Happiness in a Heartbeat: Our Quick-Fix?

Over a few champagnes last week in our local pub, a friend and I discussed the many quick-fix remedies out there for all of our personal problems and it led to an unappetising question:

Is our brand of personal development just the new burger on the block?

It seems that every day there is a new book or DVD or program you can purchase which is going to cure all of your ills. Nothing new in that – I remember my mum poring over Dr Spock when I was three and exhibiting strange behaviour towards garden snails – but what amazes me are all of the claims that the cure can be achieved in “3 easy steps” or by “10 minutes a day”. This leads to my second question:

When did personal development become as quick and easy as a microwave dinner?

Not far from the pub is one of the city’s best-loved inspirational bookshops. I wandered through there the other day, curious to see what the ‘competition’ is up to. I was not surprised to see bookcases groaning under endless rows of quick-fix DVDs, pocket books and sets of inspiration cards, but it lead to my third question:

Do people who purchase quick-fix remedies really think they can turn their lives around faster than they can say “one chicken and chips combo?”

Being an introspective sort, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why this kind of “fast food” self-help disturbs me. I think the answer is that change is not something that occurs without a fair bit of heartache (note: not heartburn).

This leads me back to our own brand of self-help. Are the 4 Principles that I believe are the foundations for positive change any different to the DVD that boldly claims you can “Make a Million Dollars over Your Lunch Break”? I had to frame a quick defence when this particularly disturbing question raised its ugly head over drinks with my friend. And here is my answer:

If Outfit Inspirations is ‘dishing up’ anything, it is that change of any sort is a long and often difficult experience and the tools and techniques that we offer are designed to make that process easier.

But I imagine some of you find this answer as dissatisfying as a cheeseburger. So if I were to offer the impatient reader our version of a quick fix, what would it be?

Let’s call it my tips for happiness in a heartbeat… I’m certain that they won’t satisfy your hunger for growth and development in your life, but then that’s not the point of fast food, is it?

(NB. This product comes with a warning – if you think wearing blue clothes for the rest of your life is going to transform your life, please think again. And for those of you who like to sift your self-help –i.e. eat the steak out of the steak burger and leave the salad and the bun – please read the post on Happiness or Contentment before you make this the staple of your daily diet.)

Tips for Happiness in a Heartbeat

1. Smile every time you catch sight of your reflection
2. Tell someone a joke and insist they tell you one in return
3. Wear blue—it is a naturally relaxing colour
4. Hold the door open for someone
5. Put new “happy” photos in all your photo frames
6. Trade a facial or a manicure with a friend
7. Do twenty star jumps
8. Sniff citrus — fresh fruit, cut grass, baking bread
9. Clean your desk — visual confusion upsets us
10. Pat a cat — soft fur is a proven relaxer

Simone.

PS. If you think I am unqualified to be making these comparisons between the self-help and fast food industries, just remember I have an Arts Degree. And while that might mean something in your town/state/country, the joke that was doing the rounds when I left university was –

Q. What did the Arts graduate say to the Law graduate?
A. “Would you like fries with that?”

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