The Happiness Lab Delegate's Guide Chapter 5 — Body & Soul | Page 3

Alison’s story
05
Getting off the treadmill
B
efore I started on this course, I thought that
Th e Happiness Lab was just for unhappy
and depressed people. As a professional
businesswoman who leads a busy life running
several businesses with my husband, caring for
my family, and being involved in the community,
I didn’t think that it was going to be able to teach
me anything. But having done the course, I am
in total shock. Th e experience of spending six
weeks working through the disciplines of a happy
life taught me to pause and refl ect, and gave me a
greater ability to appreciate things more. It seems
so obvious now, but there is very real power in
slowing down and stopping. I had thought that
I knew how to appreciate the little things in life,
but after six weeks I had a new appreciation for
the birds singing and my children playing and
laughing. I think, like many people, I was on a
treadmill running as fast as I could wanting to be
happy. I lived life to the full; I was happy biting
off more than I could chew, taking risks, pushing
boundaries. I genuinely thought I knew who I
was, what I thought, and was confi dent that I
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was a happy person. I believed that the faster I
ran on that treadmill the happier I would be. But
actually, what I learnt through being on this course
was to stop running – that was scary and made
me feel very vulnerable. Th is process also made
me very cross because someone was showing me
that I wasn’t as happy as I thought I was. Now, I
think I have a new depth to how I live my life: far
more than the shallowness of just running on the
treadmill as fast as you can.