Doug Manning shares a wonderful insight into happiness in his posting today titled Denominator of Happiness at ProactiveLiving.BlogSpot.com -
He says developing your Denominator is the key to happiness…
“The denominator is the real secret to developing an enduring sense of happiness and fulfillment. You focus on defining and developing your whole self. What are your interests? What do you value? What are your passions? What is your unique style? Where in the world can you be who you are?”
“These are the questions that give shape to defining a quality life. In the denominator world, quality is better than quantity, every denominator is unique, and the quickest way to get everything you want is to want exactly what you have.”
What a great approach! So much depends upon perceptions. People with much materially can still feel poor, especially if they are over extended financially. Other people who seem to have comparatively little can feel very rich and appreciative of all they do have.
We found the biggest barrier to happiness is the Fault Finding Feel Goods, all those terribly temping tendencies to judge, criticize and blame. A great happiness habit is to avoid all unnecessary, non-productive negativity. If the negativity doesn’t help you or protect you in some way, reject it.
If the negativity does actually help you, turn it into a series of positive action items to help you build your happiness and success. Hope this helps!
See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.
Copyright 2007 Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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“It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
~ J.K. Rowling
How true this is with happiness and all other facets of our lives!
Our choices reveal our ideals, our beliefs and our values.
The world values us by what we value.
Truly happy people are guided by goodness, love, caring and compassion. They continually focus on doing their best and being their best. Love propels their work, their lives and their happiness.
They live by only the highest and best values and beliefs. Their minds and lives are founded and grounded in honesty, virtue, goodness and truth. The universe rewards people who try to do good things well.
People who chooses greed and malicious manipulation over integrity, compassion and goodness are only happy when they beat somebody. When they don’t win they are miserable. They must feel superior to feel good about themselves. This is the path to emptiness, material gains on occasion, but still an empty life.
Love propels happiness. Without love and goodness there is no happiness. Look around and see if the wicked seem truly happy to you. Most are pretty shallow, weak, empty and insecure.
See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness wisdom.
Copyright 2007 Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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Today’s readings and responses brought this wonderful piece from James Michener to mind. I hope you find it as helpful as I do. I try to put it into practice in everything I do…
A Master in the Art of Living
Draws no sharp distinction
between work and play
labor and leisure
mind and body
education and recreation.
They hardly know
which is which.
A Master simply pursues
a vision of Excellence
in everything they do
and leaves others to determine
if it is work or play.
To the Master it always seems to be both.
James A Mitchener (Adapted)
See HappinessHabit.com for more insights on happy living.
Copyright 2007 Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints. Michele Moore is author of How To Live A Happy Life - 101 Ways To Be Happier.
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Do you feel frustrated by reading about recent Happiness Research at major universities?
Are you looking for ways to be happier and find this research offers no clues as to what to do? You are not alone, we all face the same quandary. Here’s why…
Academic / scientific research usually involves qualities that are measurable and verifiable so the studies can be repeated with the same results. That’s why we have all the emphasis on measuring subjective happiness, relative indexes and comparative results.
Researchers must rely on qualities that can be measured so their studies can be repeated and yield similar results so they can be considered valid.
Measuring happiness does not describe how to attain it! They are two very different goals, processes and functions.
Many philosophers, psychiatrists and great thinkers throughout time have written that comparisons and analysis of Happiness actually defeats happiness. We agree. Why stop being happy to try to measure our happiness? What difference do these measurements make? Do they help you to be happier?
Once you measure relative happiness, what good does it do you?
If we want to be happy or happier, we need to focus on developing the skills, habits and strategies that lead to happy lives. There are simple, universal, eternal truths to living a happy, spiritually successful life. If we practice them we will be happier.
See HappinessHabit.com for more Happiness Habits!
Copyright 2007, Michele Moore All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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Habitually happy people like to define how they go through life, they choose their mood and attitude. They refuse to let bad things get them down for long. A spirit of revolt and rebellion helps fuel their happiness.
“Life is too short, we need to try to enjoy every minute of it as best we can,” one commented.
Certainly, dramatically changing life circumstances can alter your long term happiness if you allow it. See today’s posting from Michigan State
Habitually happy people seem to creatively find ways to enjoy life no matter what happens to them. They don’t let bad breaks define a bad mood for long. They find ways of triumphing over difficulties spiritually and emotionally.
See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.
Copyright 2007 Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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Yes, happy people are healthier too! Tonight NBC featured studies showing that happy people are more resistant to cold and flu viruses and lead longer lives than their less happy counterparts.
Ten Years Longer Life..
A well known study of Catholic nuns revealed that nuns who consistently wrote positive journals lived up to 10 years longer than those whose journals tended toward negative.
“If we hope, we cope. If we don’t, we mope,” one charmingly energetic 96 year old nun commented on screen. What’s the reason?
Happiness is a protector against stress.
Stress stimulates the release of cortisol, a hormone correlated with higher risks of heart disease.
Happiness counters stress, when we’re happy, we’re less stressed.
A related feature reported that more than 11 million prescriptions are written annually for anti depressant medications like Prozac and Zolof in the United States. If we chemically treat erectile dysfunction and baldness, why not bad moods?
See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.
Copyright 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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Fans of the Happiness Habit are talking about What NBC Didn’t Say About Happiness watch the video and read the articles.
They didn’t mention any of the enduring, universal time tested truths for living a happy, spiritually successful life…
Be Guided By Goodness, Fuel Your Life With Fun, Your Aim Determines Your Achievements, Avoid The Fault Finding Feel Goods, Focus On How You Want To Feel, Drive Discipline With Desire, Live According To Your Aspirations Not Your Inclinations, Touch People With A Positive Spirit, Live By Only The Highest And Best Values, Be Driven By Desire Not Duress, Love Propels Happiness!
NBC focused exclusively on external environmental factors that bring happiness citing positive relationships, work place appreciation and Laughter Classes. What do you do if you don’t have these things?
They close by saying, “the key is finding things that make you happy and keep you that way!” This means you are supposed to search for external things rather than build internal skills to be happy. Great for an advertiser based business!
Fans of the Happiness Habit know why Get Going With A Giggle is so helpful. Laugher loosens tight tummy muscles, helps you breathe easily from the bottom of your belly and stimulates serotonin, the brain’s natural happiness hormone.
NBC’s Happiness Test titled “Are You Satisfied With Your Life?” asks viewers to judge how ideal their lives are. Judgment generally quells happiness.
If you’re not satisfied, what do you do? Why not offer suggestions and insights that help people be happier?
In my city NBC’s Happiness segment was sandwiched between Fosamax and Aleve commercials. Drug companies are big network advertisers. The happiness experts shown come from Psychology departments at major universities that are dedicated to treating disease.
Is there any wonder NBC didn’t share any of the true, simple secrets to happiness?
The Happiness Habit pages in HappinenssHabit.com describe how to live a happy, spiritually successful life. Virtue is the basis for all happiness. Make Happiness YOUR Habit!
Copyright 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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Defeating The Dismal Drearies During The Holidays - Holiday Happiness Habits from HappinessHabit.com
Reject Self Pity - Feeling sorry for yourself is a sure route to sadness. If you catch yourself in self pity, STOP! Redirect your attention to positive, rewarding thoughts and activities.
Negative Judgments Cause Pain - To enjoy happy holidays, stop judging. Measuring life by other people’s should’s and ought’s is always discouraging and self defeating.
Design and Create a Fun, Rewarding Holiday that fits your circumstances. Decide to have a great holiday and then make it happen.
Doing Good Helps Us To Feel Good! Spend time helping people who genuinely need and appreciate your assistance.
Avoid Rich Foods and Excess Alcohol - That lift your spirits for a few moments and then leave you feeling bloated, guilty and unhappy for hours.
Exercise Aggressively - It’s a great way to work off stress, stay in shape, feel great and see other people.
Share The Holiday Spirit - Smile, speak and greet strangers warmly. Extend a genuinely warm, holiday welcome to everyone you meet.
When we summon up a sense of joy and honestly project it, we can’t help but raise our own spirits as well. Remember the people who need our warmth the most are often those who are least able to return it.
Full Happiness Habits for the Holidays article on American Chronicle
Other Happiness Articles on American Chronicle. The Happiness Habits pages at HappinessHabit.com share more insights about how to live a happy life all year round. Make Happiness Your Holiday Habit!
Copyright 2006, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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Great News!
1) How To Live A Happy Life - 101 Ways To Be Happier is now available in bookstores and from Amazon.com.
2) Expansions and enhancements to HappinessHabit.com are almost complete. The site now includes a rich, attractive array of happiness resources, happiness habits and happiness articles from around the world that help people live happy, fulfilling, spiritually successful lives.
3) We’ll continue to publish full length Happiness Habit articles again through our existing partnerships. We are actively seeking new partnerships, avenues and venues where we can share our Happiness Habit® message. Email us at Info at HappinessHabit dot com for details.
This Happiness Blog is now devoted to sharing and discussing current happpiness research, insights, questions, queries and topics.
Please let us know what you think of HappinessHabit.com, How To Live A Happy Life - 101 Ways To Be Happier, the new Happiness Blog and how YOU think people can live happier, more fulfilling, spiritually successful lives.
Email us at Info at HappinessHabit dot com !
Wishing you great happiness,
Michele Moore, CEO
Happiness Habit, Inc.
HapppinessHabit.com
Author of How To Live A Happy Life - 101 Ways To Be Happier
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Habitually Happy People continually try to do their best, be their best and feel their best all of the time. This is a secret to happiness. The key is, aim to do YOUR best.
When we know we have done OUR best, we can feel confident we could do no more in that specific situation. We feel comfortable with what we have done and we can let go of results knowing we have done our best.
Habitually happy people direct their lives by their own internal standards which are usually extraordinarily high. They continually try to do THEIR best, not someone else’s best.
The alternative perspective relies primarily on outside standards. Look around to see what everyone else is doing. This can lead to harsh comparisons and misery.
When other people are always better than you are, how can you possibly feel good about yourself? This perspective drives people down with their own deflating comparisons!
Other people always have to be THE BEST in order to feel good about themselves, which drives them to continually dominate and control to establish and maintain their superiority.
Superiority Separates! No one likes to be around people who always have to be better than they are. We may tolerate it from bosses because of economic necessity, but we don’t like or respect these supposedly superior people.
Habitually happy people set their own standards, they are emotionally independent and they separate people from their behaviors. This works for their view of themselves as well as their assessments of others.
When they are far better than the people around them they still strive to improve. They also feel comfortable bumbling in the company of experts because it’s a true expression of who they are and where they are at the present time. They profit and grow from their mistakes and experiences and decide to be different the next time around.
When President Jimmy Carter was a young naval officer, Admiral Rickover asked him about his grades at Annapolis. Carter answered proudly, “Sir, I graduated 59th out of a class of 820″.
Rickover replied,”Did you always do your best?”
Carter was forced to admit he had not, and the Admiral asked, “Why not?” Carter used this as the theme of his presidential campaign, and as the title of his book, “Why Not The Best?”.
Doing OUR BEST is a key to happiness and success. This allows us to set our own standards which may far exceed what is being done by others. It also gives us comfort as we begin to work our way up a long learning curve to ever greater expertise.
We feel happy and successful only when we do well based on our own internal evaluation. When we set our standards based on realistic assessments of Our Best, we are aiming at goals that are realistic, attainable and good.
To learn more see:
How To Live A Happy Life - 101 Ways To Be Happier
Copyright 2006, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.
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