What creates true happiness and contentment? Some think that money brings happiness, while others believe that it’s personal success. I don’t think there is a one-size fits-all when it comes to happiness, but here are some thoughts to get you on the right path.
- Internal rewards work better than external rewards.
- Learn to have enough and to not want more.
- Don’t retire. Instead, find your life’s purpose.
- Avoid burnout by creating space to do nothing.
- Move past fear to do what you want.
- Your most important relationship is with yourself.
Most of us grow up believing that happiness is the result of succeeding and achieving your goals. But when most folks achieve their dreams, they just create grander, new goals and begin the pursuit all over again. Thus, the pursuit of happiness becomes a lifelong project. There is an easier, simpler way to have a positive attitude and live longer. University of KY researchers studied adults for three decades and discovered that those who used more positive language lived longer. They concluded that a positive attitude correlates with longevity. Their research also discovered that happy people are three times more creative, make nearly 40% more sales, and are 31% more productive than unhappy people. They also determined that circumstances comprise only 10% of what makes people happy. If you can be happy with simple things, then it will be simple to be happy.
Something to Think About
While you can’t always control your situation, you can control your perception of it, and look for a reason to be happy each day. People who live in the Okinawa Islands have the longest, disability-free lives on Earth. Their language doesn’t have a word for “retirement.” They focus on finding their reason for waking up each day and do it every day of their life.
Weekly Activity
Perform these seven actions for two weeks, and your mood will improve:
- Take a half-hour walk three times a week. People who are more physically active demonstrate greater enthusiasm and excitement.
- Write for 20 minutes about a positive experience. This prompts you to remember and relive things that make you happy.
- Perform five random acts of kindness each week.
- Take breaks from cellular devices and the internet.
- Work on projects that challenge you, but for which you have an aptitude. Aim to reach a state of “flow,” during which your work fully absorbs you.
- Meditate to reduce stress and to bolster self-awareness and compassion.
- Each week, write down three to five things for which you are grateful.
Words of Wisdom
Top 15 Things Money Can’t Buy: Time. Happiness. Inner Peace. Integrity. Love. Character. Manners. Health. Respect. Morals. Trust. Patience. Class. Common sense. Dignity. – Roy T. Bennett
Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change. – Jim Rohn
To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. – Henri Bergson
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. – Harriet Tubman
A sad soul can be just as lethal as a germ. – John Steinbeck
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