Increasing Happiness with Positive Psychology, NLP and Hypnosis

By Matthew Ferguson

There have been many recent studies into what happiness means and how to go about consciously creating it. We are regularly told of the "age of austerity" with the implication we are all going to share, not only austerity but a degree of unhappiness as a result. If we buy into this we will. Many studies have found that it is fairly well accepted that once we have life's necessities, feel loved, respected and have purpose in our lives our happiness however measured, does not increase greatly with money.

Regardless of the vagaries of life, it is our attitude and ability to get into action that makes the essential difference between those who report feeling happy and those who are less so. The work and studies of psychologists like Martin Seligman, Barbara Fredrickson and others from the world of Positive Psychology show, through their research, the following to be true. Things like gratitude, savouring pleasures and playing to strengths all help build resistance to adversity which help increase happiness.

The most important area of all is our internal mental state and increasing our ability to choose which one to have. In challenging times or in times of relative ease choosing and creating our state of mind moves us from being victims of circumstance to empowered directors of a great deal of our life's story. There are of course life events which we have no power over but in every case we can choose our desired attitude if not our exact response. Learning how to deal with your stressors is a big step towards increasing your happiness. A great deal of stress can loosely be defined as self generated. When we tell ourselves we can't achieve this or that or blame others for our state of mind and our attitude to life, we are increasing our stress levels and decreasing our happiness quotient. In fact too many people put themselves into negative hypnotic states without realising it and function from that state.

When you understand how to use Hypnosis and NLP processes properly you open up a world of possibilities that can help move you higher up the happiness scale. You will go into a relaxed state of mind that allows positive reframes and suggestions to seed in your mind. You will experience empowerment that lasts and builds as you engage more and more with positive thoughts and emotions giving rise to more helpful behaviours. Your attitude can become more appreciative and grateful. You become more engaged with the simple pleasures and more able to harness your personal strengths thereby increasing your level of happiness. So exploring the areas of purposeful hypnotic NLP and Positive Psychology can really help increase your happiness.

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Matthew Ferguson SQHP

(Clinical hypnotherapist, Trainer of Hypnotherapy and NLP, Stress Consultant and Authentic Happiness Coach) Matthew runs a training school in Scotland teaching Hypnotherapy, NLP and Coaching to learn more visit www.motivationtraining.co.uk If you are a Facebook user please click on our Follow us on Facebook button at www.motivationtraining.co.uk and click the like button. You will be kept up to date with the latest articles, information and free downloads.

Please visit www.motivationtraining.co.uk to see The Motivation Method series of mp3 downloads and CD's using Hypnosis and NLP (all of which have been highly recommended by many satisfied clients and by The Anglo-American Book Company).