How to be Happy as a Baby

Living with small children in the house, can remind you on a daily basis how simple life really was when you're a baby.

My youngest had to be one of the happiest little babies you'd ever meet. She spent a significant portion of her waking hours laughing and smiling at whoever happened to be in front of, or holding her.

It got me thinking. Wouldn't it be great if we could all be that happy, that often?

I wonder what the "secret" is?

Here's a start ...

Babies are Interested in Everything! They're constantly taking in their surroundings; and learning from what they see, hear, smell and taste. They don't prejudge anything. Every minute is an amazing new adventure.

Babies are Not Shy about Showing Appreciation for those they Love! Have you ever seen a baby's eyes light up, and the big smile they get on their face when they look at mommy or daddy? There is never any doubt at all about whether or not your baby is happy to see you. A smiling baby is a happy baby.

Babies love to play with Both their new toys, And their old ones! ... and even better, they have no idea that the toys they don't have yet, even exist. In other words, what they already have, is what makes them most happy.

If a baby is Crying, there's almost always a reason! I don't want you to get the wrong idea, and think that I had some abnormal baby who never cried ... believe me, she knew how to cry. But, 98% of the time, if she was crying, it was because she was hungry, was tired, she had gas, or she had a dirty diaper. To the best of my knowledge, she Never cried because she though she'd be hungry two hours from now; or would poop in her diaper later on that night.

Ok, now obviously none (or at least very few) of us actually wishes we were a baby. However, I think it's definitely possible to try to apply some of the observations above into our much more complicated adult lives.

Here we go ...

1. Pay Attention to what's around you! Make an effort to try to notice new things, and/or to look at "old" things in new and different ways.

2. Tell someone you Love them! Put a big smile on your face while you're saying it. Do it Today! Not only will you be making someone else feel good, but you'll also be benefiting yourself more than you know.

3. Learn to Appreciate what you Already Have! This one relates directly to one of my all time favorite quotes ... "True Happiness is not Having What You Want .. It's Wanting What You Have"

4. If you must whine, cry about the Present! As we get older, and we learn more though experience, the world becomes an understandably more scary place. That said, it always strikes me as terribly unfortunate that so many people, spend so much time and energy, worrying and getting upset, about stuff that hasn't even happened yet. As long as you're making it all up anyway, why not simply Smile and Imagine some of the Good things that Might happen in the future?

So what do you think?