Finding Happiness After Adversity, Karen Guggenheim video

Here are my notes from Action for Happiness webinar with Karen Guggenheim:

Karen Guggenheim described the shock of her husband's death from a cold and from physician error in his treatment. She wanted to die to life, to implode. She found purpose in her children and in serving her husband's legacy. She had ups and downs but her life trended upward. She worked for resilience and did those things that helped her connect with herself. She chose hope and learned that there is a science for happiness and that she could learn happiness. She moved away from action, aggression, victimhood toward kindness, generosity, forgiveness. She learned that saying No can allow you to move forward. Post Traumatic Growth is possible. She listed the five things that occur with post-traumatic growth. She described her daily activities to support her growth. Forgiveness is the hardest part. If resilience is worn down, find a new avenue for growth.

I found that these suggestions for a daily routine from Karen Guggenheim to be very helpful. She doesn't check the phone after 9 pm or first thing in the morning. In the morning, she reads inspirational books, meditates or prays. She envisions the things she wants in her life. She watches the way she talks to herself. For example, Not "I am tired." but "I am feeling tired." She does breathing exercises and yoga. She plays music in the shower even when she doesn't feel like it because she knows she will feel better. In the afternoon, she walks in nature for 30-60 minutes. She makes a space for fun. She makes a daily list of things that made her happy, kinda like a gratitude list. Important sentences from her talk: You can't change the past with forgiveness. Forgiveness is very hard, but will allow you to move away from the pain to let love grow. Anger can be useful in certain contexts but don't feed the anger.

Karen Guggenheim listed these 5 things that occur from posr-traumatic growth:
1. More compassion
2. Able to see new opportunities
3. Personal growth
4. Spiritual change
5. Greater appreciation for life. Opens the mind to grow.

Mark Williamson added that we need to state that life is precious and to celebrate what we have now.