masterwordsmith-unplugged

Are you one those people that are almost always happy, no matter what is happening in your life? Frankly, I am not but I know a few people like that in my life and I am amazed at their natural ability to maintain a smile every day and to be in high spirits all the time. A friend of mine is like that, and I have to shake my head in amazement when something goes wrong and he just makes a joke as if it was nothing. That is definitely a great attitude!

Do you think that the ability to be happy is that a natural inborn thing? I think for some people it is, and really if you think about it we all have a “happiness set mark” at birth just like any DNA trademark. Some folks have brown hair, others blonde. Some are left-handed and others are weird. Personally, I believe happiness is within our power since actions we take and thoughts we control are obviously a huge part of that influence on happiness.

What that means is that we are born with a certain happiness set point but we don’t have to be satisfied with our life the way we are at birth. I feel that we can change our circumstances by changing our behavior. But what changes should we make that can make us happy? That is a question you will have to answer yourself, because everyone is different. Nevertheless, I really believe that is the hardest part for many people!

I know it’s insane, but many people seem to drift through life with no real “long-term” vision, which means they know what makes them happy for the moment, but not what will really fulfill their needs on a long-term basis. That, in my opinion, is the real definition of happiness. Once we figure out the really important things, we can then start making solid plans for obtaining those goals.

I always ask myself common questions such as:

* Do I really love what I am doing now?

* How about my career path?

* Do I see myself staying where I’m at for the next five years, ten years, even twenty years?

* Am I spiritually where I want to be? If not, how can I get there?

Aristotle said, “All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.” But how much control do we really have, and how much is inborn and thus difficult to change?

I believe that happiness, a state of mind, is really under our control! (In other words, don’t try to blame others if we are feeling grouchy). And of course we can’t be happy all the time either, in fact it’s probably not even a realistic goal to set. But I believe that if we work on a well-defined list of characteristics that most happy people seem to present, our chances of happiness are much higher. I have read that the happiest among us have these traits in common:

* enjoy what they do for a living
* have close relationships with family & friends
* have a certain amount of faith (spiritual element)
* describe themselves as optimists
* have at least a modicum of good health
* and last, but not least, have enough material things that they don’t worry about
food or shelter for themselves or their family

I hope this helps some people put in perspective what happiness means to them, and how much we really can do to change how we feel about it. Don’t wait, make your list today and get started for your happiness.

What makes us happy? OURSELVES!!!