ARE YOU HAPPY? DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY?

The other night I heard the silence. The day had sped by in the factories down in Italy. Lots of decisions, lots of questions to solve. And in between existential musings. I often get into it when I'm down there. Existential musings. Where. In the place that makes me extra happy. Maybe it has to do with the primeval forest that grounds me. Maybe it was the full moon that wanted me to lay my cards on the table. Maybe it was because I got to beat myself up. I like my own company. I am convinced that if there is something you have to learn sooner or later, it is precisely to like your own company. If you, like me, have a very active life with a lot of people around you, many of the inner rooms are closed during the weeks. I don't have time to open the doors. I don't have time to clean and mess around.

I read the article in DI about heart researcher Katarina Steding-Ehrenberg. She says we have to get more life in the years we get - if we want to live longer. She says that happy people live longer. Because they have more fun.

Hand on heart, how many times have you promised yourself to make changes? You should start exercising, eat healthier, stop going to bed so late, take weekends off, drink less coffee????? We're all there. Right there. We dream of feeling better. To have more fun. But we don't want to 100% or maybe we can't or maybe the worst, we don't think we have time to change. I mean, if you want a change, why do you keep doing the same thing? It's connected.

Katarina Steding-E believes that you need to go outside your comfort zone and do something about it and book that beekeeping course. Or stop picking up after the family every day/evening/free time. Or sign up for yoga even though you really don't think it would be good for you. A solid spinning session is more effective. But who says that? What if you feel much better from a quiet yoga session? What if the walk by the sea followed by lunch makes you healthier than strength training three mornings a week before work?

The stress and pressure is dangerous. But also sitting still at work or in front of the TV in the late evening. Did you know that sedentary jobs or passive TV nights wear on the heart as much as a space flight to the moon? Do you still want to eat chips in front of the TV?
The researcher does not mean that we should live ascetically, she means that we should do things that make us happy. Without stress. Then the body feels good.

Are you a person who gets annoyed by noise, clutter and all the idiots' tricky routines that don't fit into your everyday life? If you decide to give all the messy, loud skulls a chance, what would happen to you? Do you have that love in you? What if you learn something about yourself? Or should everything be your way? How long a life do you think you'll get from trying to keep control of everything and everyone? Have a little laugh at yourself. Recognize yourself in my description. Trust me, I've been there. But you are not a nice person then. Neither for himself nor for anyone else. You never have time to fully listen, you have preconceived notions about everything and you know best. Your path is the normal one, the right one. Or is it really? Do you recognize yourself? Are you genuinely happy? Starting by mentally training away things that bother us can pay off in terms of health, says the researcher.

Personally, I'm seriously considering stepping outside my box and gathering a group of friends and new acquaintances and deciding that we cook together once a week or a couple of times a month. I love cooking. I love talking food. We're going to eat anyway. And I love the conversation as a form to arouse my curiosity. Maybe you are one of those who want to hang on? I actually already feel a little happier just thinking about it.

So do you feel needed? Do you live in a close relationship? Are you having fun, do you laugh a lot? Then you are a little happier than the rest of us and have all the conditions to have a healthy, content-rich long life. The rest of us should step up. Life is NOW.

Want to read more about this? Order the book by Katarina Stefing-Ehrenborg - Better with the years.

Warm hugs, m.