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1The Power of Happiness (Staying Happy)


• Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. – Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha

• Means different things to different people.

Introduction


What does happiness mean to you?

• Happiness is a decision.• Love and Fear – Two

Primal feelings of Humans.• Fear of not having

enough• Fear of not being

enough• Love is about

appreciation• From the book ‘What

happy people know’ by Dan Baker



• Positive vs. Negative• Optimistic vs. Pessimistic• State or Trait• Sense of pleasure,

gratefulness vs. rich and meaningful life

• Resilience - Being able to handle pain and disappointment in life



• Having and knowing your purpose

• Social relationships• Helping others• Coherence of goals – long

term and short term goals align

• Taking responsibility for your behavior



• Culture and environment• Spirituality and religion• Health• Balance • Not overly optimistic

or pessimistic, not purely based on ancient wisdom or modern scientific theory. Somewhere in-between.


A significant part (30%) of happiness is within our control


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• Happiness brings success• Principle #1: The

Happiness Advantage. By retraining our brains to focus on the positive, we improve our productivity and performance.


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• Principle #2: The

Fulcrum and the Lever. Mindset determines our ability to succeed.

• Principle #3: The Tetris Effect. By training our brains to look for positive patterns, we train ourselves to observe and seize on opportunities.


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• Principle #4: Falling up –

triumph over adversity can be achieved with positive mindset and strong relationship support.


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• Principle #5: The Zorro

Circle. In times of crisis, we can regain control by focusing first on small, manageable goals, and expand the circle to bigger goals later.


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• Principle #6: The 20-

second-rule. Start with small tasks, which takes less energy and time to achieve result. Turn it into a ritual to form a habit, till the action becomes automatic.


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• Principle #7: Social

Investment. Develop social support network and nurture the relationships. This is the greatest predictor of both happiness and high performance.


The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor• The Ripple Effect.

Behavior (good and bad) is contagious.

• Suggestions for retraining your brain-2 min a day for 21 days• 3 gratitude statements• Journal – 1 positive

event• Exercise• Meditate• Random acts of

kindness


The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin

• Happiness is possible. It is a choice.

• More feeling good – generate more positive emotions so as to experience more joy.

• Less feeling bad – decrease bad feelings from guilt, anger, envy, irritation etc. Let it go.



• Feeling right – living up to the expectations you set for yourself.

• Mindfulness – cultivation of conscious, non-judgemental awareness.

• Make other people happy by being happy yourself.



• Stay in the moment. Appreciate and enjoy the small moments in life.

• Perception of being happy. Be mindful and aware of the feeling of happiness.

• Have more control over your life.

• Be yourself. Act the way you want to feel.



• Do what ought to be done and do it now.

• Be polite and be fair.• Lighten up.• Strong relationship with

other people.• Learn something new and

feel your mind grow.


Happiness Is a Choice - Barry Neil Kaufman

• Happiness is possible. It is a choice and your birthright.

• Make happiness the priority.

• Accept your personal authenticity, the freedom to be yourself.

• Let go of judgment and embrace people and situations.



• Be present by learning to discard regrets about the past and worries about the future.

• Be grateful by appreciating specific people and events, even during hard times.



• Decide to be happy by recognizing your capacity to choose your beliefs and feelings and taking responsibility for your responses to people and situations.

• Live your dreams.


Emotional Resilience - David Viscott

• Finding freedom and happiness through resolving pain at the moment it arises.

• Telling the truth and making positive choices should be a way of life.

• Purpose of your life is to discover and perfect your gift to the world.



• Face life openly. What you avoid imprisons you.

• Say what you mean, feel and believe.

• Be kind to yourself everyday.



• Feelings of hurt, if unresolved, turn into anger. Anger that is not expressed gets stored and becomes guilt. Learn to reconcile the past with the present, as you grow and develop mentally.



• Find something to be grateful for and remember it.

• Forgive.• Do not try to change or fix

others.• Do not expect people to

understand you.• Do not hold a grudge.



• Do not expect the world to be anything but the way it is right now.

• Do not wait for permission to do what is best for you.


The Untethered Soul - Michael A. Singer

• We have the ability to increase our happiness according to how well we manage our mind.



• The mind constantly tries to match expectations with actual experiences and is often disappointed because the world will never match the conceptual model the mind has made up.



• Learn not to participate in the mind’s struggle to be ok. When disturbance occurs because the mind did not get what it wants or experiences what it does not want, learn to sit back and let go.



• The more qualifications you put on happiness, the more limited your happiness will be, and harder to achieve.

• You can choose to be happy in the face of anything that comes along. Make it your priority.



• The purpose of life is to enjoy and learn from your experience.

• Key to happiness is to get to know yourself.

• You can choose unconditional happiness by staying conscious, centered and committed at all times.


Happiness test – how happy are you?

1. How do you feel about life?

2. How often do you keep in touch with friends and families?

3. What do you do when you are faced with a difficult problem?

4. How often do you exercise to keep fit?


5. Do you have a 5-year plan, yearly goal, quarterly quota and daily task list?

6. You are looking for a job, and your skills match about 50% of the requirement. You are invited to an interview. How do you feel about your chances?



7. A friend has recently lost his job and decided to start his own business. He came to you for advice because you are a successful entrepreneur. What would you do?



8. Do you like to acquire new knowledge, for example, learning to cook or a new language?

9. You have received a promotion. How do you feel?

10.When life gets hectic, what do you do?



Which is your current state of happiness?

Life is good - You are among the happiest among the people around you. Enjoy, keep it up, and help others!




Feeling indifferent - You are not exactly unhappy, but at the back of your mind you know you could do better.




It can only get better - You are not happy with your current circumstance. You feel that you deserve much better and it is about time you take action to claim your happiness!



Obstacles to Happiness

1. Do you know what you actually want or need to be happy?

2. Do you place priority on your own happiness? (For example, do you make time for yourself to do what you enjoy?)



3. Do you think someone else is to be blamed for your unhappiness? (For example, parents, bosses, colleagues, the economy etc.)



4. Is your effort in achieving happiness actually preventing you from achieving it? (For example, trying to make more money because it can buy the things that will make you happy, but ignoring family and personal health in the process).



5. Do you think the happiness gurus are happier than ‘the rest of us’? (They are rich and famous for telling people how to be happy, so is it easier for them to be happy?)



6. Are there inaccurate beliefs about happiness that are ruling our lives? (For example, people are selfish and cannot be trusted, you can rely only on yourself etc.)



7. Do you put off important decisions or actions? (For example, having a difficult conversation, sorting out your finances etc.)



8. Do you have fears that if you appear happier than your peers, your will be rejected? (For example, you join in the gossip and complaint sessions, just to fit in).

Do you think these are valid obstacles? Find ways to address them.


Actions to achieve Happiness• Be kind to yourself• Practise appreciation and

gratitude• Clarify your values• Keep a journal of

achievements• Make your own happiness

list• Something to love• Something to do• Something to look

forward to


Conclusion

• Happiness can be an elusive topic but a very important one.

• A global priority.

The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal

International Day of Happiness, 20 March

(First event on 20 March 2013)

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