Chapter One
What is Happiness?
First, spend a couple of minutes thinking about what
is happiness to you?
How do you define happiness?
Here are some thoughts of celebrities, authors and individuals we found on the web.
How many do you agree with?
Happiness is:
A state of well-being characterised by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
Emotions experienced when in a state of well-being
According to different ethical views, happiness might be one goal in life, the only possible goal, or a fortunate by-product of the pursuit of other goals. Happiness might concern one's aggregate of pleasure or require a complex balance involving virtue, pleasure, achievement and good fortune.
I define happiness
as ... being at peace with
oneself and the world. It happens when your mind (intent), body (action) and
spirit (conscience) vibrate in unison. A rare occurrence when you leave it to
chance but can happen all the time if you consciously seek it.
Ali Said Husain,
India
I define happiness as
the feeling of what the continual effort in
bettering me gives.
Damon Abbott, Japan
I define happiness as ...
that sense of warmth that begins at the core of the soul, spreads to the heart,
and radiates outward from the eyes and lips of those who know it. The gift of
happiness is elusive, but tangible. You cannot seek to find that which makes
you happy for happiness comes from within and by your own choice.
Dale Reddish,
Maryland, USA
Happiness to me is
seeing the smiles on my children's faces and knowing that I am the one who put
them there.
Chalet Harris,
Pennsylvania, USA
But what is happiness except the simple
harmony between a man and the life he leads.
Albert Camus
Very little is needed to make a happy life;
it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.
Marcus Aurelius
Many people think that if they were
only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well,
that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can
and don't put off being happy until some future date.
Dale Carnegie
It is not easy to find happiness in
ourselves and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.
Agnes Repplier
Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or
consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with
love, grace, and gratitude."
Denis Waitley
Happiness is a by-product of the other things we do in our lives. If your search has not been successful, perhaps you should examine what you are doing with your life. What is your ambition? Instead of pursuing happiness, try doing something to serve your fellow man. It couldn't hurt - and who knows, it just might create that happiness you are trying to find.
Joe Freeman
We convince ourselves that life will be
better after we get
married, have a baby, then another.
Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't
old enough and we'll be more content when they are.
After that, we're frustrated that we have
teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy
when they are out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be
complete when our spouse gets his or
her act together, when we get a nicer car,
are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.
The truth is, there's no better time to
be
happy than right now. If not now, when?
Your life will always be filled with
challenges. It's best to admit this to
yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
Happiness is the way
So, treasure every moment that you have and
treasure it more because you shared it with
someone special, special enough to spend your time
with...and remember that time waits for no one.
So, stop waiting
--until your car or home is paid off
--until you get a new car or home
--until your kids leave the house
--until you go back to school
--until you lose ten pounds
--until you gain ten pounds
--until you finish school
--until you get a divorce
--until you get married
--until you have kids
--until you retire
--until summer
--until spring
--until winter
--until fall
--until you die
There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Take the time to live !!!
(Crystal Boyd)
According to Professor Martin Seligman of Pennsylvania University there appears to be two different forms of happiness that people aim to achieve; A Pleasant life and A Good life. But only one, A Meaningful life, that can give real long lasting happiness.
However, for us, Happiness is a state of mind, no more, no less and contentment is the crux of a happy life. Once you are content then happiness automatically follows.
In the following chapters we will introduce you to ideas and methods to ensure you never deprive yourself of the experience of Happiness. You have a right to it.