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We routinely hear about people who are searching for happiness. We even talk about the ‘pursuit of happiness’. Does this mean that we have to find happiness? We might think that making a lot of money, finding the perfect mate, living in a fantastic house or perhaps losing weight will make us happy.

Or is happiness something that we can create within ourselves?

According to Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book “The How of Happiness”, happiness is in our power to fashion for ourselves. Instead of chasing happiness, we can create it by changing our habits. She encourages us to look for happiness in how we behave, what we think, and the types of goals we set for ourselves.

There are several helpful quizzes included in the book designed to not only evaluate our current level of happiness, but also to help us start creating more happiness in our lives. I’m working on two of these goals for myself right now: 

• Savoring special moments throughout the day, from noticing the pink sky at the very moment before dawn as I head out on an early morning run, to listening to the raindrops fall on my deck outside.
• Doing something for other people, sort of planned random acts of kindness. When we do something thoughtful for someone else, perhaps calling a friend, or bringing flowers from the garden to a neighbor, or even smiling and saying a cheery hello to a stranger on the street - it fosters our own happiness.

Believe it or not, it makes me happy to know that happiness is present within ourselves, just waiting to be noticed and appreciated. I’ll end with a quote that I love:

Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind. Alice Meynell

This year the weekend of August 21-22 is the third annual, nationwide Run/Walk for the Fallen to honor our soldiers killed in the Middle East. The BattenKill Valley Runners are hosting a 1-4 mile free, noncompetitive run or walk in West Arlington at the covered bridge off Route 313 at 9am on Sunday, August 22nd. The group who started this nationwide event is producing a video:  http://www.tothemthatsgone.com

You have nowhere more important to be on Sunday, August 22nd at 9am than at the covered bridge in West Arlington. See you there.

A very wise colleague of mine recently put up a great new post on her blog about fresh, tasty, healthy - and gorgeous! summertime salads. With the wealth of fresh vegetables available this time of year, I love to try out new combinations. Check out her suggestions - and please share your own personal favorites. Enjoy!

http://foodandhealth.com/blog/2010/07/12-salad-presentations/ 

I just read a fascinating book:  Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson. The first part is a bit dry as she details the multitude of research on feeling positive. Instead of focusing on what we’re doing wrong, positivity looks at what we’re doing right. It’s a great approach!

She explains how people who are more positive live longer, are more restful, have greater optimism for the future, are more resilient to change, and overcome bad things more readily. Plus, people who are more positive also are more open about life and are able to find joy in numerous areas of their lives.

The good news is that we can learn how to embrace the positives in our life.

Instead of reminding yourself of all the things you did wrong today, why not make a list of everything that’s been going great?

Spending a few minutes outside, enjoying the trees, blue sky, grass, and the feeling of the sun on your skin can increase your positive outlook.

According to Fredrickson, positivity is joy, gratitutude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe and love.  How many of these emotions have you experienced today?

I  used to love to eat cereal for breakfast. In fact, I probably had cereal every day of my life during my school-age years, and on through college as well. I was never a big fan of eggs, pancakes or waffles, but I loved cereal.

Starting a few years ago, however, I got away from eating cereal. It never seemed to keep me full, so I started eating peanut butter on whole wheat toast with a glass of milk and a piece of fruit.

Now I’ve gone back to my childhood years and starting eating cereal again. Not just any cereal; Kashi GoLean is my new favorite. My husband laughs at the description on the front label:  “Naturally sweetened fiber twigs”. Believe me - fiber twigs are tasty! One cup of GoLean has only 140 calories, and those calories are packed with 13 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber to keep me full and satisfied longer, with only 1 gram of fat and 6 grams of sugar. An added bonus:  the sodium content is only 85mg, a measly 4% of the daily value.

All Kashi products are made from whole grains, which is my first criteria in bread, crackers and of course cereal. I routinely encourage my clients to eat a variety of different foods - and now with another breakfast choice, I can join them!

My alarm went off at 5am Wednesday morning. For a minute I thought:  I really don’t want to run today. It’s raining, it’s cool outside, I’m tired. My back hurts, my legs are sore, and I really want more sleep.

Then I got out of bed, ate breakfast, got dressed, stretched, and headed out for what turned out to be a fantastic run. Maybe even the perfect run.

Instead of rain, I ran through a fine mist. My wool long-sleeve shirt and glow-in-the-dark water repellant vest kept me warm and dry. After a warm-up walk/jog up my dirt road, I found my stride on the pavement. My goal was a tempo run:  hitting a faster pace for a solid 7 miles to build endurance and speed. My last couple of tempo runs have been difficult and slower than I’d like.

This time, running was effortless. I loved striding through the early morning light, listening to the birds and watching the mist over the mountains. The air smelled cool and fresh, with a hint of lilacs. Running back up the hills on East Manchester Road I felt strong and energetic. I kept looking at my watch, thinking I can’t be running this well, this fast.

As I finished up the run down my familar dirt road, I thought how glad I was that I got myself out of bed that morning. Had I stayed in bed, I would have missed the rain, the birds, the feeling of effortless running. How often do we take the easy way out; how much joy do we miss?

I’m setting my alarm for early tomorrow morning, if nothing else to capture another joyful late-spring Vermont morning.

Yesterday my Training for More group faced a challenging weather situation:  wind, rain, sleet, snow - just about everything you might expect with a mid-March storm warning in southwestern Vermont.

Guess what - the women won!

18 of us headed out to walk or run 10 or 12 miles on our way to partcipating in the Great Bay Half-Marathon in Newmarket, NH on April 11th. We might have been soaked, but our spirits certainly weren’t dampened by the weather. We all learned something important today:  a positive attitude, the support of friends, and a firm goal make it possible to overcome any obstacle.

As one of the women in the group put it afterwards:  Sometimes you run with your body. Sometimes you run with your mind. Sometimes you run with your spirit. Today we did all three!

As we count down the last few days in 2009, I want to encourage you to take a few minutes and think about everything you’ve accomplished this year. Often at the end of the year we moan about what we didn’t achieve and focus our energy on missed opportunities.

Let’s turn that around into a celebration of 2009:

What are you most proud of accomplishing this past year?
What memories of 2009 make you smile?
Which new friends did you make, and which friendships did you nurture?

I ofen find that some of my best thinking happens when I’m running, walking, biking, or swimming. The physical activity sets my mind free, and I don’t have any other distractions competing for my attention. Before January 1, 2010 take a few minutes to exercise, clear your mind, and reflect on the positive parts of 2009 that you want to add to your bank of memories. Celebrate 2009 and get ready for 2010!

If something is fun, more people will do it.

Makes sense, doesn’t it? Check out this video to find out what happens when taking the stairs becomes fun: escadapiano1

Just think what would happen if you found more fun, silly, laughable ways to live your life!