Happiness in 6 steps

MY WISH is that someday soon my job will be redundant.

There is a job on a boat operating out of Port Douglas that involves making cups of tea and making people laugh that has my name on it.

If my job is redundant, it would mean everyone I work with and connect with has heard me, learnt from my lessons and is struggling no more. That’s a nice wish isn’t it? Unfortunately though, my days of assisting people and communities are increasingly busier.

I have realised that for me to achieve my wish, I need you to achieve my six wishes for you.

1. I wish you a good inner voice. By this, I mean your inner voice keeps reinforcing your value to yourself. I wish that it is a positive voice that keeps you motivated and believing in yourself and that when you experience feelings of self-doubt you keep asking yourself “says who?”. This inner dialogue must be about what process you need to focus on to reach the goals you want to achieve.

2. I wish you a high heart. We know the value of giving – through associations, friendships and volunteerism. This connectivity is important for our well-being so give with a high heart and expect nothing in return.

3. I wish you a good gut .We have finally accepted the importance of our gut health. I believe we have three brains – in our heads, our heart and our stomach. All three are connected by the bio-dimensional vagus nerve and communicate with each other and are all equally important.

What we assumed by conventional wisdom as the role of our “traditional” brain, we now know is mirrored in the functioning of our gut. As an example, we have all been trained to believe our traditional brain produced serotonin. We now know that our stomach contributes to the production of serotonin just much as our traditional brain. So, eat well – plenty of fruits and maintain a healthy, balanced diet.

4. I wish you good choices and good habits. Sleep well and create an environment for yourself that is positive and “upbeat”. I dream that you are clear in your values and remain true to them. Set realistic goals, don’t compare yourself to others and don’t overthink. Create healthy routines around regular exercise and time management. Make sure you have positive habits and routines around alcohol consumption, gambling, social media and other forms of addiction.

5. I wish you good people. Surround yourself with people you can relax with, laugh with and be inspired by. Equally, I hope these people can “call” on you when required and that you listen and respond to them and appreciate their friendship.

6. Finally, I wish that you believe in yourself and believe that everything will be OK. The world may not give you what you want – but it will give you what you need. Back yourself.

If my six wishes for you come true, then you won’t need people like me, and my wish for being redundant will be realised. Everyone wins!

So work hard towards these wishes. Now hand me a pen so I can fill out my application for that boating job...