In this article, therapist and author Dr. Charmaine Saunders provides practical tips for being happy.

Have you noticed that if you just feel happy for its own sake, people think you’re strange? They say things like, `What do you have to be happy about?’ or `What’s brought on this cheerful mood?’

The whole point of being happy on a continuous basis is that there is no particular reason - you feel the joy inside you and you naturally smile and shine, like walking near the ocean on a glorious summer’s day and being grateful just to be alive.

You can have that `bliss’ all the time, in the sun, in the rain, on good days and difficult, when life is going your way and when it appears everything’s against you. It’s feeling `okay’ inside all the time. That is true freedom. And as you shine, those around you bask in the warmth of your joy.

How do we positively work with the happiness principle?

*Look for signs everywhere
*Make positive thinking a choice
*Relax and stop worrying
*Remember life is a daily adventure
*Connect with your inner child every day
*Play every day, not just on weekends and holidays
*Love yourself enough to allow happiness

I think of myself as a `joy merchant,’ someone who sells the idea of joy. If you adopt this philosophy in your everyday life, it’ll change your life. Please write to me if you want to know more about living with joy.

Excerpted from Dr. Charmaine Saunders' article “Happiness” available at iSnare.com