Get out of an emotional 'slump' with these 6 secrets...

There seems to be a definite “brain drain” going on at the moment. All newspapers are doom and gloom with constant reminders of the recession. The national elections were also somewhat stressful and even the apathetic youth are getting emotional about South African politics.

Let’s take a deep breath. I have 6 secrets of lasting happiness to share with you today from Deepak Chopra himself, America’s famous health and personal development guru. If you need some upliftment in these trying times, give his secrets a try...

You have it within yourself to achieve whatever you want to by treating your mind, body and spirit as a whole. Reap the rewards of your unified inner being by adhering to this 6 step plan:

1.    Take time to be alone. The only true solution to a mental, emotional or spiritual problem is to be self aware. Self awareness can improve all aspects of yourself as you develop insight by asking yourself some fundamental questions: Who am I? What do I really want? These will enable you to access your soul and to identify the answers to any problems you may be experiencing.

2.    Learn the art of active response. 90% of people go through life acting instinctively in a fight-or-flight mode. We act negatively by either becoming aggressive or running away from the threat. But it’s important to act logically and to be flexible. Relinquish the instinct to always defend your viewpoints and you’ll access positive energy. So next time you encounter resistance, don’t force the situation as it’ll only increase resistance.

3.    Break bad habits. Addictive behaviour is usually a substitute for self-awareness and logical responses. Some examples include over-working, over-eating and power plays. These are ways of ignoring real issues and in turn create other problems. Self awareness, insight and logical actions result in ecstasy, so keep working on your self-awareness and learn to respond in an active manner.

4.    Transform your environment. Your environment reflects your inner level of awareness. Accept that your environment is a projection of yourself and you’ll be able to change it and increase your levels of health and happiness. Take responsibility for how you feel and change it along with your social and working environment. Think: A clean desk and a tidy mind!

5.    Give yourself credit. Your material success is a by-product of your creativity, unique talents and ability to relate to other people. Everyone has a unique set of talents to apply and it’s usually true that when you enjoy something, you’ll excel at it and want to succeed.

6.    Set high goals. If you want to walk one kilometre, aim to walk 10 instead. You may not be able to walk the full distance but you could make it to six kilometres. In this way, you’ve gone 5 times further than your original goal. Aim high and you’ll achieve more than you could have otherwise hoped.

Success depends on you. Cultivate self-awareness, change existing habits, transform your environment and set high goals. You could achieve happiness that saturates every aspect of your life.