In my book, BeHappy! I say that "not only is a picture is worth a thousand words... it is also worth a thousand opportunities to be happy".
That's because pictures can create conscious and subconscious, positive neuroassociations which can actually evoke meaningful happy emotional responses.
In the few hours it took me to write this segment and search for the relevant photographic examples to help make my point, I actually got incredibly uplifted and truly joyful just by looking at the pictures I had taken over the past couple of years. I laughed many times, and even shed a few tears (mostly of joy) because the pictures literally took me back to the moment when they were created. And that's the point.
Try it for yourself. Take out your photo album. If you don't have a photo album, just take out whatever pictures you have taken over the past few years - or even the past few weeks. How do they make you feel? When I saw this picture to the left of my wife, Jill, lying on the back of our friend's boat, for example, I went right back to that weekend at Catalina Island with our good friends, Jerry and Annie, and I relived the moment.
If you don't have many pictures to look at right now, then this little happiness tool is even more important for you.
A good buddy of mine, Wolfgang Richter - in Vancouver - started taking hundreds (maybe thousands) of pictures after reading my book during the process of helping me edit it. He has a camera with him everywhere he goes. And it has improved his life. Why? Because it helps put happy times right in front of him all the time - and it can do the same for you.
That's a key point to this little happiness tip. To make this most effective, it's important to devise a way - or several ways - to keep these "Kodak Moments" in front of you as much as possible. Put them in your PDA or your iPod. Make them part of your screensaver - both at the office or at work. Even better, get a digital picture frame, which is a great little product for your home or office, where you can download your favorite pictures and they cycle constantly - acting as a continuous visual reminder of the great, happy, positive moments in your life.
So first, to use this tool, you need to have a means to always be in a position to take pictures - especially when you're doing something fun, adventurous, exciting, or even relaxing. If you're with friends or family - even better.
It's easy these days with cell phones - since most have digital cameras built in. I use both my cell phone/PDA and a digital Nikon P5000 camera. It's great. And it provides me so many opportunities to be happy.
At the bottom of this page are some examples of the types of pictures I'm talking about. These are just a few of the literally thousands of pictures I've taken recently. Pictures of times with friends. Pictures of walks on the beach with my wife or baby daughter. Pictures of great sunsets. Anything that has had an emotional impact works. Every time I look at these, I get happier. So use this little tip to brighten your day - and your life.
In my book, BeHappy! I say that "not only is a picture is worth a thousand words... it is also worth a thousand opportunities to be happy".
In the few hours it took me to write this segment and search for the relevant photographic examples to help make my point, I actually got incredibly uplifted and truly joyful just by looking at the pictures I had taken over the past couple of years. I laughed many times, and even shed a few tears (mostly of joy) because the pictures literally took me back to the moment when they were created. And that's the point. 
How do they make you feel? When I saw this picture to the left of my wife, Jill, lying on the back of our friend's boat, for example, I went right back to that weekend at Catalina Island with our good friends, Jerry and Annie, and I relived the moment.
It's easy these days with cell phones - since most have digital cameras built in. I use both my cell phone/PDA and a digital Nikon P5000 camera. It's great. And it provides me so many opportunities to be happy.
