TEACHER Steve Taylor is bringing some happiness into his students' lives. The dad-of-two launched a course last year to combat negative thinking.

Called `In Search of Happiness: Changing Your Life and Your Mind', it was so popular with students at Urmston Grammar School, they decided to set up their own happiness club which meets every week.

Steve said: "I didn't expect them to continue, but they just liked the course and that's great."

Now Steve, 40, is holding another course at the school in January to bring back some cheer following the festive period. The eight-week course covers various ways to combat negative thinking, stress and identifying the positive things in life. Steve said: "Many people take that negativity from their parents, or just become worriers - is the car locked, will they miss the train? All the kinds of things that add to stress in life."

The course focuses on the good things that people have going for them, and how to get rid of anger and resentment.

Habitual

Steve said: "Worrying can become habitual, it's something the human mind just seems to get into. The idea of the courses is to try to break that habit, and learn to value the aspects of our lives that we normally take for granted.

"One of the things we do early on is to get students to make a list of all their blessings, and then pin that on the kitchen door or the bathroom door to read often to remind themselves how lucky they actually are."

Steve is also a successful author of books about improving quality of life including best-seller Making Time.

10 tips for a happy life:

1. Make a Blessings List of 10 things in your life to be grateful for, like health, people you love.

2. Live in the present - don't be anxious about the future or bitter about the past.

3. Live slowly, the less you rush the less stressed you will feel.

4. Do `flow' activities like gardening, painting, or sports, which concentrate and stimulate the mind.

5. Try not to think of happiness in terms of possessions and money. Research shows that very rich people are no happier than anyone else.

6. Look for meaningful relationships rather than for wealth and fame.

7. Don't watch more than two hours' TV a day. Prolonged viewing creates a mood of mild depression.

8. Laugh as much as you can. Laughter has powerful physical and psychological benefits.

9. Think positively. Identify negative thoughts and argue against them.

10. Meditate for 20 minutes, twice a day - it's an effective way of emptying your mind of worries.

The course at Urmston Grammar School starts on January 24. For more details ring 0161 275 3275.