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Discovering Your Innate Happiness Through Self-Acceptance and Positive Focus

This document compiles key themes and ideas from psychological counselor Teru Nakashima's teachings on enhancing self-affirmation to achieve happiness. Nakashima asserts that by accepting, loving, and affirming oneself, one's perception of the world transforms and happiness increases. He teaches that humans are inherently happy and possess goodness from birth, and that by focusing on present happiness rather than pursuing satisfaction, we can live richer lives. The document also introduces specific exercises to cultivate personal happiness.

Key Themes and Ideas:

• The Importance of Self-Affirmation: Loving yourself means understanding and acknowledging your various aspects. It's the feeling of "Wow, I really have so many different sides to me. That's amazing."
  • Consider that all aspects of yourself, both good and bad, have value.
  • "When you affirm yourself, you can affirm the entire world around you." Self-affirmation leads to affirming others, trust, and love.
• Inherent Happiness: Humans are born happy and possess goodness at their core. "Humans are born with a good heart and are innately moving forward."
  • Regardless of painful past events, it's important to believe firmly that "I am inherently happy."
• Focus on Present Happiness: Walk through life thinking "I am already sufficiently happy." It's essential to savor current happiness rather than feeling a sense of "lacking" something.
  • Learn to think "both this and that" were good, rather than "either this or that."
• Change in Worldview: When you come to like yourself, your view of the world changes, and the surrounding world also begins to appear happier. "When you become happy, it's not so much that people around you become happy, but rather that those around you 'appear happier' to you."
  • Your sensitivity to happiness increases, allowing you to be more tolerant even toward negative people or those you don't get along with.
• Emotional Control (Emotional Discipline): Rather than focusing on deficiencies like "I couldn't do it" or "I failed again," direct your attention to present happiness with thoughts like "I managed to do this much" or "Because I failed, I was able to learn."

Exercises to Make Yourself Happy:

1. Value Yourself: "By loving yourself, you'll begin to see the goodness in others." Practice the "Three Good Things" exercise explained in Nakashima's book "Self-Affirmation Notebook."
2. Find and Utilize Your Strengths: "When you can utilize your strengths, you can enjoy each day more." Write down 30 wishes and identify those that align with both excitement and your strengths.
3. Continue Making Small Challenges: "By continuing to challenge small things without fear of failure, your possibilities expand." Visualize your current situation, identify specific actions, and set challenge goals every 10 days.

Important Quotes:

• "It's not about simply liking yourself and praising yourself more and more, but rather the feeling of 'Wow, I really have so many different sides to me. That's amazing.'"
• "When you affirm yourself, you can affirm the entire world around you."
• "Humans are born with a good heart and are innately moving forward."
• "I hope you proceed through life thinking 'I am already sufficiently happy.'"
• "When you become happy, it's not so much that people around you become happy, but rather that those around you 'appear happier' to you."

Teru Nakashima, All about Self-esteem