| Happiness
Tips |
Here are five things you can do to be happier:
Smile, even when you don't feel like it..
laugh, as often as possible.
and love, with abandon.
Take time to enjoy the little things in
life.
If we learn to give of ourselves, to forgive
others, and to live with
thanks giving,
we need not seek happiness .... it will
seek us.
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| Happiness
Quotes |
What everyone wants from life is continuous
and genuine happiness. - Baruch Spinoza
What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than
our willingness to choose life. - Leo Buscaglia
Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living
by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. - Norman
Macewan
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what
happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking
for the meaning of life. - Albert Camus
Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient. - Aristotle
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.
Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute
with love, grace and gratitude. - Denice Waitley
There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three
things we crave most in life - happiness, freedom, and peace
of mind - are always attained by giving them to someone else.
- Peyton Conway March
Happiness depends upon ourselves. - Aristotle
Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply,
to think freely, to risk life, to be needed. - Storm Jameson
Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.
- Victor Hugo
Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole
aim and end of human existence. - Aristotle
Sooner or later in life everyone discovers that perfect happiness
is unrealizable, but there are few who pause to consider the
antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable.
- Primo Levi
Different men seek after happiness in different ways and by
different means, and so make for themselves different modes
of life and forms of government. - Aristotle
Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance
of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings,
but leads none of us by the same route. - Charles Caleb Colton
Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life. -
Burton Hills
A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is
not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection
and judgment, when the picture of one's life, or of human
life, as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and
is gladly accepted. - George Santayana
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle,
And the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness
never decreases by being shared. - Buddha
Happiness is not merely a life lived by accumulating moments
of pleasure. On the contrary, happiness is a long lasting
enduring enjoyment of life, it is being in love with living.
It is your reward for achieving a good character and personal
rational values in life. Some important values are a productive
career, romance, friendship and hobbies. - Dr. Ellen Kenner
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a
man and the life he leads. - Albert Camus
Happiness for me is to know that my life has meaning and purpose,
and that every day my life touches others in a positive way
- whether to make them laugh or learn or both at once! - Deanna
Mascle
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something
to do, something to love and something to hope for. - Joseph
Addison
Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to
be loved is the greatest happiness of existence. - Sydney
Smith
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your
thoughts. - Marcus A. Antoninus
Man does not know what true happiness is until he gets married,
but then it's too late. - Piers Anthony
How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success.
- Anne Sophie Swetchine
The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find
their greatest happiness in using it. - Johann Wolfgang Von
Goethe
Money is human happiness in the abstract: he, then, who is
no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete
devotes his heart entirely to money. - Arthur Schopenhauer
Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold, the
feeling of happiness dwells in the soul. - Democritus
Happiness is not in our circumstances, but in ourselves. It
is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the
heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are. - John B. Sheerin
Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what
you have; it depends solely on what you think. - Dale Carnegie
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key
to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
- Herman Cain
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you
do are in harmony. - Mahatma Gandhi
Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude. - Joseph Wood Krutch
Happiness is not a station to arrive at, but a manner of travelling.
- Margaret Lee Runbeck
It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes
happiness. - Charles H. Spurgeon |
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| Paths
to Happiness (Happiness Tips) |
- Genetic propensity to happiness.
- Marriage.
- Make friends and value them.
- Desire less.
- Do someone a good turn.
- Earn more money.
- Grow old gracefully.
- Don't worry if you're not genius.
- Have faith (religious or not).
- Stop comparing looks with others.
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| Keys
to Happiness - 7 Surprising Tips |
Have you ever had one of those days where you just wish
you were in a better mood? Perhaps you tried to shift your
state of mind to something better but struggled to achieve
it.
Sometimes we get stuck in our own 'stinking thinking' and
forget how easy it is to feel happier, so here are seven
simple ways to lift your mood that many people have found
useful and some of them may surprise you!
1. Go for a walk.
Most folk know that going for a short daily walk is one
of the best forms of exercise. If you can, go into a natural
environment with flowers, trees and birds. What will you
notice first? The different shades of greenery, the fresh
smell of country air, the bird sounds, or the sunlight shining
through the tree foliage.
2. Listen to some quality music.
Music creates magical effects. It can shift the listeners
state within moments. Why not dig out that album you haven't
listened to in ages or why not tune in your radio to something
you've never listened to before.
3. Think of others less fortunate.
The fact that you are reading this article suggests that
you are probably much better off than many, many people
on this planet! What if you were to imagine being in space
looking down on the amazing beautiful earth, noticing all
the oceans and lands with the clouds above... And then thinking
about the fact that there are many human beings that are
starving, homeless and in lots of pain... Allow your compassion
for them to grow.
4. Read something radical!
How many different types of magazines can you get these
days?! Have you ever waltzed into a big newsagents and just
browsed through the magazine racks? It's incredible. Why
not buy a magazine you wouldn't normally buy. You never
know you may discover something wonderful!
5. Laughing at laughter.
Have you ever had the experience when you just laugh for
no good reason? Isn't it great! Laughter is one of the best
ways to lift your spirits. Can't think of anything funny?
Try grinning at yourself insanely in the mirror and notice
how difficult it becomes to control your giggle muscles!
6. Simple breathing meditation.
A great exercise that you can do anywhere is a simple breathing
meditation. No need to dress in orange robes. Simply find
yourself in a comfortable sitting position with your back
straight. Now close your eyes and become aware of the flow
of air into and out of your nostrils. That's it! Do this
for 10/15 minutes and you'll find yourself pleasantly
surprised how you feel afterward.
7. Doodling just for fun!
Remember when you were young and you used to doodle with
crayons for hours. Kids love drawing silly little pictures,
why not adults? So get some pens, pencils, crayons or whatever
you have and just draw - doodle away until your state of
mind shifts.
You might agree that these are all pretty simple and that's
what's so good about them. Making changes, mundane or profoundly
life-changing, are easily and quickly achieved by putting
into action simple ideas, methods, tools and techniques.
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| Colin
G Smith |
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| What
is Happiness? |
Happiness can mean different things
to different people. For example, for one person, it may mean
being in a happy relationship, whereas for someone else it
may mean pursuing their favourite interest in form of either
a hobby or career. It has been established that happiness
is a state of mind where a person feel happy when there is
less of pain and more of pleasure. In other words, we may
assume that happiness is all about minimizing pain and maximizing
pleasure. Now, pleasure could be about finding satisfaction
in ourselves and in what we have done. Even when what we have
done has been painful!
Wikipedia defines Happiness as an emotion associated with
feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss
and intense joy. The correlates which can alter the 'measurement
of happiness' includes religious involvement, parenthood,
marital status and income. A variety of philosophical, religious,
psychological and biological approaches have been taken to
defining happiness and identifying its sources.
Science of Happiness
Several factors contribute towards our happiness. Martin Seligman,
an American based psychologist has suggested an 'equation
for happiness':
H = S + C + V - where H = Happiness S = Set range/genetics
(Approx.50%) C = Circumstances (8-15%) V = Voluntary Control
(Past, Present & Future)
Set Range/Genetics - Studies have proved that about
50% of our leval of happiness is determined by our genes,
which means that we are all born with a certain "set-point"
of happiness. This set or level of happiness may alter if
some dramatic events happens in our lives. But, this change
is temporary and usually your happiness level will return
to its 'set point' within a year or so.
Circumstances - Circumstances play a role in influencing
the level of happiness and accounts for only around 8-15%
of our happiness levels.
Voluntary Control - This is one of the most important
factor in 'Equation of Happiness' because one can control
it, and in the process control their happiness. All those
aspects of our lives over which we have a relatively higher
degree of control, including our thoughts and actions and
also the way we choose to think about and act on the past,
present, and future, have quite a significant impact on how
happy we are. When thinking about the past, happier among
us will pay attention to what is 'good' about the past, rather
than focusing on the sad times. These people are grateful
and far more forgiving than 'unhappy' people. Similarly happy
people are more optimistic about their future in a realistic
manner. Even if future does'nt turn in a way they had visualized,
they know it's not the end of the world either. The way you
think about and act in the present, also determin how happy
you are. Happy people would find happiness in present surroundings,
bulidings and being in meaningful relationships.
Stefan Klein, in his book The Science of Happiness, links
the dynamics of neurobiological systems to the concepts and
findings of positive psychology and social psychology.
Are Religious People Happier?
A recent systematic review of 850 research papers on the topic
concluded that "the majority of well-conducted studies found
that higher levels of religious involvement are positively
associated with indicators of psychological well-being like
satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale
and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior,
and drug or alcohol abuse." Studies by Keith Ward show that
overall religion is a positive contributor to mental health
(read happiness) and similarly, surveys by Gallup, the National
Opinion Research Centre and the Pew Organization conclude
that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report
being "very happy" than the least religiously committed people.
Philosphy of Happiness
In the Nicomachean Ethics, written in 350 B.C.E., Aristotle
stated that happiness is the only emotion that humans desire
for its own sake. He opined that men sought riches, or honor,
or health, not for their own sake but in order to be happy.
According to Aristotle, happiness is an activity rather than
an emotion or a state. Schopenhauer says, "If we accept that
happiness is not automatic, then it puts the onus on us to
find and create happiness for ourselves. We can take a more
active approach to designing a pleasing life for ourselves."
According to Socrates, by looking back at which decisions
have brought you long-term happiness and which have eventually
left you feeling regret, you can deepen your self-knowledge
(about happiness). Let success follow happiness, said Albert
Schweitzer, the humanitarian, prolific author and Nobel Peace
Prize winner. He observed that success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are
doing, you will be successful.
Happiness Tips
Always expect happiness. Remember happiness is contagious,
therefore, associate with happy people. Be positive and always
look at the brighter side in every situation. Try to find
happiness in small things - listen to relaxing and uplifting
music, watch funny movies that make you laugh, read atleast
few pages of an inspiring book or article and take time out
to pursue your hobby. Each day do something good for yourself
and at least one act to make others happy. Smile more often.
You can create moments of happiness for yourself. Undertake
activity which inspires you on a regular basis. It could be
few minutes of quiteness or half an hour of excercise or going
out in a crowded place with friends or telephonic chat with
a loved one. Most of us, while waiting for bigger happiness,
loose small moments of happiness which are derived from small
activities of our day to day life.
The person who has a job he loves will never have to work
a day in his life. If you love what you are doing, you will
be happy, so find a job you enjoy doing most. If that seems
impossible, do things that interests you. Find meaningful
activities that give you a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment.
"If you want happiness for an hour,
take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If
you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want
happiness for a lifetime, help somebody." - Chinese
Proverb |
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