From Crappy to Happy in 1 Easy Step

Have you noticed the ridiculous number of how-to articles with a specified number of steps? "How to Find Love in 4 Simple Steps." "How to Replace a Faucet in 6 Easy Steps." "5 Steps to a Thinner You!"

Heck, there's even the Texas two step! Repeat steps 1 and 2 over and over, and you're considered a dancer!

There is a method to this madness. We, the readers, are naturally attracted to numbered steps. It makes difficult things sound simple. It makes the unachievable sound achievable. We're probably all suckers for it.

So, in the spirit of following a trend that has been proven to work, I offer up my first how-to list. If you're feeling crappy, and you want to feel happy, here's what you need to do:

Step 1: Follow your gut.

That's it. Seems simple enough, right?

The bad news, of course, is that it's not quite that simple. Why? Because we have the sometimes unfortunate condition of being human. We possess things like logic, and reason, and fear, and doubt. Properly utilized, these things serve as great tools. Improperly used, they become obstacles. We argue with ourselves about why our gut is wrong. And we're pretty good at it. The only problem is, our gut is often right! But we frequently miss out because we assume the "thinking" side of us knows better than the "feeling" side of us.

What is the point of all this? Pay more attention to your gut, your instinct, your intuition. It's very often correct. It's why you're told to go with your first response when taking a multiple-choice test. Going back and changing an answer is frequently the wrong thing to do. We start thinking about our answer, some doubt creeps in, and we convince ourselves that a different answer is actually the correct one.

So don't overanalyze. Learn to go with your gut. It's usually the right thing to do!