You’ve got to…

In 1987 the songwriters Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh composed “Come from the Heart” which included the following lyrics (more about the source):

You’ve got to sing like you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watchin’
It’s gotta come from the heart if you want it to work.

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Those are good ideas for being happy. Follow the links for more on each. You can also see the page with more blogs and sites about happiness.

 

come from the heart

You’ve got to
sing like you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watchin’
It’s gotta come from the heart if you want it to work.

from the song “Come from the Heart” by Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh.

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Doing things you love, with passion, and a sense of worth is a way to be happier.

Spending time with loved ones will usually make people happier.

Cultivating other positive emotions and attitudes like optimism, joy, kindness, or gratitude tends to increase happiness.

If you want to learn more about things you can do to be happier, see the page with more blogs and sites about happiness.

 

dance like nobody’s watchin’

Dancer – Grand jeté
“Chenxin Liu – Don Quichotte, Kitri – Prix de Lausanne 2010-7 edit” by Fanny Schertzer, derivative work (See description for more information.)

Dancing combines a wonderful set of things that make us happy. There’s usually music and movement, often combined with costumes and enjoyable social interactions.

Dancing includes everything from a child spinning around a room on tip-toes, to teens holding each other at the prom, to a line dance at a wedding, to a formal, choreographed ballet. It gives us a physical way to express ourselves when we like the music.

Like other physical activity, dancing also releases endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals our body creates that have an effect similar to morphine. They make us happier, but do not have the addictive effect. They can also reduce the perception of pain.* And as with other forms of exercise, they can reduce stress, make it easier to sleep and are generally associated with better health. Listening and focussing on the music can also make exercise seem less repetitive and boring. This may be why exercise combined with music and dance moves is often popular. Examples include jazzercize and Zumba.

Unfortunately in many societies today, dancing is not something that many adults regularly do. We get less practice, feel self-conscious, and then we dance even less. Perhaps that’s on reason the quote from the song, “Come from the Heart”, that say, “You’ve got to […] dance like nobody’s watchin’” has become so popular. Or to put it another way…

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. ~Edwin Denby

See this and more quotes about dance in the Quote Garden.

“Hans Thoma 003” by Hans Thoma – The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202.