Spring is finally here. It is a time for renewal, for new beginnings and refreshed perspectives. For many people, it is their favorite time of year, as the days grow longer and the temperatures warmer. Fortunately, the season’s inspiring spirit of renewal needn’t be limited to flora and fauna. Spring is the perfect time of year to tap into that spirit of hope and renewal, and apply it to the workings of your daily life.

According to William James, we all have “subterranean” levels of energy and creativity buried deep within us. When we stubbornly stay within our “comfort zones” in everyday life, we are barely breaking the surface of our potential. And, like a pond resting in a forest, the surface of our undisturbed pool of potential is often stagnant.

Happiness is hard to define. In my clinics and seminars I have ventured to define love. I have ventured to define hope. I have ventured to define pleasure, but I am at a loss to define happiness.

• Happiness is far more than the absence of trouble.
• Happiness is more than getting what you want. It is more than wanting what you have.
• Happiness is more than appreciating the good things that happen to you.

1. Prepare for bad times when all seems well, use your imagination to visualize depressive episodes and see yourself functioning perfectly.
2. Get involved in the treatment process – medications, exercises, therapy sessions etc. See it as our problem.
3. Accentuate the positive. Stimulate happy feelings when ever you can, engage in joyful experiences.
4. Banish judgment - depression is not a result of weakness. Relinquish stigma or blame. This is a medical condition like Diabetes.

One of the most important steps to living a more fulfilling and happy life is the practice of Awareness. Awareness leads to control and control leads to happiness. Here are a few ideas that you can install in your daily routine to increase your awareness:

1. When you walk down the street, open your eyes wide and see what you see and hear what you hear. Turn up the level of your understanding. Bring yourself fully to all your experiences.

2. If you find your job repetitive, pay great attention to what you are doing. Notice how you use your hands, how your fingers move. Pretend that it is a massively important task you are doing and do it with crazy enthusiasm.

3. Focus your awareness inwards as well as outwards. Pay attention to the inside of your body; get to know how you really are feeling inside. Bring your full attention to your body.