Here’s a little song I wrote…

(One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.)

Don’t Worry, Be Happy… No, Really, BE HAPPY!

I mean it; don’t worry, be happy. In fact, don’t just be happy, but BE REALLY, REALLY HAPPY! Well, don’t get so happy that the chronically miserable want to strangle you, but almost that happy.

Why should you be happy? Why shouldn’t you worry? Good questions (though the better question for some of you might be “how,” and we’ll get to that in the next lesson). I’ll answer your why questions with a few simple questions for you:

Who is the happiest person you know? I guarantee it’s someone with no worries.

Of all the really old people you know or know of (let’s say over 90 or 95), how many of them would you say are outwardly miserable? I guarantee the answer is zero.

Finally, who is the most-liked person at your work? I guarantee it’s the person who is also the happiest.

Study after study has proven that chronic conditions like heart disease, depression, high blood pressure and even premature death can be brought on by constant stress. Conversely, studies have shown that happiness literally protects your heart, strengthens your immune system and even lengthens your life. No wonder all of the really old people you know are really happy, as well!

So, if I can remove my worries (or, more specifically, the worries about things I cannot control) and project happiness, I can expect to be well-liked and live longer?

Yes, and you can start right now. Do you recall The Intersection of Concern & Courtesy? Using the techniques taught in that lesson to display genuine concern and courtesy on the outside actually help you begin to feel happier on the inside, as well.

It’s because of something called cognitive dissonance that we’ll tackle in a couple of lessons, but suffice it to say that when you project something enough times (like happiness) on the outside that you do not feel on the inside, your insides must come into agreement, if you will, with your outsides. In other words, force out enough smiles and enough hearty greetings like “good morning, how are you?” and you’ll find yourself beginning to feel better on the inside. You’ll be well on your way to reducing stress and improving every aspect of your life.

So, seriously, don’t worry, BE HAPPY!

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Sh*t Sandwich is available in paperback at Amazon.com and is free on Kindle Unlimited.