Community Action For Happiness

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Action For Happiness

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Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society. Town of Battleford is committed to trying to make the world a happier and more caring place starting with our community. Pursuing happiness as a community is about learning to live happily, to fundamentally live a different way of life where people care less about what they can get just for themselves and more about the happiness of others. Every month we will provide ideas and resources backed by leading experts from diverse fields.

Join the Town of Battleford Action For Happiness movement by taking the pledge.

TOB will be a part of this mental health initiative with Mayor and Council and all of Town department staff taking the Town of Battleford Action For Happiness Pledge showing we are serious about making a positive change for the better.

Optimistic October

Oct Quote Welcome to Optimistic October all about Direction. Having a sense of direction, optimism and hope can all contribute to feeling happier. When we are optimistic or hopeful, we are more likely to experience positive emotions, feel more confident and are less likely to be depressed and we take better care of our bodies. Optimism and hope both contribute to our resilience, helping us cope with tough times. Problems are opportunities. Optimism is about embracing the problems because the problems make the solution and solutions create better tomorrows. (Check out Kevin Kelly's Ted Talk in the Resource section.)

Creating a better tomorrow is where goals fit in. A sense of direction, keeping hopeful and resilient is helped with goals to motivate us, goals that are challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. Working towards meaningful goals is a way of connecting the present to our future and research shows it can boost our happiness and wellbeing too. Visit Action For Happiness goal setting page for more.

Vanessa King’s tips to try this month:

1. 5-3-1: Try this three-day daily list each week or more frequently over the next month. See what you notice.

Day 1 - reflect on 5 things that make you feel that life is enjoyable, worthwhile or enriching in some way. Write them down.
Day 2 - write down 3 things that help you see the bright side of a difficult situation, the silver linings.
Day 3 – write down 1 goal that you’d like to accomplish in the next day or so, it doesn’t have to be a big goal, and the steps you are going to take to get there.

2. Best possible future self: helps to boost optimism

Imagine your life in the future where everything has turned out as well as it possibly could. You worked hard and any challenging circumstances have changed just enough to enable this best possible life to happen.
Spend 20 minutes writing freely (don’t worry about punctuation, grammar, etc.), about the best possible life you imagined in as much detail as possible. Repeat for 4 days.
Day 5 – write yourself a letter describing the steps you took that helped you reach that best possible life.

3. Anticipatory Savoury: find something you are looking forward to or want to try (eg: trying a new recipe this weekend or taking a walk with a friend). Visualize the activity – what do you see, hear, smell and feel. What do you feel good about in that situation. Now savour that image and feeling for a moment. Savouring it now, will help you look forward to it even more.

Follow Town of Battleford on Facebook to get additional tips very Sunday.

Optimistic October Calendar - Click to print the calendar