by: Jason Osborn

As a life coach, one of the reasons people come to you is so you can help them find happiness in their lives. If you are not a life coach, you may be wondering how you yourself can find true happiness in your life.

The most important lesson to learn is that happiness is not obtained through material possessions or by being like someone else. Although it’s great to have role models to learn from, happiness will not come by trying to be like them. This is also true with material possessions. These things are great, and you can have as many of them as you want, but trying to find happiness through these things will only give you an empty void.

True happiness will only come when you find, and start achieving, your passion in life. You see, you could have all the money, the big house, and car of your dreams but if you hate what you are doing in life you will never be truly happy. On the other hand, you may not have much money, live in tiny house, and have a mediocre car but be the happiest person on the planet. Why? Because you have found your passion and are living it out every day.

Whether you are rich or poor, happiness is found in fulfilling your passion and purpose in life. There is a great quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson which says it all. He says, ‘The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.’

In other words, master your passions in life and happiness will follow. However, if you ignore your passions and purpose, you will live a life where you feel unfulfilled because, deep down you will always know that there is more of you to give.

Article Courtesy of :

Steve Pohlit, Business Development
Consultant

by: Lorraine Cohen

“Happiness is the whole aim and end of human existence”
- Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony” – Mahatma Gandhi

Underlying the reasons why clients have come to me over the years is the desire for happiness. What is happiness? Conventional wisdom often defines happiness as status, financial security, worldly goods, possessions, lifestyle, accomplishments etc. I have met many very successful people, who seemed to have it all; who have come to me saying they felt something was missing from their life – they weren’t happy! They say, “I want to be happy. What do I do?” What I have come to know is that things and people do not create happiness. Feeling happy as a response to an external experience adds to our own happiness, but is not the true source of happiness. Why? Happiness is a state of being, independent of external influences and situations.

In a gem of a book called, What Happy People Know by Dan Baker, Ph.D, he defines happiness as ” A way of life – an overriding outlook composed of qualities such as optimism, courage, love, and fulfillment. ” He says, “We all have a neurological fear system embedded within our brains that once helped us survive, but now limits our lives. This biological circuitry of fear is the greatest enemy of happiness!”

According to Baker, “Happiness is a by-product for the condition (state of being, outlook on life) that comes from several indispensable qualities. The sum of the following qualities is happiness.”

The Twelve Qualities of Happiness

1. Love – the antidote to fear and an essential quality of happiness. Love renews and energizes the human Spirit.
2. Optimism – provides power over painful events to be able to see the profound value of the experience.
3. Courage -the strongest weapon for overcoming the lightening fast power of the fear system.
4. A sense of freedom -freedom is choice. Using courage to exercise choice is true freedom.
5. Proactivity – actively participating in creating your destiny and forging your own happiness.
6. Security – liking who you are on the inside and developing a strong inner foundation that will last a lifetime.
7. Health – health and happiness are interdependent. It’s hard to feel happy if you don’t feel healthy and vice versa.
8. Spirituality – having the connection to a Higher Power, Spirit, God, or Religion extends the boundaries of our own lives for extraordinary experiences.
9. Altruism – helping other people and contributing to the quality of their life fulfills a sense of purpose and personal satisfaction.
10. Perspective – - being able to see shades of gray and knowing how to prioritize problems (challenges?) into possibilities and opportunities. Seeing the big picture!
11. Humor – Humor is the shift of perception that gives you the courage to take action. By lifting the suffering off the heart, humor empowers the Spirit to heal it.
12. Purpose – understanding why you are here on this earth and doing the things you were meant to do.

* You can find this list on page 19

Baker states, “other qualities such as confidence, self-esteem, fulfillment, and peace of mind are important” without the list being long. “Not all of these qualities must be present or in equal amounts to be happy. Most of them must be abundant for someone to experience the kind of lasting rock-solid happiness that endures even when life gets tough. “

What’s your definition of happiness?

Exercise: Over the next month, review the list of qualities for happiness. Select one or more qualities to focus your attention. For example: Taking action on things you have been procrastinating (proactive), extending yourself to help someone else for the joy of it (altruism), or taking better care of your body (health). At the end of 30 days, celebrate taking another step to increase your happiness level!

Copyright ? 2004 Lorraine Cohen. All Rights Reserved.
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Article Courtesy of :

Steve Pohlit, Business Development
Consultant

by: P. S. GUSAIN

God created the world. Humans in their own insignificant way are also creating things. The urge to create is inborn in human beings. God created the world for the happiness of humankind. Humans are creating things for their happiness, enjoyment, comfort, and survival. The common thread in all human made things is happiness.

There is a vast field of music and art and literature. One can devote one’s entire life to any of them and be supremely happy. Humans have made some things expressly for happiness–games and sports, food and drinks, TV and motorcars, ships, and planes. And, of course, there is money and all the things and services one could buy with it.

A single genre of literature, a single instrument of music, a single school of dancing, is enough to fill us with happiness. We know of persons who have made a single aspect of the world their passion and devoted their entire life to it and derived success and happiness out of it. It may be bird watching, white water rafting, tennis, football, poetry, or films. In fact life is too short to enjoy all the happiness it offers to us through all its aspects. The problem is not that there is not enough of happiness in the world. But it is the opposite. There is too much of it.

Fine arts, whether it is poetry or prose, fiction or non-fiction, painting, music, or dance, has the power to engross us and make us infinitely happy. In fact, one may live in the world of fine arts and be ever happy. I am perfectly happy sitting under a quiet bower beside a calm river under the serene sky with a book in hand, or lying in the bed under a cozy quilt on a rainy day listening to great classics.

Take for example, literature. It gives mental pleasure that is superior to the worldly pleasure. It does not require external favourable conditions, except a book. There are many books in the world that I consider everybody must read. It is not necessary that one reads only the best or the most serious books only. One can take occasional bad book with good books. As a starter, I would recommend that you go to your neighborhood library, and get a good book according to your taste. It need not necessarily be serious literature. Get a detective novel or romance book or even comics. In the evening cozily settle down in the bed or sofa and read. May be next week read another book. Once the habit is formed try to read serious literature. Make reading a life long habit.

I find sports a great source of happiness. You derive great happiness and peace of mind playing any game. You also get exercise which is good for your body. But there is another benefit. While you are playing your mind is far away from worldly problems. You don’t think of them while you play. I believe that playing is a sort of meditation.

“The secret of happiness is this: let your interest be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile”–Bertrand Russell.

BE HAPPY!

Article Courtesy of :

Steve Pohlit, Business Development
Consultant