Article by Tony Papajohn
Sounds simple and it causes a happy song to resonate in the ear. You can nod in agreement with the thought and sway to the music with ease. It all has a memorable ring and an undeniable charm.
It sort of merrily rolls off the tongue with an air of something familiar, self-evident, and light-hearted. And it reverberates in the mind and lifts the spirits.
Don’t worry. Be happy.
Unfortunately, this wonderful thought (and the song that made it famous) does not come with an instruction booklet. Therefore, I decided to add instructions. And I wanted to make them as simple and easy on the mind as the phrase itself.
So here’s how I advise people to use your body and internal hard-wiring to make “Don’t worry. Be happy.” more than a passing, if pleasant, thought and catchy tune.
“Worry” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word that means “to strangle.” Perhaps you didn’t know this. Recall the last time you were around someone lost in the throes of worry and you will easily understand the word’s origin.
And what is the one thing that one who is being strangled wants? Breath! So the first step in “Don’t worry. Be happy.” is breathe.
Deep, rhythmic breathing won’t dispel the situation one is worried about. However, it will dispel worry. In fact, you will find that the mind cannot worry while the body breathes deep, rhythmic breaths.
Fortunately, they can’t co-exist. Our hard-wiring won’t allow it. And you can initiate deep breathing by breathing deeply. What a concept!
The second step is to act as if you are happy. This means dance, sing, smile, and find something to laugh about. At first, this may be an effort and come off as insincere. If so, persist just a little.
Your internal hard-wiring will respond with surprising speed and wonderful effectiveness. In any case, insincere happiness is far more preferable than sincere unhappiness.
As you dance, sing, smile, and find something to laugh about, you finish the job you started in step one.
Take deep, rhythmic breaths and you attenuate worry. Dance, sing, smile, and find something to laugh about and you will be well on the way to being happy.
And all you’ve done is use the will to mechanically get the body in motion. Let the mind do the rest and “happy” replaces “worry” at lightning speed.
So you already know the catchy phrase and the tune that goes with it. Now you know how to make it real.
About the Author
Tony Papajohn coaches excellence and specializes in money. If you are a real estate investor, financial trader, entrepreneur, or want money to treat you like its new best friend, check out Tony’s free e-courses at
http://www.WelcomeMoreMoney.com.