Happiness and how to get it

Happiness is a state of mind. So are anger, sorrow, disappointment and loneliness. The mind is the most powerful tool in the universe, but you are the one who controls it. Like your car, if you see your mind heading in the wrong direction, you can steer it the other way. You need to recognize when you have negative feelings and try to steer your mind in a different direction. And there is no better time since August is Happiness Happens Month.

My definition of happiness is not the fleeting, live-in-the-moment feeling that accompanies a birthday present. Rather, I think of happiness as a way of life. Truly happy people may have difficult times, but they know how to bounce back because they know better times are possible — and probable. They are content to have more positive thoughts than negative ones. They also understand that their happiness depends largely on how much happiness they share with the people around them.  

Studies have shown that too much stress can inhibit your immune system, causing many of the health problems that plague our society. Heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcers, migraine headaches, mental illness and even cancer are just a few of the health issues that have been linked to excessive stress. So, in addition to improving the quality of your life, reducing your level of stress and increasing your happiness may also help to save your life. 

Shawn Achor is a face and voice of happiness. He is the author of the international bestsellers “The Happiness Advantage" and “Before Happiness,” which describes why happiness is the precursor to greater success. His scientific research reveals remarkable simple truths about happiness.

Achor writes, “It’s the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness, but we can also change every single outcome at the same time.” Therefore, look at the world through a positive lens that can see the potential of positive outcomes.

Author Glenn Van Ekeren suggests a place to start is by becoming a grateful, thankful person. He said, “It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s the thankful people who are genuinely happy.

He added: “Happy, grateful people tend to be content with what they have and the direction their life is headed. They appreciate the little blessings, see the best in people and invest their energies into what’s right in their life rather than obsessing on the trials, nuisances and tribulations.”

Maybe that’s why Zig Ziglar said, “The greatest source of happiness is to be grateful at all times.”

Here’s a final story to illustrate my point. A group of 50 people attended a seminar. For a group activity, the leader gave each attendee one balloon and asked each person to blow it up and write his or her name on it. He collected all the balloons and put them in another room.

Then the attendees were led into that room and asked to find the balloon with their name written on it within five minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other. There was utter chaos.

At the end of the five minutes, only a couple people had found their own balloon. Now the leader asked each one to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The leader said, “Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness and you will get your own happiness.”

Mackay’s Moral: The city of happiness is in the state of mind.

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Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com, by emailing [email protected] or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.