The Values Gals

best health: habituate happiness and practice gratitude

goldie hawn had her life figured out from the age of 11. she said that she knew then that her single intention in life was to be happy. sure, the vision she had then for the specifics of her life (dance instructor, married, picket fence) transformed as she discovered her natural ability on screen to make people laugh and her path led her to a career in film. but the happiness intention stayed a constant.

goldie, who seems as sunny and healthy as a person could be, says her two core principles for living a healthy happy life are to:

• habituate happiness and
• practice gratitude throughout each day.

joy and happiness, she says, and embodying those feelings are our choice. we can choose to see the joy and happiness and we can choose to habitually come from those places and generate those feelings. gratitude is nothing short of life transformational. it's great to think of reasons we are thankful but to act on that, to express that is powerful. both happiness and gratitude shift the neurobiology in our brains and bodies, creating a better brew of hormones that reduces the toxic effects brought on by chronic stress and crafts a healthier internal mix. gratitude, she said, literally gets people out of their depression beds.

following our own internal voice, how she lives her life, is also a core key to our best health and happiness. habituate happiness and practice daily gratitude. no time like the present!

liz

cooperation or competition

i watched a fascinating documentary over the holidays, i am, that examined foundational questions about our values as individuals and as a culture. it was an eye-opening film that warranted multiple viewings so i could absorb its offerings.

one of the key questions was: are we predisposed to be in cooperation or competition? present-day media would definitely supply us with endless examples of how we are geared to be in competition with each other. mostly in all superficial ways: money, beauty, fitness, education, fashion, home/car--all outer trappings. and this internalized sense of competition serves to isolate us--pitting us against others on many levels.

but the film identifies several studies in the animal world and cites earlier cultures as espousing a cooperative way of living. the science goes so far as to say that it's in our genes, we are hard-wired to cooperate. darwin mentioned survival of the fittest twice in his treatise, descent of man, but spoke of the observation of love 95 times. he noted sympathy as being the strongest characteristic in human nature. we have evolved to be good to others, to be in true community, for strong survival reasons. we depend on each other for support, for identity, for survival.

yes, we are both cooperative and competitive. but which value do you embody? and are you happy with that choice? would you choose differently and if so, what will you commit to do to make that transformation?

happy new year! liz