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Is Happiness for Everyone?

Michele Moore — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 12:23:39 +0000

The path to happiness is universal, open to everyone, everywhere.

But is making happiness our top priority right for everyone?

Should we all put happiness first in our personal, family and business lives or do other priorities weigh in as more important? That’s for each of us to decide.

For some of us other things are more important than happiness… security, social significance, power, prominence, or perhaps creativity or making a lasting, important, indelible impact or contribution.

The world is a far richer, more delightful place because of Steve Jobs. His vision and determined dedicated leadership have changed the world. One would not say he has taken the traditional route to happiness.

No doubt he has achieved great happiness but in different, unusual ways.

We all can’t be Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs needs the rest of us doing what we are doing for his business model to succeed.

There are many different paths to happiness, but the qualities and characteristics of a happy life remain constant.

Money, success and power take precedence over happiness for many people. Many people could easily have both if the knew how to balance the two.

Greatness in any field requires sacrifices, but it also definitely has its rewards.

We can be happy and great at what we do. The truly great allow happiness to help propel their exuberant zeal to excel and do well.

Explore HappinessHabit.com for additional happiness resources.

Happiness and Greatness

Michele Moore — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:42:41 +0000

A Drive to Do Well and Excel Are Keys to both Happiness and Greatness!

Habitually happy people want to do their best, feel their best, be their best all the time.

They also continually and creatively look for ways to make their best even better.

This is the same mindset described as the keys to Greatness by Fortune Magazine.

The article discusses recent studies of people who have excelled in their sport or profession, examining what it takes to be great.

The good news is… greatness in a skill, sport or profession does not come from natural talents or gifts. Greatness is open to any and all of us.

Greatness comes from rugged, rigorous hard work and a determined drive and desire to continually improve our skills.

The same principles hold true for happiness. By continually and creatively finding ways to live more happily and successfully, we can grow our happiness and spiritual success.

For more insights and happiness resources see HappinessHabit.com

Valentine Happiness

Michele Moore — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:38:50 +0000

Valentine’s Day Is a Reminder to Love… Ourselves and Others, Every day.

If you’re in a relationship… it’s a special, exciting day! Think of all the wonderful, kind, loving things you’ll do – choose one and decide to do it every day from now on.

Put a little Valentine’s Day in every day.

Maybe it’s beginning each day with a smile, a hug and an “I love you.” Or replacing one indifferent or distant habit with love and affection. Welcome them at the door or ask about their day and really listen.

One simple, small thing to add affection and care all year round.

Single, On Your Own?

Give yourself big hugs all day and enjoy the warmth of each loving, happy hug. Feel love in your heart, make a special effort to radiate it to everyone around you.

Enjoy, appreciate and delight in who you are and what you do. Resolve to do this at least once a day, every day from now on.

Enjoy and relish your own company, plan to take yourself out for a nice meal another, quieter day. Enjoy a solo adventure.

There’s a marvelous freedom and power in being happy on your own, in creating and carrying your own happiness within you where ever you go.

Reject myths saying we need a “relationship” to make us happy and complete, messages that make singles feel defective, needy and dependent. They say we should look to others for happiness when its true source lies within ourselves.

It’s the loving relationships and loving communities we create around us daily that bring expansive, enduring joy. They can easily be extensive, everywhere.

We can’t be happy in a “relationship” when we are not happy on our own. Resolve to love yourself and be happy on your own, right now.

For Everyone…

Make a special effort to radiate love and joy to everyone around you. Smile, seek out someone who is lonely and despondent, give them a special hug, remind them they are loved.

Happiness Without Hardness

Michele Moore — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:41:33 +0000

The Best Way to Excel and Do Well At Anything
Is To Cultivate A Love For It.

Love And Exuberant Zeal Propel
Happiness and Success.

People who are at the top of their profession or calling truly love what they do and devote their entire life, their soul, their being to it.

They are determined to be the best. Lasting, remarkable success doesn’t happen by accident or with sloppiness.

Star performers have decided to be different in some way, to add a new artistry, invention, dimension, perspective or approach to their endeavors.

They are not just the same as everyone else and better. They are different, creative, distinctive.

Preeminence has its perils. A top coach complained success had made her hard because of the back biting, infighting and sabotage within her sport. Jealous, envious people can be very hateful.

Your colleagues are competitors. You can’t count on affirmation, support or admiration from people you consistently beat. Hurt causes hardness, sometimes even hatred.

Protect yourself from pain and be happy with your success without becoming hard. Reposition your attitudes, view bad antics as sick, dysfunctional and pathetic. Feel sorry for them.

Envy and Jealousy Are Marks of Losers!

Embrace the love you feel for your sport, endeavor or profession. You are the best because you have worked harder and added more than the others.

Truly successful people look at great performers, admire them, support them, emulate them and try to learn all they can from them. Losers discredit, devalue or subvert winner’s successes.

There’s a reason why winners rise to the top while losers stay stuck below them. Backbiting, infighting and subversion become more important than love of excellence and the endeavor.

There’s a huge difference between striving to deliver an exceptional performance and wanting to beat someone. Winners love to embrace the very best, losers often try to hurt. Expect people you beat to be unhappy.

Don’t look for affirmation or admiration from competitors. It will come from people who appreciate what you do, understand how hard you work and have hearts as strong and as good as yours.

Happiness And Pride

Michele Moore — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:50:47 +0000

Pride Is One of the Most Important and Misunderstood Aspects of Happiness

Pride in a job well done, pride in doing the right thing, in your accomplishments, your integrity or in the family you raised, are all very positive and healthy.

Pride Is An Important Part of Feeling Good About Ourselves, It Is a Healthy Part of Happiness.

Pride can also be a very bad, dangerous defect. What’s the difference? Here are some examples…

False Pride – Places too much emphasis on what other people may think or how they may react. Other people’s opinions of us run our lives. We become directed by fears and concerns about what other people think. False pride can prevent us from seeking and accepting the help we need to survive and thrive. False pride can cause us to try too hard to impress other people.

Superior Pride - Raises people up and places them above others, separating and isolating them with an inflated sense of self importance. We all know people with stuck up superior pride, they are attractive only to themselves. Their attitude says, “I am better than you and the rest of the world.”

Perfectionistic Pride - Demands that things be perfect in order to be acceptable and that we accept only the very best. Anything less is inferior and unworthy. Perfectionistic pride wastes time, resources and destroys happiness. It is exclusive and exclusionary. Perfectionistic pride limits our willingness to explore, try new things, to enjoy differences.

Each of These Negative Forms of Pride Defeat Our Desires to Be Happy and Spiritually Successful. Recognize and reject them and replace them with happy, successful responses.

How Do We Decide If Pride Is Positive or Perverse? Ask, is it helpful or hurtful? Does our pride expand and enhance our lives and opportunities or does it limit them? Is it a genuine expression of love, delight and affection? Or is it a twisted, limiting, false elevation and pseudo enhancement of self?

Trumpeting Triumphs is Not Bragging! Celebrating successes, trumpeting triumphs and delighting in good deeds all motivate us to do more and are important to happiness, enthusiasm and success. Bragging is very different. Bragging says, “I am better than you are…!”

Trumpet Triumphs, Celebrate Successes, Delight in Good Deeds, All Are Part of Healthy Pride and Are Keys to Happiness and Spiritual Success!!!!

For more see: Happiness Habit.com

Empathy Is Essential

Michele Moore — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:49:32 +0000

Empathy Is Essential To Happiness

Empathy means we can sympathize and identify with other people’s pain,
situations and feelings.

Empathy is the core of compassion.

Empathy means we care about others, that we have concern for their welfare and well-being.

Habitually happy people characteristically exhibit abundant love and empathy. They genuinely care about people and the world around them. Love truly does propel happiness.

The More We Love, The Greater Our Happiness. Where there is no love, there is no happiness.

The empty, apathetic angst that characterizes the affluent and arrogant amplifies this truth.

People who place themselves above and apart from the rest of the world rarely experience the love, happiness or joy that flows so easily to people who eagerly embrace the entire world.

Evil people may love, but their love is limited and conditional.

The Best Way To Prosper Is To Help Others Prosper.

The Best Way To Be Loved Is To Love.

The Best Way To Be Happy Is To
Delight In Helping Others To Be Happy,
Especially Those Who Are Less Fortunate Than You!

For more Happiness Habits see HappinessHabit.com

Happiness Lessons From The Godfather

Michele Moore — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:21:41 +0000

Happiness Lessons From the Godfather

The Godfather movie trilogy illustrates many valuable Business and Leadership lessons.

It also illustrates some very important Happiness Habits, most importantly, the Dangers of Departing from Goodness.

In the beginning of Part I, young Michael Corleone is happy, idealistic and moral. He comes home from WWII as a hero. He wants to stay clean and clear of the family “business.”

He stayed happy and clean until his father’s life and “business” were threatened. He changed direction and killed two people.

As the trilogy continues, Michael is drawn deeper and deeper into violence, criminal dominance, alienation from goodness and separation from his family.

When the Godfather Part III ends, Michael is alone. He has it all financially, but nothing spiritually or emotionally. He has lost his family, his loved ones and himself. He is empty and desolate.

He has supreme success in a life of crime. In time, a rival may kill him and end his misery. What does he have to live for? To look forward to? To strive for?

Don’t Depart From Goodness
Make Goodness Your Guiding Goal

Always Try To Do Your Best, Be Your Best, Follow The Best Path You Know

No matter how things turn out, you know you did your best and you could do no more. You are blameless and your conscience will be clear. A clear conscience is central to all happiness and spiritual success.

Forgiveness and Happiness

Michele Moore — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:43:34 +0000

Forgiveness Means Not Letting
Past Pain Determine Present
Or Future Actions

Forgiveness Offers Freedom -
Freedom From Pain
Freedom of Thought And Action

Forgiveness Does NOT Mean Forget,
Stuffing Our Feelings Or
Letting Others Hurt Us Again

Forgiveness Does NOT Mean Failing To Fight For What Is Right And Good

Holding On To Resentments And Grievances IS A Decision To Suffer And Make Others Suffer

Resentments and revenge ruin and run present and future moments. Resentment allows past pain to control us, our feelings and actions. That’s not the way to happiness and spiritual success.

Happy people don’t hold on to misery. They resolve to learn from bad experiences, gain from their pain and move forward. Unnecessary suffering is masochistic, inflicting pain on others sadistic.

Forgiveness does not mean “Door Mat.” People who don’t fight for their rights and freedom loose them!

None of the great religious or spiritual leaders in history were wimps. They all took strong stands and fought for their beliefs. Habitually Happy people are NOT Wimps. They do refuse to be controlled by past pain. They resolve to let pain go quickly.

They make good decisions based on accurate assessments of reality, worthwhile goals and positive intentions.

Forgiveness Means Not Letting Past Pain Control Present And Future Actions. It Offers Freedom From Pain And Angry Decisions. Forgiveness Does NOT Mean Forget. It Does NOT Mean Failing To Fight For What Is Right!

See Happiness Habit for more happiness insights and wisdom.

Evil People

Michele Moore — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:54:47 +0000

Some people enjoy being mean. Evil people enjoy causing hurt and harm, it gives them a sense of power, control and superiority.

They may hide your keys, snicker while you search for them and blame you for not being better organized. Benign? It costs you time and emotional well-being.

Empowered, evil tyrants like Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot kill millions of people without regret.

They have no consciences, no guilt, no remorse or empathy, no care about right or wrong. They do whatever they please, their only concern is getting caught or being stopped.

Law enforcement and medical professionals call them psychopaths, sociopaths, antisocial. They are at least 4% of our population.

They are often very articulate, charming, attractive and likable. This makes them very dangerous. They look and act normal but they have no morals, no concern for anyone but themselves.

They are adept at hiding their true feelings and evil intentions. They are criminals, con artists, psychopathic ceos, corporate bullys, petty tyrants.

Good people don’t believe people can be so evil and do such evil things and still seem so normal.

This is how and why happy, healthy people are repeatedly taken in and victimized by their psychopathic manipulations and deceptions.

Evil people look like fine, upstanding citizens. Church involvement can provide convenient covers for their criminal activities.

Happy, Healthy, Successful People Beware:

Psychopaths often target the best and the brightest and try to humiliate and subjugate people who are better than they are. They love to dominate, control and destroy people who outshine or out perform them. Why People Are Targeted

Their haughty delusions of grandeur are driven by deep seated and well earned fears of inferiority.

Protection from Evil Psychopaths:

1) Recognize there are very sick, evil people who appear normal, kind, caring and considerate. They have no empathy or concern for anyone but themselves. Sociopaths are sadistic. They get pleasure from causing pain, especially to good people.

2) Power, Control and Superiority are their needs. They want to hurt you and they don’t want to be exposed. They blame you for the evil they’re doing and they want you to take responsibility for it and blame yourself as well.

3) Humiliation and Subjugation are their goals. If they can make you mad, look crazy or bad, you’ve played right into their hands.

4) Emotional Independence – Choose your mood, attitude and actions based on what’s best for you. Don’t give them control of your thoughts, actions or feelings. Don’t give them the control and dominance they crave.

5) Protect Yourself Physically and Mentally – don’t let them depress, distress or endanger you. Don’t let their evil dominate your life.

6) Shine Brightly – Strength, Genuine Goodness and Spiritual Success Are Your Best Defenses!

For more Happiness Habits see HappinessHabit.com

Happiness in Relationships

Michele Moore — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:00:17 +0000

What makes for happy, successful lives and relationships?

Friendship, Trust and Teamwork

There is no greater gift than to help a person achieve their goals.

Good happy relationships help people achieve their goals and their dreams!

“But we’re so different!” is a frequent concern. People who work, live or spend time together happily and successfully grow together over time. We are enriched by differences and learn from them.

Key questions to ask…

Are our goals the same? Do we want to achieve the same things? Do we want to travel to the same destinations in five, ten and twenty years?
Is my life truly better with them or without them?
Are our values the same?
Are we compatible, do we enjoy spending time together?
Do I have FUN with this person? Do they make me laugh?

Do Your Homework Before Becoming Involved

Spend time building friendship, trust and teamwork. If you can’t do it early in a relationship, you probably won’t be able to do it later once your emotions are hooked.

There’s a big problem with allowing sexuality to drive relationships. A person who is inappropriate but sexually attractive draws us into situations that are not good for us. The relationship supplies sexual highs but none of the key components of a good, healthy, successful relationship.

Friendship, trust and teamwork carry relationships over long distances and through difficult times towards happiness, success and achieving our dreams.

Focus on Friendship, Trust and Teamwork for happy, spiritually successful relationships!

See Happiness Habit for more happiness resources.