At The Happiness Institute we’ve always advocated the identification and utilisation of strengths as a path to happiness. This morning, I came across this great quote which essentially sums this up.

Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed.
- Sydney Smith

Check out our free happiness resources for our list of signature strengths as well as some tips for utilising them.

Happiness involves experiencing a range of positive emotions including, as this article suggests, awe and elevation.

To read more click here

And make sure you don’t just read the article; make sure (if you want a dose of happiness right now) that you also click on the link to the video titled “Simple Truths about Service”.

Happiness is doing good things; happiness is giving from the heart…in this short video you’ll see a wonderful (and practical) example of this applied in a real life work situation. Enjoy…

Please find and enjoy below the following wonderful article (and suggestion) by my friend and colleague in happiness, Lionel Ketchion…

PRACTICE HAPPINESS!

After reading the wonderful new book called Thanks! How the new science of gratitude can make you happier by Robert Emmons, Ph.D., I realized something very important. In this incredibly valuable book, Dr. Emmons referred to a research study regarding people vowing to perform a behavior. This was a study done with people attending a local YMCA. They decided to participate in a Twelve-Week Personal Fitness Program to “exercise three days per week for twelve weeks and beyond at the Y.” It turned out that those who swore an oath to exercise, did better than the rest of the groups in this study.

It seems that by taking an oath, especially in front of others we will increase our likelihood of doing what we say we want to do. This brings me to The Happiness Decision.

According to this study and Dr. Emmons, we are more likely to keep our promises when we take an oath. Taking the oath before others, increases the probability that we will keep it. Furthermore, posting your oath in places where you will see it during the day, further insures that you will keep your oath.

Here is The Happiness Decision

I, ______ Do solemnly Decide to adopt the Happiness Decision by BEING HAPPY NOW. Rather than react to my problems, I will use Happiness to Respond to them forsaking all negative thoughts. Regardless of circumstances, IN ALL WAYS I WILL Choose Happiness for the rest of MY LIFE.
Signed ________
Date _________

Many people told me that they took the Happiness Decision oath or pledge and posted it on their refrigerator. This allows them to renew what they want to experience in their lives. Once you write something down on paper, it is one of the best ways to allow it to manifest itself. Do something about your happiness. Signing and posting this Happiness Decision can create and draw towards you the happiness intention you are seeking.

Happiness means that you are practicing emotional competence. This means that you have the ability to make good choices from a healthy and happy state of mind. Happiness is a method of reassuring yourself that you have the wisdom to think clearly about whatever happens. Happiness means that you can trust yourself to make the best choices, thus, getting you where you want to go. Happiness allows you to live the life you choose to live. By choosing happiness, you do not have to allow yourself to be forced into acting the way your family, friends, and loved ones think you should. Happiness gives you the ability to take action, and you become comfortable with who you are. Happiness means that you can realize the best of health as a result of maintaining a positive attitude. Happiness means finding out that you are really okay. It means that you trust yourself, because you know how to live.

Happiness means doing what you can, when you can, rather than waiting for something to change on its own. Happiness means finding a solution to a problem, then making the best choice for now. Happiness means never volunteering to make yourself a victim. Happiness means that you become proactive, using wisdom and common sense to make the change you want to occur in the next moment, rather than react to the moment from your past conditioning.

Happiness means that you can access new habits to empower yourself. It means that you can tap into the power to…just do it! Happiness means that you can deal with difficult people. It means that you have the capacity to deal with anger should it arise. Happiness means that you can cope with fear and anxiety, because you can see your way through it. It means that you can stop feeling guilty and let go of the past. Happiness means that you can forgive people and stop labeling them. It means that you are freeing yourself of self-doubt and despair.

Happiness means that you can change for the better without feeling helpless. It means that you can learn new skills because nothing is holding you back any longer. Happiness means that you can come to the decision that unhappiness is not an option. It means that you can experience who you really are. Happiness means that you may learn more about your life, and your relationships.

Happiness is the most powerful decision you can make. Happiness gets you what you want in life. Happiness means that you value peace. It means that you have found peace within. Being happy means that you will be able to spread it to others in a peaceful way.

I learned many things from Dr. Emmons book Thanks. For example: if your tell a friends and family what you are doing, it increases your chances of realizing your goal. If you share your goal with a friend, you are even more likely to achieve it. Make the Happiness Decision with a friend, this way you can both support one another and keep each other on track. Bring a friend with you to a Happiness Club meeting and share your success with them. Many people now bring a relative or a friend to the meetings. Sharing happiness with another is a positive and productive fun way of increasing happiness for you.

BE HAPPY ZONE by Lionel Ketchian.

I’ve long advocated the position that happiness is at least partially dependent on health. This doesn’t mean you can’t be happy if you have some form of illness or disability but it refers to the self-evident fact that it’s hard to have happiness if you’re constantly sick and tired.

There is a significant body of research now that supports the connection between happiness and healthy living, especially exercise and activity. Here are just a few examples for those of you who’re interested in reading more…

To read a NY Times article citing the benefits of health (including happiness) - click here

To read another from the NY Times about the happiness that comes from running - click here

And there are many more but one final article, from Newsweek, and addressing also the issue of happiness and health in our children - click here

He who never made a mistake never made a discovery.
- Samuel Smiles

And my happiness interpretation…

He (or she) who never experiences some unhappiness never experienced happiness!

Happiness is clearly attracting a lot of attention at the moment and if one includes the topic of religion one’s bound to attract even more attention…dare I say controversy.

But these are important issues and we need to try and understand the complex relationship between happiness and religion/spirituality/faith.

I won’t state my opinion on this matter for now but I invite those of you who’re interested to read this article on happiness and then, if you have some time and/or an opinion, let us know what you think.

To read more - click here

I’m currently attending a business conference known as the Future Summit (at which I received a Future Summit Leadership Award from our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd).

Among other things, The Happiness Institute (especially my title of Chief Happiness Officer) and positive psychology more generally have attracted a lot of attention.

Both the Prime Minister and the Governor General noted that maybe our government needs a Chief Happiness Officer! They were joking of course but how good would that be? Imagine if our nation had a senior advisor to one of our members of parliament suggesting ways to enhance happiness and wellbeing!

Now that would bring me happiness!

I’ll keep you posted regarding any other happiness related progress…

Recently, on a “special boy’s day”, I was visiting the museum with my son. We spent a few lovely hours, mostly looking at dinosaurs, and chatting about humans, animals, gemstones and which animals are the strongest and scariest. Watching an educational video on skeletons I was enthralled and fascinated and, I’m not ashamed to admit, learning quite a lot until I became distracted by a particular comment which although I didn’t understand why at the time, disturbed me somewhat.

Reviewing skeletal differences between various animals (including those with external skeletons) the narrator described how the skeletons of birds differed from those of other animals, particularly land based mammals, and noted that birds’ bones are lighter “because they fly”.

At first, this comment did not seem out of place in any way but as previously noted there was something about it which bugged me and an hour or so later I worked out why. The more I contemplated this innocent comment the more I realised there was a logical error. Birds don’t have lighter bones because they fly; rather, I would have thought it more accurate to state that birds developed the ability to fly because, among their many other attributes, they have lighter bones.

Now this is, I’m pretty sure, more than just pedantic semantics. The cause and effect logic seemed to have been mixed up with the cart, metaphorically speaking, being placed before the horse.

I began to wonder how often this occurs; if a respected educational institution such as our National Museum can overlook such a mistake then how often do we “amateur (or in some cases completely unconscious) logicians” make similar mistakes. And specifically, how might this apply to or happiness or unhappiness? Because if we get the logic wrong then surely we’ll get the solution wrong (or, even worse, not be able to find a solution).

Do we, for example, think we’re unhappy at work because of poor conditions when in fact the reality is that the conditions under which we work appear to be less than ideal, or terrible, because we’re unhappy?

Do we, for example, think we’ll be happy when we have more things when in fact it’s the pursuit of more things that makes us unhappy?

Do we, as referred to in last week’s column, believe we’ll be happy only when we devote ourselves to ourselves when in reality, it’s the selfishness and self-obsession that causes our unhappiness?

Is there an answer to all these questions?

Yes and no; there’s no simple answer, or not an answer that will be right for everyone reading this. But there is a general answer that I invite you all to contemplate. Spend some time reflecting on what really makes you happy as opposed to what you think will make you happy; spend some time thinking about what really makes you happy rather than what other people have told you will make you happy; and spend some time clarifying your values and priorities because living a life “on purpose” (that is a life in which you spend the majority of your time devoted to activities that are consistent with your life purpose and goals) is the surest path to happiness.

As I’ve often said…happiness is not just feeling good it’s also doing good.

My friend, Stephen Post, has documented much of the research in this area in his wonderful book “Why good things happen to good people”. Stephen also presented at the Hapiness & its Causes Conference I’ve been at for the last few days and the article below sums up part of his presentation.

To read more on happiness and the “helper’s high” - click here

As I do from time to time I’m happy to bring you a few more happiness relevant quotes…with my specific happiness interpretations:

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
-Maria Robinson quotes

The first day of your life filled with happiness…is today! Dr. Happy

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure
- Peter Marshall quotes

Happiness is also about learning and growing from adversity. Dr. Happy