One of the things I labour on my hypnotherapy training diploma course, my self-hypnosis seminars and within much of my written and audio work, is the notion of progressive language. What do I mean by that?

Well, I cannot put it all in its entireity here today — there is not enough space and I have not got the hours…

One of the aspects of progressive language to use with others and especially for your own internal dialogue is to make language move and have incresing momentum nd motion… Because this illustrates my point here today incredibly well in relation to your own happiness… And we always want to be more happy, don’t we? Let me explain how…

Think about the words more and more and increasingly. These words are important to create growth, power and fluidity in your mind. Let me explain how.

Consider the sentence “as a result of achieving my ideal weight I am happy.” This is a nice way to remind yourself that achieving this particular goal (whatever it might be for you) you are happy. Great. However, we can make that more powerful by changing a rather static “happy” to “more and more happy.” I dont know about you, but I would never want to think that I ever reached the pinnacle of happiness and could not go any further, would you?

Happy is static. In order to supercharge your internal dialogue and language in general, you can mobilise the words and get them moving onwards and upwards for you. You can change “Happy” to “Happier and happier” or “more and more happy” or “increasingly happy” or “progressively more happy” or “more and more appropriately happy.” Use whatever feels right for you, just use other words to develop and power it up.

It is that notion of being progressive with our language that leads on to levels of actual happiness in life. Happiness: everyone wants it and most people can’t get enough of it. Is there a way to become happier than you are now?

Some research indicates that the saying “Think happy thoughts” is the way to go if you are looking for a way to increase your level of happiness. One study found that people who thought about positive events in their own lives for just eight minutes per day for three days felt better about their lives a month later. Their satisfaction with their own lives increased significantly by simply thinking about happy life events. So is that all we have to do? Just think about the day you got married, or the time when your kids were young, or your 16th birthday party when all your friends were there?

Sounds easy enough, but some people believe that there is a “set point” for happiness. A set point is the particular point at which a person tends to stay. Many people believe there is a set point for weight, and it’s also been said that there’s a set point for hair. Many people find that when they try to lose or gain a significant amount of weight, they usually gravitate back to their “normal” weight. Likewise, a person who usually sports long hair with tight curls may cut their hair short, but they will eventually find their way back to that “long curly hair” look.

So is your grumpy work colleague destined to stay grumpy forever? The good news is that people can change their set points if they really work at it. A person who wants to reduce a lot of weight and keep it off usually has to change their way of life to do so. They may need to start eating more vegetables and less McDonald’s on a regular basis to be able to keep the weight off, we all know that don’t we?

We seem to be far less in the know when it comes to increasing happiness, often expecting life to deliver bouts of happiness as a result of external influences. In he same way as weight reduction, if you want to become happier, you have to be able to put effort into it. I’m not sure if simply thinking happy thoughts for a few minutes a day undoubtedly make you happier, but it definitely won’t work if you only do it for a few days!

If you really want to change your life and make yourself happier, make a plan and stick to it! Take a few minutes every day to reflect on happy times, or take up a new hobby you know you can keep, or decide to go out with good friends once a week.

Now whatever you do, decide it’s worth the effort to stick to a progressive plan of being an increasingly happier person… I am talking about common sense in relation to our happiness … Yes so few people that I encounter have the awareness or are actually doing anything about it… We can continue to be progressive with our language… And we can continue to be progressive with our life patterns…