Happiness is Not a State You Visit

by The FlyLady,

Marla Cilley

All I have ever wanted for you was happiness! As I stand in front of my fireplace, I realize I have surrounded myself with things that make me happy.

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Pam and Peggy's book "The Happiness File" taught me many wonderful ways to nurture myself and identify what really does make me happy. At first you don't know what makes you happy. You just know what does not make you happy.

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For me it started with shining my sink. I knew that a sink full of dirty dishes made me as bad as that nasty water smelled.

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When I focused on that one habit of keeping my sink clean and shiny, I found happiness each morning. The joy of cooking returned because I was not already behind before starting to cook. That one little habit changed my life.

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My next habit was decluttering for 15 minutes a day. I had held on to so many painful memories. The act of getting those out of my home gave me joy. I would never have to feel those unhappy memories again as I walked across the room. Now my home only has good memories. If an item becomes a bad memory, I immediately declutter it.

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I learned from the Happiness File that simple routines for the morning, afternoon and evening can free me up to enjoy the beauty that is all around me. With my work done, I was free to play, free to create or free to just sit. No guilt! A life with no guilt is a happy life.

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Do you want to find happiness? Just sitting and hoping that happiness will find you is not going to happen. It takes practice to find out what brings you joy. With "The Happiness File," I was able to work on one habit each month to help me find my joy. With this habit of practicing new things each month I found my calling in life!

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I built my very own happiness file right under my own roof. I had happy places in every room of my home: My kitchen had a clean and shiny sink, my living room had my favorite chair and a clean coffee table, my bedroom had a comfy bed that was made and my bathroom was clean and inviting each time I went in there. That was a lot because I was drinking my water and taking care of myself.

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Happiness is not a state you visit for a short period to time. It is a place you reside. Make your home your happiness file and you will find the joy that you have been searching for right under your own roof.

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For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out The FLYlady's Website and join her free mentoring group at http://www.flylady.net/ or get her book, "Sink Reflections," published by Bantam. Her New York Times Best-Selling book, "Body Clutter," is published by Fireside. Copyright 2010 Marla Cilley Used by permission in this publication.