would like your life to look like.
Gratitude will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way. Marjorie Pay Hinckley
Happiness Habit #9 Gratitude Gratitude is an immensely powerful force that we can use to expand our happiness, create loving relationships, and even improve our health. Many scientific studies have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional wellbeing and physical health than those who don t. Gratitude and appreciation are two powerful weapons we can use against depression and anxiety. In fact, Dan Baker writes in his book, What Happy People Know, that it is impossible to be in a state of appreciation and fear at the same time. Since gratitude and the ability to express it is one of the greatest contributors to our overall level of happiness, we might want to cultivate it. Gratitude Challenge: Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it! Choose one of the following challenges: Write a thank-you note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank-you letter expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person s impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself. Set aside time to meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as peace ), it is also possible to focus on what you re grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.). Count your blessings! At the end of the day, write down three to five things from the day for which you feel grateful. Even a negative situation can have a positive effect somewhere.
True beauty can t be painted on but is a gift of the Spirit. Lynn G. Robbins
Happiness Habit #10 Spirituality Religious involvement, particularly if there is a strong spiritual component, is associated with less depression and anxiety, greater well-being, and less drug and alcohol abuse. Research using MRIs suggests that it actually alters the structure of the brain in people at high risk for depression. It s also linked to better physical health and health behaviors less smoking, more exercising, a better diet. Religious people have less cardiac disease and hypertension and better measurable immune function. It turns out, however, that belief itself doesn t mean much. It s whether the belief is carried out through some sort of action, such as gathering with others in a faith community, spending time in prayer or meditation, reading scripture, or volunteering basically conforming your life to the teaching of your faith. That s where the biggest benefits are. Spiritual cultivation is the ongoing commitment to the transformation of one s life for the better. Spirituality Challenge: Prayer is good medicine (Dr. Harold Koenig) Select a practice to work on today, but remember that spirituality isn t acquired in a day. It requires regular practice that is evolved over time. Read and study the scriptures and other sacred texts. Tend to the physical body with yoga, Qigong, tai chi, swimming, walking, or whatever enjoyable way possible. Volunteer and serve. Go to bed early and get up early.