When surveyed, 81% of Americans say they'd rather be happy than achieve great things.
Yet for something so important, it can be so, so elusive.
Are you one of those 81%? Do you find happiness a tricky goal? You may wonder how to make yourself happy and whether that's even possible.
I say that it is! It's 100% possible to create MORE happiness in your own life. It's even EASY with one simple idea that can change your whole world.
To start convincing you how easy it is, I'm going to throw out one more statistic, and this one is a BIG one.
In 2021, the total amount of money spent on advertising in North America was about 297 billion dollars. That's $297,000,000,000.
From that single statistic, I know one thing is true: advertising WORKS.
Companies did not shell out almost THREE HUNDRED BILLION dollars on a wing and a prayer. They spent that money because they KNEW that those ads would work.
Now, what does this have to do with creating your own happiness?
You can take that idea about advertising and scale it way, way down to fit into the nooks and crannies of your own life. You can choose what you want to sell to yourself, and then you can advertise to your own self. And this utterly simple idea WORKS.
Messages Come From All Over
You aren't in charge of all the information that comes into your brain all day. There's a lot to see and hear in the world, and it's coming at you hard and fast.
But, when you think about it, there ARE a lot of places where you have total control over what you're exposed to.
For example:
- You choose what sounds to listen to while you're driving.
- You choose who to follow in your social media feeds.
- You choose the books/magazines/articles you read.
- You choose the colors or the artwork displayed on the walls of your home.
Those add up. For each one, you are receiving information that someone chose. For each one, you have a mental and emotional response, even if it's a very small one.
Who Chooses The Message?
When companies spend money on advertising, they know EXACTLY what message they're trying to send you. They want you to feel a certain way. They want you to think certain thoughts. They want you to buy their product!
Since you know advertising works, what if you started doing it to yourself?
Choose your OWN message and communicate it to your OWN self.
What messages would you like to receive throughout your day?
If you've been wondering how to make yourself happy, let's go with simply "happiness" as your message. You can try to get more complicated with your messaging later on once you see how it works.
Start paying attention throughout your day to how information comes to you.
Commit to making active choices about your content. Choose content that communicates the message YOU chose for yourself.
Are you getting the message?
Say you hop in the car in the morning and turn on your usual radio station. Ask yourself, "Am I getting the message of happiness from this source?" If the truth is that morning DJs piss you off, then you know you need to change the station. Find a station that works, stream something from your phone, sing to yourself, or ride in silence.
Get in the habit of asking that question: "Am I getting the message of happiness?"
In your social media feeds, unfollow any accounts that aren't on message. Start following new ones that make you feel closer to how you want to feel. If you don't know any accounts like that, ask around. You can even use the platform's search function. Type in "happy" or "happiness" and see what comes up. Ask your friends, too, if they know any uplifting accounts to follow.
Choose books, magazines, and articles that support your message. Ditch the ones that make you feel bored or miserable or guilty or scared.
Look at the walls of your home. Are there spaces where you could hang artwork that sends the message of happiness? This doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. Print out quotes that inspire you. Make Post-It note doodles that make you smile. Cover your spaces with personally-tailored imagery.
Send yourself the message you want to receive.
You can't ignore everything that isn't happy, right?
There are other reasons to consume information than your own good feelings. You might want to read local news to be a responsible citizen. You might want to educate yourself about topics that help you help make the world a better place for others. You might need to listen to someone else's tragedy so you can support them.
You can still take in this information. However, if you want to create more happiness in your life, you need to make some active choices.
Additional Reading: 11 Effortless Ways to Rediscover Your Sense of Wonder and Live a More Fulfilling Life!
Advertisers know that influencing you happens through repetition. They want you to hear their ads over and over and over again from different sources. That's what I want you to do with your happiness message - put it anywhere and everywhere.
Then you can still access difficult information in ways that you CHOOSE. Choose when you are ready for it. Choose what to see and how much of it. Choose to put it away when you are done.
In this way, you can still intentionally receive all the information you need.
Combine this with making active choices about what you'll see the REST of the time, and you have a powerful combination for directing your life.
Enjoying The Message As You Go
Once you get into the habit of advertising to yourself, you can start to have fun with it.
This isn't a one-and-done assignment! Marketing companies don't create one ad and leave it at that. They are constantly tweaking their message to reach you in new and better ways.
You can do that, too!
Rotate the sources you're exposed to so you don't start to tune out.
Change up your message from time to time when you're eager to hear something new.
YOU are the creative director of an advertising agency with one single target - yourself!
Act like the boss of this powerful mission, and see where it takes you!
