i''M HAPPY BECAUSE I SING (NANCY'S SUGGESTIONS #1)
By Nancy Juozapavicius Catarino
This is part of a new project.
Ideally, it will inspire people to make tiny changes in their habits, lead them to self-knowledge, higher self-esteem, make them feel better and happier. It may seem ambitious, but who knows? Laughs. We tend to think that things we know everyone else does, but it isn’t always true, and sharing may help someone. If I can reach just one person, help just one person, light a little spark, it will make me feel blissful. Because I believe our ultimate mission here is helping people.
Ok, having made this introduction, the subject of my first article is in the title.
One of the books I am presently reading is “Presence” by Amy Cuddy. I will write more about the book when I’m finished, but for now, let’s cut to the chase.
In Chapter 7 (Surfing, Smiling, and Singing Ourselves to Happiness), when talking about the body-mind connection, Amy mentions William James (the Department of Psychology in Harvard University resides in William James Hall). I am going to talk about him also in another article, but this one is specially about something he used to say:
“I don’t sing because I’m happy. I’m happy because I sing”
What does it mean? That we can actually “fake” an emotion until we actualize it. Singing is just an example,. Any other activity that makes you happy can lead you to real feelings and emotions.
I’m talking about singing because I like to sing. As gloomy as one may be in these harsh times, you can’t resist it. You can change the way you feel. Try it. At the beginning it may seem odd. But slowly you will start to embody the feelings and emotions brought by that song, that dance, even that forced smile.
Our brains believe in us, guys.
