HAPPINESS

We have started a new year full of hope, more than ever, wanting to return to a life in which we can breathe freely, go out with freedom, hug, work and dance with joy and above all, release ourselves from this constant concern about work and health, fundamental pillars of Maslow’s pyramid, that if we lack them, make our emotional base shake.

At YBA we have worked very hard to have a calendar full of courses for all those who want to progress on a professional and a personal level. In this “personal” part we have our fantastic Coach DIANA HISADO, who has designed specific courses for us on Mindfulness in the professional field, Neuro-leadership, Change Management and also some training sessions of only 2 hours, where we can reinforce our Self-esteem and Self-control, or manage our Barriers in Communication.

I can say, because I see it in my daily dealings with her, that Diana really lives what she teaches and also for this reason, we want to echo this post about HAPPINESS, which she published on her blog a few months ago. I hope you enjoy and think about this. She wrote:

“HAPPINESS IS A PERSONAL CHOICE. At least for me it is.

For years I was waiting for “something else”: more money, more time, a promotion, to be prettier, to be skinnier, to have a bigger house … nothing was ever enough, I was involved in the whirlwind of the search for happiness that is instilled in us since childhood , in competitiveness, in the desire to excel. In in the society we live in we have to succeed, and that success (they say) is linked to economic and material aspects, but does anyone ask us if we are happy?

I spent years working 60-70 hours a week, always chasing the next promotion, accumulating merits, struggling to improve in an environment of professional, social, and gender competitiveness. I discarded couples because they were not perfect enough, they also discarded me for the same. I put the most and the best before my health. Always more, more, more… it was never enough.

One day I asked myself if I was happy, and the answer was NO. I had the job I wanted, I enjoyed doing it, I made money, I felt recognized and valued on a professional and social level. But I had sacrificed so many things to achieve it: hours of sleep, time with my family, time with my friends, a stable partner, having children, travelling without paying attention to the mail … So I decided to continue working on getting “something more”: something more than time off, quality time with my family and friends, getting to know people “for real”, travelling with five senses, changing the way I work focusing on people rather than results and, above all, I decided to work on myself and my well-being. Then, I chose to be happy above all else.

BE HAPPY AND OPTIMISTIC EVERY DAY IS MY CHOICE and I remember it every day when I wake up, despite having gone through very hard times (like everyone else) with a layoff, with serious family illnesses, with love breakups, with difficulties starting a business, economic uncertainty etc. I have been happy each and every day since I made that choice.

And I’m happy because I changed the order of my priorities, making the most important things really the most important: my family, my health, my friends, studying what I really want and when I want, working on my own business and focusing on putting my knowledge and experience available to others.

And I smile, I smile a lot, all the time and to everyone I come across. The smile is contagious.

And words heal, that’s why every day I thank all those with whom I interact, either in person, on the phone or through the computer screen. Thanks for your time, thanks for your answer, thanks for calling me back, thanks for reading me, thanks for being there, thanks for being my client, thanks for trusting me to train your team, thanks for making such a delicious coffee, thanks for your kindness. Many are surprised, we are not used to being thankful for what we do! I also try to acknowledge their kindness, their predisposition, their eloquence… many look at me as if I were crazy! and they smile, and I know that they will continue to smile the rest of the day and infect others.

We have heard so many times that happiness is in the small details that we forget to enjoy them, we ignore them. Let’s stop doing it, let’s find more and enjoy it: more coffees with friends, more family meals, more walks, more sunsets, more books, more real conversations, more looking into each other’s eyes, more hugs, more smiles, more recognitions, more thanks.

Are you already happy? Or are you still waiting for something else in your life to allow you to be?”

Diana Hisado Coaching