3 KEYS TO CREATING YOUR MOST HAPPY LIFE

Hello! I am back from my little Californian adventure and I am feeling refreshed, inspired and totally re-ignited. I am also back from my blogging-hiatus and it feels so good to actually enjoy writing again (for a little while there I had totally lost my creative buzz).

Since returning from overseas I have been thinking a lot about happiness, and my desire to create a life that is absolutely filled to the brim with it. While my life is wonderful and gorgeous and is overflowing with so many beautiful things, I can't help but feel that it is time to step things up a notch.

I gained a beautiful awareness around how I could be even happier while I was away. While I am sure many of us feel our happiest when we are on holidays, I literally felt that I was experiencing a glimpse into my dream life. My time away was filled with everything I could possibly want. Freedom, adventure, sunshine, emails with amazing coaching clients, beach, green juice, lunches with women who inspire me, morning exercise, unlimited time with the one I love, sunsets, exploration, nature and a mobile business that enables me to touch and transform other people's lives from my laptop.

I realised I can have it all. I can have the business and the lifestyle. This is what I want more than anything. Fulfilment and freedom. No day job, no office desk, no schedule except my own. Doing the work I love, on my terms.

I have come back to Sydney feeling that it is time to create even more happiness for myself. More fulfilment, more self-expression, more heart-driven actions and more authenticity. It is time to make some changes (more about this in in the coming weeks!).

This little revelation has been the catalyst for me to begin reflecting on what I believe actually creates a happy life. Quite honestly I think it boils down to our ability to live authenticly and congruently with who we really are, and the extent to which we allow ourselves to express that to the world.

MY JOURNEY TO HAPPINESS

I will admit that I used to be an unhappy person. In the past I lived an inauthentic life where I was driven by fear, filled with negativity and where my unique gifts and talents were squashed and suppressed. I did not know who I was and I was almost too scared to find out. I also had little awareness about the amazing creative power I had inside of me, and the ability I had to create change in my life.

Over the past few years I have changed all that. I have done the work to clean up my inner world and as a result my outer world has totally and utterly transformed. While there have been so many different factors involved in this transformation, I believe there are 3 keys to that have underpinned my journey to creating a happy life.

3 KEYS TO CREATING YOUR MOST HAPPY LIFE

1. MAKE HAPPINESS A PRIORITY 

What is more important to you, your happiness or making other people happy? Your happiness or the need to feel safe? Your happiness or the need to be approved of? You happiness or the desire to fit in? Your happiness or a regular monthly paycheck?

I see so many people putting other things before their own happiness. They would rather play it safe, stay in their comfort zone and gain the love and approval of others than be willing to take the risk to follow their own happiness. 

When I was on my journey to creating a happier life, the turning point was when I made the decision to make my own happiness my number one priority. I said to myself - today I am going to do whatever I can to be happy and to feel good, and that is all that matters. Nothing else is important today, except that. And I simply decided to take it one day at a time. Each day my only goal was to be happier than I was yesterday. 

Over time, I found what I loved to do, and I did more and more of it each day. I gave myself permission to indulge in the things that brought me bliss. I put myself first. Over time my work paid off, and I found that my life was filled with things that made me happy.

2. CONNECT WITH YOURSELF + GET TO KNOW YOURSELF

Do you know what makes you happy? Do you know what you love to do? Have you given yourself permission to find out?

As part of my journey, I had to shine a big bright light on my life and I examine it. I sifted through everything I created and determined what was really me, what did I really love and what made me the happiest. I dug up the long lost parts of myself that I had previously suppressed. I reconnected with what I truly loved to do. I learnt how to be my true self, and not just the self everyone wanted me to be.

You need to take time to be with yourself.  I spent hours meditating, practicing yoga and quietening my mind. I became comfortable with quietness. And in that quietness I found happiness. When you turn down the volume on the endless chatter and soften the voice of your inner critic, happiness naturally bubbles forth.

Happiness is like a big bright shiny diamond sitting inside of you. It is always there. But we cover the light of that diamond with big thick heavy blankets. Our layers and layers of fear based thinking dull it's light. But that diamond never goes away. It is always there. Our job is just to peel away those blankets.

3. LIVE AUTHENTICALLY

Anytime we are denying the truth of who we are, we will not be happy. Anytime we are living inauthentically we will not be happy. Anytime we are living our life based on the wants and needs of anyone but ourselves, we will be unhappy. Any time we are playing small, hiding, letting our fears run the show, we will be unhappy

We are born to express our gifts. To be our true selves. To shine our light. To live our dreams. 

Anytime you have a dream or a desire and you are not allowing yourself to live out that dream, you will be unhappy. Anytime you are choosing fearful thoughts over loving thoughts, negative thoughts over positive thoughts, darkness over light, you will be unhappy. At your core, you are love. Anytime you are not being loving, not appreciating, not seeing the beauty, not forgiving, not being grateful things will feel off.

I truly started to create happiness when I decided to follow my own unique path. To do what I love. To express myself wholly and completely. 

The past 5 years have been dedicated to that - to remembering who I am. To peeling back the layers of inauthenticity. To shedding self protection. To rediscovering who I really am. And to working to living and embodying that.

Ever since I began training as a life coach, I have began living my truth. Being who I was born to be. I am now sharing my natural gifts and talents to the world, and nothing feels better than that. When I do this type of work I cannot help but be happy. When we are simply allowing our true selves to be expressed without fear, hesitation or resistance we are naturally happy. 

ARE YOU LIVING YOUR HAPPIEST LIFE?

Get honest with yourself and ask, am I living my happiest life? If the answer is yes, then awesome! Keep doing what you are doing! But if not, it is time to take stock and figure out what needs to change.

+ Where in your life are you not making your own happiness (and what you truly want for yourself) a priority?
+ Do you know who you are and what you want? What do you need to do to find out?
+ Where in your life are you not living authentically? How are you hiding or playing small? Where are you not living in line with your true passions or expressing your natural gifts?

Since beginning work as a coach, my desire to empower others to live their happiest, brightest, shiniest, most authentic and fulfilling life has become my over-riding goal. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my clients transform their lives. I believe it is our birthright to be happy, free and deeply satisfied with our lives. We can no longer settle for less than that. It is time to raise our standards.

I would love nothing more than to support you in living your happiest life, so if you are interested in working with me, jump on over to this page to find out more. Please note, over the coming weeks I will be raising my coaching rates, so if you want to take advantage of my super low rates at the moment, please send me through an email at connie.chapman@live.com.

Finally, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic!
+ Have you taken the journey from living an unhappy life, to living with fulfilment, love, purpose and bliss?
+ What have been the key factors that have helped you create more happiness?