The FREAK SHOW of Happiness: Using the Happiness Attractor
Ask people if they are happy and most people will tell you yes. But when you see a truly happy person, you don’t have to ask do you? You can see it on their face and you can hear it in the language they use. They make comments like, “Good morning, how are you on this fine day?” or “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood isn’t it?” These are the folks who, when approached with the standard (I really don’t care but I should ask anyway) “How are you?” their reply would most likely be something like, “I am fantastic!” or “I am so glad you asked! I am feeling great this morning, how about you?” Only to be met with a look of “Uhhhhh, I wasn’t ready for that response.”
There is something very attractive about happy people. Call it charm. Call it charisma, but it draws people in just a little. Perhaps we are drawn in like a crowd is drawn into a freak show to see the two-headed cow. It is something so rare these days that we have to step a little closer to see what’s really going on.
There are quite a few studies that have been done over the years that have shown that we begin feeling happier, if we use “happier language.” If you say you are feeling FANTASTIC, you actually start feeling FANTASTIC! If you say you are “just fine” well…you will be. I find it interesting to listen to people and how they respond to that question, “How are you today?” Here are some of the responses you are likely to hear on a Monday morning:
“I’m here aren’t I?”
“It’s Monday!”
“I’m breathing”
“I’m above ground”
WOW! Don’t you just want to hang around them all day?
Now come Wednesday, you start to hear a glimmer of hope in the responses:
“It’s hump day!”
“I’m half way through the week.”
“A little better than I was two days ago, but only half as good as I’ll be in another two days”
“I’m hanging in there.”
(My favorite response for a Wednesday morning by an Eeyore man named Dave, that we used to see a few times a week), “Hanging by a thread.” (And he looked like it too.)
But Friday comes and you hear:
“Thank God it’s Friday!”
“I made it through the week.”
Watch your language. Not only does it repel people or attract people, it affects how you actually feel. Be aware of the words you choose. Make a commitment to try a few of these words this week:
“I’m fabulous!
“I feel exuberant!”
“I feel succulent!”
Through an email exchange with a woman last week, she ended one of her emails with “Dazzling!” I love that.
I can’t wait to meet her. I’m sure she has charisma!
Tags: Attitude, Charisma, humor, Presentation Skills, speech coach