A recent Gallup Poll, called the Healthways Well-Being Index, has rated Boulder, Colorado, the #1 healthiest and happiest city in the country. It was based on an analysis of 353,000 Americans in 2009. The interviewers asked individuals to assess their jobs, finances, physical health, emotional state and communities.
Having just visited my daughter, Grace Boyle, who lives in Boulder, I was not surprised. The restaurants are excellent, the town is surrounded by boulders, mountains, and forests with Boulder Creek flowing through the center of the town. Boulder is surrounded by a wonderful greenbelt with 120 miles of trails and there are 9 bookstores between 9th and 18th streets. Does reading books make us happier? I’m pretty happy when I spend time in bookstores!
I think the 300 days of sunshine per year in Boulder contributes to feeling happy. In Iowa, I think we have almost 300 days of gray skies. Okay, this isn’t official data but it seems true. I think the sunshine alone adds to their happiness level as I’ve written about in many posts about how 20 minutes/day of skin exposure to sunshine is needed to manufacture Vitamin D in our bodies.
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A very simple way to be happy is to join a group of like-minded people. If you are a member of a church, it’s usually easy to find fellowship. If not, you may have to search for the group that you feel a kinship with. You could join Rotary Club in your town–a group comprised of people from all walks of life whose purpose is to support each other, and give service to the community. If you’d like to build self-esteem and meet interesting people, join Toastmasters International, a club that teaches you to how to lead and speak more confidently.
Or if you like to dance or ride bicycles, join a dance class or bike club. I have fun with my walking group, becausee we walk several miles together while engaged in great conversation, and then share light food and chat afterward. There are people who get together to write, cook, knit, discuss investments, or read books. (more…)
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My friend, Rae Bird, taught women’s writing groups for many years before she moved away. She’s still teaching, but not in Iowa right now. We all loved meeting together so much that we continued on even though we miss her creative leadership.
She suggested writing top 10 lists of anything. Last week I posted my Top 10 Ways to Be Happy. This week, I’ll share several more Top 10 lists from some of the women in the group. If you have a favorite list of 10, email them to me at Lenora@ChangeLimitingBeliefs.com so I can post your lists.
This guest post about Iowa is from Jacqueline Signori who is adjunct faculty member teaching Composition at Kirkwood Community College, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Ten Things I love about Iowa:
1. The space
2. The wide sky
3. The friends
4. The lack of traffic
5. The gardens
6. The lack of snobbery
7. The Mississippi
8. Corn fields all tall on both sides of the road so as to create a tunnel
9. Presidential fever every four years
10. September and May
What are your top 10 lists?
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Welcome back to my blogs! I thought it was time to change and usher in the new year with a brand new name and address for my original ‘The Happiness Zone’ blog that I started in January 2007, now called Be Happy Life Coach.
I’m celebrating change and invite you to do the same in your life. As Johann Goethe wisely stated, ”We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden…”
So here’s my Top 10 Ways to Be Happy in 2010. I’d love to hear your top 10 of anything too…10 for 2010
1. Walk 10, 000 steps (5 miles) every week. Don’t worry that 10,000 steps are recommended every day. If I wait for that goal to be met, I won’t even try. I can always change the words, “every week” to “every day” later on. It is zero degrees in Iowa right now, so the treadmill is my friend, sort of.
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Every Thursday I post a quote or thought for all of us to ponder.
My thought for this Thursday is about happiness, In fact, 10 thoughts to be exact, expressed in Top 10 happiness quotes I’ve chosen from my happiness archives. In my coaching and teaching experiences I find that many people use unhappiness to motivate themselves, whether they realize it or not. So often I hear, ” I don’t want to be happy, I just want to attract my perfect partner, then I can be happy.” It’s as though being happy first is not even an option. By staying unhappy, they think they will be more acutely aware, and vigilant in their search. If they were happy now, they’d forget that they wanted to find an ideal partner, and just be in lala land and alone. Why would they forget what they wanted, if they were happy?
What do you think?
We sometimes become accustomed to thinking that we have to get something from outside us in order to be happy. In truth, it works the other way. We can contact our inner Source of happiness, no matter what partner is in our life or not in the picture.
Here are 10 quotes to inspire happiness.
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“When a person’s desire outweighs his fear, success becomes inevitable” ~Unknown
Every Thursday is Thoughtful Thursday when I post a quote or thought for all of us to ponder.
10 Ways to Handle Fear:
1.) Create clarity by questioning your limiting beliefs and the fear. A limiting belief is based on fear not truth. Understanding and clarifying the fear is helpful. The ’snake’ you see may really be a rope. (more…)
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