Marcus Aurelius said: “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
William E. Gladstone said: “Be happy with what you have and are, be generous with both, and you won’t have to hunt for happiness.”
Dale Carnegie said: “Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions; it is governed by our mental attitude.”
Abraham Lincoln said: “Folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Leo Tolstoy said: “If you want to be happy, be.”
Gary Greenfield said: “It is impossible to be sad if you are happy.”
Well, now there is a broad spectrum of opinions on being happy! I could go on and on with the quotes on being happy because it would seem almost everybody has an opinion on the topic.
Abraham Lincoln said: “Folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Leo Tolstoy said: “If you want to be happy, be.”
Gary Greenfield said: “It is impossible to be sad if you are happy.”
Well, now there is a broad spectrum of opinions on being happy! I could go on and on with the quotes on being happy because it would seem almost everybody has an opinion on the topic.
But, let’s not do that…let’s focus in on a common thread in each of the above thoughts.
The state of happiness is in your thinking not in your things!There in lay your challenge if you truly want to be happy.
You have to recognize far too often people who are searching for happiness focus their actions and thinking on external factors. The usual outcome of such a search is a yearning and unhappiness.
However, everyone can be happy…including you! It comes down to 5 steps embodied in the acronym, HAPPY.
H
However, everyone can be happy…including you! It comes down to 5 steps embodied in the acronym, HAPPY.
H
The H in the acronym, HAPPY, represents habits. Your outcomes in life are always driven by the quality and consistency of your habits.
If you want to destroy your life, then establish and maintain destructive habits. Conversely, you can make the opposite choice regarding your habits.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
At the top of your daily to-do list, have a specific step you are going to take that day to reinforce some positive habit.
A
Action is the next step in the acronym, HAPPY. Nothing happens positive or negative in your life without some related action you take.
You can choose to take the action of having a sad and lousy day. Conversely, you can take only actions that reinforce your happiness and dispel any sadness.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
Every day act on the to-do list item you have for fulfilling the H, as above.
P
You find your drive to establish your habits and act on them through the next step in the acronym, HAPPY. The step is to find your compelling purpose in life.
You cannot be happy without understanding its fundamental focus (purpose) for you. Here again, the point is your purpose comes from within in you not from some outside force. No external source will give you a powerful enough reason why you want to be, do or have something.
Understanding your “whys” is the root of all your happiness.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
In everything you do each and every day, define very clearly why you want to be, do or have what it is you are thinking about. Cast aside anything that does not leave you viscerally understanding your why (purpose)!
P
If you want to destroy your life, then establish and maintain destructive habits. Conversely, you can make the opposite choice regarding your habits.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
At the top of your daily to-do list, have a specific step you are going to take that day to reinforce some positive habit.
A
Action is the next step in the acronym, HAPPY. Nothing happens positive or negative in your life without some related action you take.
You can choose to take the action of having a sad and lousy day. Conversely, you can take only actions that reinforce your happiness and dispel any sadness.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
Every day act on the to-do list item you have for fulfilling the H, as above.
P
You find your drive to establish your habits and act on them through the next step in the acronym, HAPPY. The step is to find your compelling purpose in life.
You cannot be happy without understanding its fundamental focus (purpose) for you. Here again, the point is your purpose comes from within in you not from some outside force. No external source will give you a powerful enough reason why you want to be, do or have something.
Understanding your “whys” is the root of all your happiness.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
In everything you do each and every day, define very clearly why you want to be, do or have what it is you are thinking about. Cast aside anything that does not leave you viscerally understanding your why (purpose)!
P
The only way you can assure you fulfill your purpose and be happy about it is by following a specific plan…the next step in the acronym, HAPPY.
Happy can’t happen in a cacophony of chaos. Being in a state of happy chaos really is an oxymoron. Consider the definition of each word.
Per Miriam-Webster Dictionary, happy is defined as:
Happy can’t happen in a cacophony of chaos. Being in a state of happy chaos really is an oxymoron. Consider the definition of each word.
Per Miriam-Webster Dictionary, happy is defined as:
“feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc.“
Per Miriam-Webster Dictionary, chaos is defined as:
“complete confusion and disorder; a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything.”Putting those definitions together you don’t get happy! If you are going to create happiness, “feeling pleasure and enjoyment,” you must build a plan to avoid “complete confusion and disorder.”
So, find your purpose; build your plan for achieving that purpose; habitually act on your plan and you cannot help but achieve happiness.
The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
Y
All of this is especially true if you include frequent “YEAS” along the way…the final step in the acronym, HAPPY.
In other words, take time each day to celebrate what you have. Oprah Winfrey conveyed this thought very convincingly when she said:
“Be thankful for what you have and you will end up having more. But if you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never, ever have enough.”The deciding factor…how you choose to think!
How do you choose to think—happy or sad? What are you going to do about it?
Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
And…please forward this information to others by following the social media share link at the top or bottom of this post.
Thank you.
Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
And…please forward this information to others by following the social media share link at the top or bottom of this post.
Thank you.
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