The Glass Is Full: The Secrets to Being Happy and Staying Happy

The Glass Is Full: The Secrets to Being Happy and Staying Happy

"The pursuit of happiness" is a phrase often repeated in today's world by people of all different backgrounds, occupations and levels of success. We all search for true happiness - but how do we find it?

The secret to true happiness actually comes from inside, says Gigi G., author of the inspiring new book The Glass Is Full: The Secrets to Being Happy and Staying Happy. According to the author, true happiness comes from within, and originates in how we view our world. Gigi lays out this revolutionary (and remarkably easy to follow) philosophy in her book, which challenges the age-old saying "the glass is half full" by saying "the glass is full", no matter which way you view the glass.

"I wrote this book to share with others the key difference between a truly happy person and everyone else," says Gigi. "Anyone, from any walk of life, can change their life and be happy - all it takes is to begin the journey."

Drawn from the author's own life experiences and challenging journey to personal happiness, The Glass is Full is a pioneering and eye-opening novel for anyone who has longed for a better way of life, a more positive future and a higher level of personal fulfillment.

Readers will learn that it is they themselves who control how happy they are, and will change the way they view their careers, their families, and their lives with this unique and inspiring roadmap to true joy and fulfillment.

With first-class honours degrees in psychology and in law, and eighteen years of practice as an attorney in Australia - mainly in criminal defence Gigi G. has drawn on all her experiences in life, studies, and work to share her take on what makes people happy.

The Glass Is Full: The Secrets to Being Happy and Staying Happy
Balboa Press
Author: Gigi G.
ISBN: 9781452558462
Price: $17.99

Interview with Gigi G.

Question: How does the book The Glass Is Full help readers find true happiness?

Gigi G.: My book doesn't just help people find true happiness, it inspires people to choose happiness within themselves by speaking to each reader as though I am right there having a conversation with the reader; as though I am right there holding the reader's hand whilst the reader travels down his/her own journey on his/her own path to happiness.

My book reveals that happiness ultimately is the reader's choice; a mindset that the reader has the power to choose each and every day.

The purpose of my book is to arm the reader with the tools the reader needs to make that choice to be happy and to see the world with a happy mindset.

Ultimately it teaches many different techniques to help the reader change how s/he sees the world and his/her life. It teaches the reader:
how to let go of the past and negative emotions that prevent the reader from being free to be happy,
how to accept the experiences that come the reader's way (and find the lessons in each of them so they can take the positives away from them and grow, learning to appreciate the value of every experience in life),
how to say thank you each day that the reader is blessed with the gift of life, how to be grateful for what the reader has in life, and the purpose and value of the people around them, and
how to live each day, and treat oneself and others, with a positive, grateful, forgiving, kind, giving and loving heart and mind.

Ultimately, "The Glass Is Full" is an inspirational journey that takes place within the reader, and I am just there to hold the reader's hand and show the reader how simple that journey towards inner peace and happiness actually is.

It speaks from the heart with passion to inspire and empower the reader to get back to basics and be happy with what each day brings. It breaks happiness down to the most basic concepts; like building blocks.

I use powerful yet simple analogies that can reach everyone and anyone, of all ages. And the techniques detailed in the book can be used by everyone and anyone.

No one has ever said that "The Glass Is Full" no matter what. It is a unique philosophy that breaks away from the concept of the glass being half full and challenges it by saying it actually is always full. All the reader has to do is see the positive in everything, and in doing this, your glass is never empty. Life is always filled with experiences from which the reader can grow and learn. Most importantly, each day of life is always filled with the gift of "life". What do I mean by this?

We live in a world that places too much value on material things and forgets to say "thank you" for the gift of life. Society spends far too much time valuing what a person does, what they have, and what they look like. People forget to value the person within themselves and those around them. In these times of financial challenge for many around the world, where people are affected by loss of jobs and/or income, people need to know and be inspired that no matter what happens around them, no matter what they have and don't have in terms of material things, no matter who they are or what they do in life, the journey towards happiness is one each person always control and comes from within. People need to be reminded that happiness is such a simple gift one can give oneself and that no matter what is happening in one's life, there is always something to be grateful for; that the glass is always full; that all people have to do is rewire themselves, and learn, to see life in that way, and realise that from every experience in life comes growth and learning, which are always positive things.

Now, more than ever, with the economy as it is, people need to be reminded that ultimately having wealth and things don't matter. That you can still find happiness within yourself and be truly happy by appreciating and being grateful for what you do have in life, to learn from your experiences and grow from them, and to live each day to the fullest; that no matter what you have in terms of material things, your happiness comes from within yourself and how you view the world.

Each person has the power to drive his/her life in the direction s/he chooses, and that power can be used to lead a happy and fulfilling life, no matter how old that person is, where that person lives, what that person has, and who that person knows. The power is within each and every one of us to be happy - all each person has to do is choose to use that power within themselves and be happy.


Question: What is happiness to you?

Gigi G.: To me, happiness is a combination of things which ultimately involves "being at peace within myself and others around me". This involves a number of emotions and principles (or building blocks), which I have embraced on my own journey in life, and built my own life on:
Letting go of the past, recognising that I cannot change the past, but I can change the way I deal with my present to make my present and future better each day;
letting go of negative emotions directed towards myself and others, by making peace with where those emotions have come from;
being grateful for each moment I have each day, always reminding myself that each breath of life that I have is a gift! Many don't make it through the night or through the day. So when I am going through time that challenge me, I remind myself how lucky I am to be alive, then all other things that may have initially troubled me seem to have less importance in the grand scheme of things;
loving myself and valuing myself for who I am and not worrying about the judgment of others. As long as I know that I am a true, kind and loving person towards myself and those around me, and live myself with integrity and have my heart in the right place, respecting nature and the appreciating the beauty world around me and within myself, I am not concerned of the judgment of others; understanding that life IS full of experiences for which there is always a positive. This is what "The Glass Is Full" means. All one has to learn to do is change the labels one places on one's experiences in life with positive ones; asking oneself "what did I learn from that experience?" and then all of a sudden there you have a positive label for it. Every time you learn, you grow and become a stronger person. This is a positive attribute to every experience. This is the biggest secret to being happy.
When an experience challenges me, I am grateful for the challenge and look for the lessons I can take away from it. I embrace the experience for what it can teach me and for what I can take away from it to better myself and make my experience of the future more positive;
Letting people be, and letting life be. Why judge others? Why not just let them be and focus on your own journey towards happiness. Letting life be is also about accepting that life happens around us and that when we fight life happening it can fight back. How much easier it is to be at peace with yourself and the world around you when you go with the flow; when you don't fight against the tides of life.
Living with in a state of forgiveness of others and myself, which allows me to let go of the negative feelings that attach to events and others and myself. This means I can enjoy and be at peace in the present moment, not worried about the past and not concerned about what the future holds, but trusting that by embracing the moment and making the best of each moment I have, the future will fall into place. It is ultimately having faith in my own power to create my destiny, which leaves me to be free to enjoy the moments I have as they come.;
Connecting with nature as often as I can, because nature feeds the soul; It can provide so much inspiration.
Treating my body with respect, trying to eat well and exercise and meditate, to help maintain that state of calm and peace one needs to be able to appreciate and love oneself and one's life.
These are just a few of the principles which I feel create a state of inner peace and happiness.

And ultimately happiness, to me, is about making the choice to be and feel happy.


Question: How did you go about finding true happiness?

Gigi G.: I guess to be able to answer this question fully, I need to go into my background a little.

I was born in March 1970. So that makes me "almost 43". So it has been a long journey for me, but one which has been filled with amazing experiences and lessons, which I have chosen to now share with others through my book, in the hope it will help others find the happiness I have created for and within myself.

For years, as a child and young adult, I chased the ideal of "perfection", thinking this was something that was attainable.

I have looked back on the past and learned where this has come from and made peace with it.

I did ballet when I was about 8 years of age. My ballet teacher, God rest her soul, had called me fat in front of all the other children. I didn't understand that she must have had her own issues and perhaps had not learned to be kind to others. Whilst now I know that it doesn't matter what I look like, I did not know or understand that as a child. After all, I was only 8. For years I carried this comment with me. I starved myself at times and constantly dieted from that age. I didn't want my school friends to see me change for gym or PE because I felt ashamed of how I looked. I wanted to be perfect. And I guess this translated into every aspect of my life. I wanted to be the best at everything. I wanted to look the way the models looked.

But, as the years passed, no matter how thin I was, I wasn't happy within myself, despite the fact that I had amazing love and support from my family.

My mother always preached the secrets to being happy to me growing up, but I wasn't ready to hear what she was saying to me. I just kept driving myself toward being "perfect". Through the years of school and university, I studied hard and worked hard, wanting to be the best all the time. Deep inside, though, I didn't love myself and appreciate myself as a person. I always wanted to be "better". I was never happy with who I was and didn't think I was good enough unless I attained the perfection I sought.

After years of wanting to constantly be in control of everything, it became really self-destructive. I developed an eating disorder at 19. I exercised like crazy and hardly ate.

One day, when I was 21, I saw a picture of myself on the University Honours Class board for my psychology degree and realised how thin I was and how much I needed help. I cried. I asked myself "how had I let myself get this way?"
This was when my own healing and my own journey began.

I realised I needed to let go of my desire for perfection because it didn't exist and that I needed to love and appreciate myself and how lucky I was to have a loving family. I started to understand that being happy was something that came from within me, not from the things I had or what I looked like.

After I started my law degree, when I was 22, I became inspired to start writing down my thoughts about the things that made me happy; that connected me with who I am, like being positive, letting go of negative emotions, loving myself, being my own friend, connecting with nature, saying thank you for the gift of my life each day, etc. My writings (which ended up becoming my book) were effectively my own therapy; writing my philosophies and the techniques that worked for me, were part of my own journey of discovering what true happiness is and part of my own journey of self-discovery and finding true happiness within myself.

By no means did my own journey happen overnight. I had many experiences to go through to be able to figure out what works and what doesn't work.

My self esteem and self image issues resulted in feelings of depression for many years, so I had to focus and work through those feelings to find what worked for me. And when I discovered techniques that worked for me, I wrote them down, working through my own feelings and experiences in a positive way.

I married my first husband at 26 after 4 years together, and the marriage didn't last. But I learned so much from that marriage. Most importantly, I am responsible for how I choose to see situations and how I react to them.

When I first met my husband at 28, everything I had learned on my journey to that moment was confirmed for me. He was one of my greatest friends. This friendship grew and developed into a relationship.

Here was this amazing man who was full of life and self-confidence, who didn't let what others say affect him, and he let people be who they are. He loved me for who I was and didn't expect me to change. He showed me that letting people be and just being yourself and loving who you are and being kind in your actions towards yourself and others, are key factors in a happy life.

After 14 years together, he has been an incredible role model and inspiration for me.

It was after I met my husband that I was inspired to keep writing my "thoughts" on happiness and share those thoughts with others.

We've been through the journey of marriage and children together and it has been an amazing gift to share with each other.

Having my two daughters has also taught me so much about the simplicity of happiness. How material things have nothing to do with happiness. They have also inspired me to share these simple secrets with others through my book. I want people to know that each person holds the key to their own happiness and the power to change their lives into happy ones.

I want to inspire people, as I have been on my own journey in this life, and let them know that being happy is that easy. It's all just about changing how you view life and yourself into a positive one.

In terms of my work background, I feel this has also taught me a lot about happiness.

I started my studies off in Psychology. I finished a Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Psychology and the completed an Honours Degree with Class 1 Honours in Psychology. During my honours year I did a placement with a psychiatrist who took me to Morisset Hospital maximum security ward, which housed some of the most serious mentally ill criminals in NSW at that time, most of whom were found not guilty by reason of mental illness for some of the most brutal murders known in Australia. I learned a lot about the human mind and distortions in perception during my contact with those patients.

After been awarded a scholarship to study at Bond University, I studied law, with a keen interest in the human mind. I graduated with Class 1 Honours and put my studies into practice.

In my 18 years of practice, I have worked with the NSW Director of Public Prosecution, worked on an inquiry for the Commissioner of Police for NSW, and worked in criminal defence as a barrister (which is what I currently do in NSW).

So apart from my own experiences in life, which have helped me find my own happiness, I have also learned a lot about happiness from the people and clients I have worked with. I have learned that people are placed in my life to teach me also. So I embrace this, and learn.

I have represented people from all walks of life. I have seen what works and doesn't work for them. I have seen how a negative "state of mind" can impact on how a person's life turns out. I am grateful to those people for sharing their lives with me, and trusting me with their lives.

So part of my own journey towards creating happiness within myself has also come from embracing and learning from the journeys of others and trying to help them find their own happiness within.


Question: What do you hope this book teaches readers to do?

Gigi G.: It will inspire and empower readers. It teaches them that they hold the key and all they have to do is use it.

It will teach readers different techniques that they can use every time they feel challenged, so that they can get through anything in life with a positive, grateful and happy mindset.

In addition to all the techniques I give to the reader to practice and use in their lives, readers will take the following philosophies away with them which will help them stay positive each day:
Happiness is a mindset, a way of seeing life and living life. It is about changing your mindset and the labels you place on your experiences to positive ones and being grateful for the gift of life and for the experiences from which you can learn, grow, become stronger, and ultimately use to grow happiness within yourself.
Every has the power to make the choice to be happy at any time.
Happiness is also connecting with nature and appreciating nature for the beautiful life it gives us. It is this mindset and way of seeing life that is the ultimate secret to being happy within and with your life.
There is no quick fix or solution to being happy. It is about changing how you see the world and how you choose to experience it. There are many techniques that can be used to do this, and these techniques need to be applied and used more than once to really work. Practise is the key to change. This is something that must always be remembered.
And ultimately one of the greatest secrets to happiness is letting go of the past, forgiving others and yourself, letting go of negative emotions connected to the past, the present and the future, acceptance of the things that happen around and to you, gratitude for the things that happen around and to you, and looking for the positive in everything that you experience in life, so you can learn and grow from it and become a stronger and happier person in the long run.
But always remember, happiness is also about enjoying the present and the gift of life you have now, not worrying about the future and letting go of the past. It is about seizing each day and living the moment to its fullest. It is about looking for the positive in everything and the lessons that can be learned from each of your experiences - seeing your glass as full of opportunities to grow and learn and filling it each day with those experiences and learning and growth.


Question: Are you currently working on another novel?

Gigi G.: Yes I am working on two other books at the moment.

The first one is a pocketbook of inspiration that people can carry with them wherever they go. It will contain all of my original inspirational quotes that I am currently posting on my book's Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Gigi-G and Twitter @GigiGlassIsFull.

The other book will reveal some very interesting secrets about how one can create a great relationship and marriage. I say "create" because having a great relationship is not a "right"; It is something you have to create together. It is a team effort.

I have been blessed with an amazing relationship that works and is filled with love and respect and loyalty, and I want to share with the world what we do that makes it so amazing and how it is we can still be so in love with each other after all these years.


Interview by Brooke Hunter