happy girls

photo credit, http://www.doctormacro.com

We’ve all heard this quote before, but do we really believe that “happy girls are the prettiest girls?”  Take a look at the magazine rack at the grocery store.  The covers are filled with sayings like, “Top 10 Beauty Secrets” and “How to get that Glow.”  Between all of the eye creams, hair tips and microdermabrasion recommendations, it seems as if we miss the number 1 beauty secret – happiness.  I think Ms. Hepburn knew what she was talking about years ago.  There is something in a woman that only happiness can capture.  Now I don’t mean the kind of happiness that you get when the slow poke in the left lane finally moves over to let you pass them. No, not the fleeting kind.  I mean the pure joy kind.  The kind of happiness that lingers after a long talk with an old friend.  Or the kind that seems to fill the room whenever family is around – even if it’s the crazy family members.  Or the kind of happiness you get when you sit down for “you” time and do whatever it is that truly brings you happiness.  I must say that there is an inner joy that some of you may think I am referring to that I believe only comes with knowing the Lord, but today that is not what I’m talking about – more on that in a later post.  Today I’m just talking about finding things that make you happy and doing them.  That’s the second part.  Once you find those things that make you happy – that bring you bliss – decide what you are going to do about them.  I believe that laziness is the stealer of happiness and that you get out what you put in.  So, I’ve created a fill-in-the-blank exercise that I encourage all of you to sit down and think about . . . it goes like this:

“It makes me happy when ___________, so I ___________.

Here are a few of my happiness phrases…

It makes me happy when I write, so I started a blog.

It makes me happy when my husband is happy, so I try to make him feel special every day.

It makes me happy when I have energy, so I try my best to eat healthy.

It makes me happy when I eat chocolate, so I indulge in a little every day.

It makes me happy to be involved in my friends’ lives, so I make an extra effort to stay connected and involved and take interest in their interests.

It makes me happy to have a clean house, so I try my best to pick up a little each day.

It makes me happy to have my husband’s undivided attention, so I give him mine.

It makes me happy to see my parents’ smile, so I try to make them proud every day.

What are your happiness phrases?