Achuckallen

Instigating Better

overwhelmed

Try These Four Things for Greater Happiness

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by Chuck Allen

I don’t know anybody that doesn’t want to be happy. But after chasing happiness and counseling plenty of people that have burned out chasing happiness, I’ve learned a few key elements that can radically improve your happiness.

Here are four of the simplest and most effective ways to experience personal happiness.

  1. Don’t chase after happiness. That’s right. The simplest way to be happier is to chase after peace. I’ve written and said this ten thousand times. The single greatest commodity is peace. We do not experience true happiness apart from our heart, mind, and soul being at peace. It has been said that Peace brings with it so many positive emotions that it is worth aiming for in all circumstances. I’ve discovered that when my life has proper margins in each aspect of my life, peace is far more attainable and sustainable. The Bible, in the second letter from John, says that the gift of God, through Christ, is Grace, Mercy, and Peace. To discover peace, ask God how to grow closer to Him today. In that effort, peace can be found, and happiness follows. Mother Teresa said that “Peace begins with a smile.”
  2. Be intentional about smiling. Corny, right? The mere act of smiling reduces blood pressure, lowers stress hormones, and boosts your mood; a British study even found that one smile generates the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate. I’m not a naturally smiling individual. There are days when I have been alone in my car, recognizing that I am grumpy or stressed and forced myself to smile. It’s a real thing, people. Just force yourself to smile, especially offering a smile to a stranger. The science and my personal experience prove this true!
  3. Force yourself into solitude. If you are an introvert, you just breathed a quiet amen. If you are an extrovert, you just said no thanks. Solitude, even for just 5 minutes a day, can reset your brain and your attitude for a better, happier day. Spending time alone with ourselves may not be accessible or even desirable. But it’s key to getting to know who we are. When we lose the ability to be alone with ourselves, our overstimulated nervous systems suffer from no place to rest and recharge. Solitude is an essential component of your health and well-being. Need more happiness? Create 5 minutes of true solitude each day.
  4. Get your sleep! I spent decades bragging about my ability to be a high performer with only 5 hours of sleep. I now know that I was cranking out 17 hour days but effectively going backward. The science of sleep is simple. To function at your best, you need 7-8 hours of sleep. Very few Americans regularly obtain the recommended eight or more hours of sleep each night, and the consequences of this chronic sleep deprivation can be disastrous. I’ve also learned that you never “catch up on your sleep.” Like time – when it’s gone, it’s gone. If you want a happier life, get your sleep. The science says that more sleep equals a happier person. People who sleep between seven and 8.5 hours during the night tend to wake up happier.

Most of us want to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. All of us want to be happy. Try these four proven steps to a happier you!

Peace, Chuck

When You are Overwhelmed

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Have you ever felt like you cannot win? I’m talking about that feeling you get when you’ve tried and struggled and worked your way through a day, and everything falls apart. Me too. So many of us are living in the middle of OVERWHELM. But here is what I would encourage you to do. If you want to escape overwhelm, here is how to do it. It worked for me, and I am confident that it will work for you.

1. Stop whatever you are doing and make a mental note of what you are grateful for right now. I know it sounds so simple, but I’ve learned how powerful the emotion and expression of gratitude can be. It will reset your soul like no other experience. Gratitude isn’t just for contemplative people. Gratitude is for every human on the planet. When you are overwhelmed, lean into gratitude. Take note of two things you are grateful for. It will reset your soul on a trajectory of peace and contentment.

2. Help someone. It’s not about how much you help or what exactly you do. Jesus said that people that aspire to great must learn to serve others. If you feel like there is nothing that’s going right in your life, do something to help someone else, and I’ll promise that your attitude and your heart will turn around and reset your day. It’s like magic. Serve others and watch how it changes your perspective and reality. Acts 30:35 makes this point clear, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, when He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

3. Stop in your tracks and ask the Divine for Wisdom. We are a people that are overwhelmed with knowledge. I recently read that in 2020, all known knowledge is doubling every twelve hours. In 1982, inventor R. Buckminster Fuller estimated that up until 1900, human knowledge doubled every century, but by 1945 it was doubling every 25 years. And by 1982, it was doubling every 12-13 months. This may sound a little quaint since experts now believe that by 2020, human knowledge doubles every 12 hours. But the real question is, “How is it making us smarter?” We have more information and more knowledge than any generation in creation’s history. So, where is the wisdom that is needed to overcome our overwhelm? It’s right here in an ancient book, proven accurate a million times and then a million more. The Bible teaches us in the book of James, chapter 1 that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Did you read that? Ask for wisdom and you are promised to be given wisdom.

Most of this world is overwhelmed right now. You do not have to stay that way. Stop and be Grateful. Slow down long enough to serve someone. Discover enough humility to ask for help by asking the Creator, and Sustainer of the universe for WISDOM.
That is the key to OVERCOMING OVERWHELM.

—Chuck