Habits of Happiness

Last month I sent out a poll asking you which challenge you would be most interested in and the Habits of Happiness outnumbered all.

It makes sense - all our wishes, hopes and dreams all come back to our basic human desire to be happy. The Dalai Lama said “The very purpose of life is to seek happiness”. However, all our “seeking” is unfortunately not leading to the intended result.

One study reported that people putting the greatest emphasis on being happy reported 50% less frequent positive emotions, 35% less satisfaction about their life, and 75% more depressive symptoms than people that had their priorities elsewhere. And in a culture obsessed with finding happiness, depression affects 30% of the population and it’s just getting worse. The World Health Organization estimates that depression is currently the fourth biggest, costliest and most debilitating disease in the world and by the year 2020, it will be the second biggest.

So what are we doing wrong in our pursuit of happiness? 

Let’s take the word happiness. It comes from the root word meaning “by chance” or “an occurrence”. Happiness is a fleeting state of being - fleeting being the key word here. We’re trying to hold on to something that can’t be nailed down. Our attempts to control that which cannot be controlled turns us into dogs chasing our own tails. 

So instead of wasting our efforts on fleeting states, let’s focus on overall life satisfaction and fulfillment - which ultimately leads us to happiness. We can't control every thought or emotion - but what we CAN control is our day-to-day actions to lead more intentional lives - A LIFE ON PURPOSE.

In the 5 day FREE Habits of Happiness challenge we’ll step back and take a 30,000 foot view of our lives to see where our current actions are leading us. Then we’ll tap into our innermost desires to uncover WHAT we really want. Based on that, we’ll design the next stage of our lives with a clear action-based plan that enables us to know exactly what we need to do next so we’re moving forward with intention and purpose. Because when we know where we’re going and we’re taking steps in that direction there’s a deep sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. When we’re living on our terms - not someone else’s, we experience a freedom that is far more valuable than any fleeting feeling or emotion.

I would like to invite you to join me on this 5 day adventure into designing a beautiful life.