Did you know that happiness is one of the most difficult emotions for people to express? For many, people often find complaining, being sad or angry more comfortable, but if you asked them if they wanted to feel this way, they would say no, that circumstances out of their control were responsible.
Being happy or finding something positive to focus on is a choice. Although it may not feel like it at times, it is. In therapy we find ways to help people identify their personal strengths and to focus on the good things in life. When we focus on problems or issues, that is all we see. Our emotions reflect the direction of our minds, as every emotion begins with a thought.
So why do people struggle with feeling happy? For some, they may not get the attention they need, or feel that being happy is validated.
When working with kids, it’s important to teach them the life view that although they have problems or issues, sometimes feel sad and angry, they also need to express the times when they feel happy and excited, joyful or just content. If we don’t amplify the good times, the good feelings, kids, like adults will focus on the negative.
We created a game to teach gratitude and positivity, helping kids to identify the good things in their life.
Dirty Clouds Card Game teaches kids that although they have problems in their lives, feel stressed out or are sad or mad, that there are some good things in their lives too, if only they look.