Recently, I went to the Happiest Place on Earth aka Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. With this year and the last having been pretty stressful, I wasn’t sure how it would be interacting with the crowds at the park. In public, there has been tension in the air and interacting with people lately has been confusing and not all that pleasant.
People have been very aggressive while driving during this pandemic. There have been a lot of accidents and speeding. The highest number of people have died in vehicle crashes this year since 2007 with 13.2% fewer miles being driven.
It feels likes the importance of societal politeness has become buried under the stress and preoccupied minds of people during this time. People have especially become rude to service-oriented employees demonstrating our “fight” instincts during this high anxiety time and the need to not feel controlled.
The land dubbed the ‘happiest place on Earth’
This motto may sound corny, although weirdly enough it never has to me; but when I was visiting the ‘happiest place on Earth’, I began to notice that although it’s a stressful place to be with all those people trying to get on as many rides as they can, waiting in line for literally everything (including going to the bathroom), etc., people were mostly compliant and non-combative.
What was it about this place that made people not full-on run around the park trampling others as they made their way to their favorite ride?
I wondered, did the vision or idea set at Disneyland help influence the visitors? And if so, could setting your own vision or mindset matter to how you conduct yourself?
As you know, this blog is called Happier Mindset and the belief behind this is that the right attitude matters and affects how you deal with people and situations in your life. Do you choose to see insults where they may be none or pick a fight and get your feels hurt? Or do you choose to see a neutral comment that seems to hold less truth about yourself than it does for the speaker and let it slide to go on with your merry day?
Could just the idea that Disneyland is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth make its visitors fulfill that vision and make it come true?
Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.
Walt Disney
How visions set the tone for an organization
For any successful company, a mission statement is considered a must. To have the vision of the organization laid out clearly helps not only communicate its purpose to clients but also to remind the employees what they stand for.
The statement that Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth may not seem like a mission statement but more of a stated fact. However, one can see that the cast members at Disneyland Park have been taught to make this statement a fact.
With the cast members trying to make this a reality and you knowing that it is called the happiest place on Earth, it manifests into the happiest place on Earth. You have a great time regardless of all the money you spent, the time you spent waiting in lines, and the sore feet from walking and standing more than normal.
Manifestation
This could be a post in itself and it probably will be in the future. Without getting too spiritual about this, manifestation at its basis is to make real/physical an idea or desire.
The definition from Oxford Languages is, “an event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something, especially a theory or abstract idea”.
Obviously, you can’t just think really hard with the desire to be rich and manifest money. It doesn’t work that way. It’s more subtle than that and still includes action and hard work from you. But having a desire and focusing on it sets you up to manifest it.
For example, you have a strong desire to lose weight and be healthier. You know you can’t just want to lose weight really bad for the pounds to come off. Instead, your desire will make you conscious of your eating habits and lifestyle choices. You will choose vegetables and lean meat for dinner instead of fast food and you will choose to walk the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
From this desire, your actions will reflect what you want and before you know it, it will manifest in your life.
In this way, a visitor to Disneyland knows that it’s called the happiest place on Earth and so they desire it to be so when they go there. At the park, instead of being aggressive or picking a fight, they choose to let the annoyance simmer and focus on finding pleasurable things to do. Therefore, through their desire and following actions, they have made the statement a reality.
How we can make our own mission statement
To live your greatest life, you must first become a leader within yourself. Take charge of your life, begin attracting and manifesting all that you desire in life.
Sonia Ricotti
So, if this is possible with Disneyland, can it be possible for our own lives? I think the answer is yes, but with a lot of work. There are a lot of factors that go into making Disneyland a pleasant place to visit and making it live up to its mission statement. You will be just one person when it comes to making your own life’s mission statement a reality.
Reflect
First, reflect on what you want. You can do a free-flow journal entry or jot some points down. Then, if you have multiple items, figure out if there is a common theme or one that is more important or precedes others. It’s best if you can narrow it down to one simple statement. You can always expand later.
Identify
The next step is to figure out if there are some areas that can affect or make real your statement. For example, if your desire is to stabilize your life, can you look at your finances or relationships? Write those down. Focus on the areas that affect your mission statement because your choices here will be what manifests your desire.
Put in the work
Finally, start working on it. Be patient with yourself and allow yourself slip-ups. If you can, record your progress. You can do this using a dot journal, tracking on Excel, or another creative method that you come up with.
Having the ability to look back at your progress can help keep you motivated. It’s also good to put your mission statement at the top of the tracking page so you can keep yourself focused.
You can be your happiest place on Earth
If you want it to be, that is, it can.
Why not give it a try?
As Walt Disney said on opening day at Disneyland,
To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past—and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America—with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.
Walt Disney
These words stuck. This idea caught hold. It manifested in ways that we can still feel and experience today.
It matters how you want to live your life. Your desires and dreams can become your reality if you believe, focus, and put in the hard work that it takes.
Live happier,
Nicole
What did you think? Leave a comment below! I’d love to know what you think!
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About the author
Hi! Here is a little bit about me, I have worked in various neuroscience and psychology research labs studying emotional social control in people with early onset schizophrenia and mood disorders. In college, I majored in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley. I love to read and learn about happiness and mental wellbeing and so I created this blog to share the ideas and stories out there. You can read more about me on my About page.
9 replies on “The Happiest Place on Earth: The Importance of Having a Vision”
Great post Nicole! I went to Disney World for the first time several years ago. While I had a great time, it was indeed pretty stressful at times. I like the mention of manifestation, if we put in the work, write down our goals/visions, we can bring anything to life. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading! Disney World is fun but also stressful. Working on manifesting your goals and dream life is tangible. I hope you do it!
Great! I was just watching a documentary about how they made Disneyland Hotel. A happy approach indeed.
I think I was just watching the same documentary! Thank you for reading.
I definitely aim for positivity in my life and I agree that often it’s how you reframe things. I love these quotes which are truly inspirational. I agree that these past two years have been a big challenge and definitely impacted almost every part of my life. Maintaining positivity these days has been a challenge. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading and finding the positivity in this post. We don’t know what the future years will bring us but we can work on the skills and gaining the tools to handle whatever comes our way!
I haven’t been to the one in California, but I’ve been to the one in Florida. They’re alright parks, better than most similar parks, but you spend hours queuing for like a 10 minute ride. All that standing and slow shuffling just isn’t for me. It’s also kind of annoying to change your money to park money. Do they still do that?
I’m trying to make what I want come true, but my imposter syndrome coupled with my depression makes it really hard
No, you don’t have to change your money to park money like at carnivals and fairs so that’s nice. I just read your post on imposter syndrome and I think it’s a real struggle for more people than we realize. However, coupled with depression does make it that much more challenging for you. Still, I see you are working through it, and focusing on how you will move forward will keep you moving forward to your goals. I believe in you! Thank you for reading my post.
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