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12 Qualities of Happiness

Written by: Lorraine Cohen

Article Overview: Learn the qualities of happiness and look at ways you can increase your happiness level in all areas of your life!

12 Qualities of Happiness

“Happiness is the whole aim and end of human existence”
- Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony” - Mahatma Gandhi


Underlying the reasons why clients have come to me over the years is the desire for happiness. What is happiness? Conventional wisdom often defines happiness as status, financial security, worldly goods, possessions, lifestyle, accomplishments etc. I have met many very successful people, who seemed to have it all; who have come to me saying they felt something was missing from their life – they weren’t happy! They say, “I want to be happy. What do I do?” What I have come to know is that things and people do not create happiness. Feeling happy as a response to an external experience adds to our own happiness, but is not the true source of happiness. Why? Happiness is a state of being, independent of external influences and situations.

In a gem of a book called, What Happy People Know by Dan Baker, Ph.D, he defines happiness as “ A way of life – an overriding outlook composed of qualities such as optimism, courage, love, and fulfillment. “ He says, “We all have a neurological fear system embedded within our brains that once helped us survive, but now limits our lives. This biological circuitry of fear is the greatest enemy of happiness!”

According to Baker, “Happiness is a by-product for the condition (state of being, outlook on life) that comes from several indispensable qualities. The sum of the following qualities is happiness.”

The Twelve Qualities of Happiness

1. Love – the antidote to fear and an essential quality of happiness. Love renews and energizes the human Spirit.

2. Optimism – provides power over painful events to be able to see the profound value of the experience.

3. Courage –the strongest weapon for overcoming the lightening fast power of the fear system.

4. A sense of freedom –freedom is choice. Using courage to exercise choice is true freedom.

5. Proactivity – actively participating in creating your destiny and forging your own happiness.

6. Security – liking who you are on the inside and developing a strong inner foundation that will last a lifetime.

7. Health – health and happiness are interdependent. It’s hard to feel happy if you don’t feel healthy and vice versa.

8. Spirituality – having the connection to a Higher Power, Spirit, God, or Religion extends the boundaries of our own lives for extraordinary experiences.

9. Altruism – helping other people and contributing to the quality of their life fulfills a sense of purpose and personal satisfaction.

10. Perspective - – being able to see shades of gray and knowing how to prioritize problems (challenges?) into possibilities and opportunities. Seeing the big picture!

11. Humor – Humor is the shift of perception that gives you the courage to take action. By lifting the suffering off the heart, humor empowers the Spirit to heal it.

12. Purpose – understanding why you are here on this earth and doing the things you were meant to do.

* You can find this list on page 19

Baker states, “other qualities such as confidence, self-esteem, fulfillment, and peace of mind are important” without the list being long. “Not all of these qualities must be present or in equal amounts to be happy. Most of them must be abundant for someone to experience the kind of lasting rock-solid happiness that endures even when life gets tough. ”

What’s your definition of happiness?

Exercise: Over the next month, review the list of qualities for happiness. Select one or more qualities to focus your attention. For example: Taking action on things you have been procrastinating (proactive), extending yourself to help someone else for the joy of it (altruism), or taking better care of your body (health). At the end of 30 days, celebrate taking another step to increase your happiness level!

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Article Tags: antidote, aristotle the nicomachean ethics, brains, circuitry, conventional wisdom, courage, external experience, financial security, happiness, human existence, human spirit, indispensable qualities, mahatma gandhi, optimism, possessions, proa, true freedom, true source, way of life, worldly goods



Related Forum Posts
Re: The secret to happiness - Happiness comes from within. We choose whether we want to be happy or not. Circumstances can influence our feelings, but in the end, it's up to us how we deal with our circumstances, positively or negatively. I admire anyone who can stay strong and be happy through adversity. There will always be challenges that we face, but I believe that if we face them with our heads held high, the odds of overcoming them are much greater. This reminds me of the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness." Happiness spelled wrong for a reason. One of Will Smith's greatest movies. I encourage you all to watch it as it's very inspiring.
Re: The secret to happiness - Happiness is working on the job you love. I forgot who said this, "give a man the job he loves doing and he will ever work again in his life"
Re: The secret to happiness - [quote="barrysarner":2awy1urv]I agree and happiness is different for every individual.[/quote:2awy1urv] Happiness is something that comes from within each person it not something that we can find externally. Something from outside such as an exciting event or a new car can make us happy, but this is a fleeting emotion. True happiness is within each person if we choose to it over misery. MichelleJ
What is one of your favorite sales and marketing book? - One of my favorite sales and marketing book is called Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh. It tells a story of how a guy quit a high paying corporate job after graduating from Harvard in order to pursue a business dream, while working with a group of friends. They eventually built a business that is now worth over a billion dollars called Zappos.com. The entire books concept was on how to market a successful business. I enjoyed reading the book and learned a lot from it. What is one of your favorite marketing books?
Re: The secret to happiness - Hi members, This is a very interesting post and one of the best I have read. Human nature is strange and in many ways a misunderstood thing. A lot of people need help to be happy or content, I suppose that is why we have psychiatrists. I certainly agree with others that happiness is a state of mind, you can’t buy it in the shops but maybe shopping itself makes you happy. Some people are very affluent but are miserable, others may have low paid jobs but a stable and happy home life and would say that they have found happiness so it is definitely a state of mind, if you want to be miserable then you will be. Happiness is different for everybody, you could argue that money buys you happiness and for some yes it does, but for everybody, I don’t think so. There is an old saying which is something like ‘if you love what you do then you will never work a day in your life’ and for many of us here I suppose that would be working from home full time with a successful Internet business. My philosophy is that no matter where you live, what you do or how much you make, if you have your health, family and or friends around to support you in the ups as well as the downs then you are already well off and anything else you achieve is a bonus so you may as well be positive and approach all life’s challenges in that way. regards, Mal.


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