My Happiness Project - Keys to Daily Happiness

 


I believe everyone has one common goal in life, which is to be happy. It has also been well established that you can’t really pursue happiness but rather it is the result of concerted action towards your closely cherished dreams.

Aristotle said, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

What are the keys to happiness? Happiness has been defined as the progressive realization of a worthy goal, which means if you have a predetermined outcome you are working towards, then that journey enhances your happiness.

The other key principle to be happy is to not be attached to the outcome. Yes, we should set challenging goals, but if the outcome is different, we should be detached and practice acceptance. Another thing I have learned is not to label things as either bad or good. Everything happens for a reason, and sometimes we don’t understand why it happened. Only when we attain some distance from the actual event do we understand the reason for its occurrence and how it helped us.

One of the hindrances on our path to happiness is unexpected setbacks. Rudy Tanzi, professor of neurology at Harvard University, has a nice four-step process for this (I came across this in The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth). First, stop yourself from doing what your initial reaction intended. Second, take a deep breath. Third, become aware of what you are feeling. Finally, recall a past event that gave you a feeling of peace and happiness.

There are multiple volumes of books on happiness. One that I like is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She has actually made it a project on how to increase happiness, and it was an interesting read chronicling her methods for every month of the year. My happiness project is simpler, and I have come up with these keys I need in order to stay happy, and it is not dependent on the latest trend in technology.

15 Keys to Happiness

1. Accept Yourself We are all imperfect, and accepting this is crucial for happiness. Embrace your uniqueness and avoid comparing yourself to others. A strong self-esteem is the foundation of a healthy personality. Striving for perfection is a never-ending journey.

2. Define Your Purpose Identify what you want out of life. Craft a personal mission statement to give your life direction and meaning. As Mark Twain said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

3. Personal Activities Engage in activities that make you happy. Whether it's working out, reading, writing, or any hobby, including these in your routine can relieve stress and boost happiness.

4. Set Goals While enjoying life’s journey is important, setting specific, measurable, and attainable goals can energize you. Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) can also jump-start your enthusiasm and drive.

5. Build Relationships Strong relationships at work, home, and with friends are crucial. Nurture these connections by spending quality time and having meaningful conversations. Encouraging others and being there for them strengthens these bonds and boosts your own happiness.

6. Create a Positive Environment Surround yourself with positive, upbeat people. Emotional contagion suggests that we become like those we associate with. Positive role models and a supportive environment can elevate your thinking and inspire greater possibilities.

7. Stay Grateful Keep a gratitude journal to regularly record the good things in your life. Appreciating your life and the opportunities it presents fosters a deep sense of happiness.

8. Engage in Physical Activity Regular physical activity is essential for mental and emotional well-being. Exercise releases endorphins, which are natural mood lifters. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, attributes his productivity and happiness to daily exercise.

9. Prioritize Health and Well-being Physical health impacts mental health. A balanced diet and adequate sleep are essential. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, attributes his productivity and happiness to daily exercise.

10. Cultivate a Growth Mindset Embrace challenges and view failures as opportunities to learn. Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset shows that believing in the potential for growth enhances resilience and happiness.

11. Give Back to Others Helping others through volunteering or acts of kindness boosts your own happiness. Bill and Melinda Gates find joy and fulfillment through their philanthropic efforts, which make a positive impact on the world.

12. Foster Creativity Engage in creative activities like painting, writing, or playing music. Creativity allows you to express yourself and can be a powerful source of joy. Steve Jobs believed in the importance of creativity and innovation for personal fulfillment.

13. Manage Stress Develop strategies to manage stress, such as deep breathing, yoga, or spending time in nature. Rudy Tanzi’s four-step process for handling setbacks—stop, breathe, become aware of feelings, and recall a peaceful memory—can be highly effective.

14. Seek Continuous Learning Always strive to learn and grow. Continuous learning keeps your mind active and engaged, leading to a more fulfilling life. Satya Nadella emphasizes the importance of a learning culture at Microsoft to foster innovation and personal growth.

15. Maintain Work-Life Balance Balance your professional and personal life to avoid burnout. Sheryl Sandberg advocates for setting boundaries and prioritizing what matters most to achieve long-term happiness and success.

Conclusion

Happiness is a choice that requires effort and conscious decision-making. By incorporating these keys into your daily life, you can enhance your overall well-being and lead a more fulfilling life. As Aristotle said, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

Thanks for reading this post.

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Tips to Develop a Pleasing Personality

Image
A pleasing personality is very important to develop as we move forward in our career. It can also help us in our personal lives. In the book Believe and Achieve by W.Clement Stone he gives some great tips on developing a pleasing personality. Here are the 10 tips I liked with my take on each. Take an inventory – The first step in developing a pleasing personality is to first be happy in your own skin. Take an inventory of all the wonderful qualities you are bestowed with. Some of the qualities you may have are self-discipline, honesty, character, integrity and passion. Even if you don’t have some of these qualities you can put together a plan to be the person who has all the qualities you desire. By dreaming of your ideal self you will steadily move towards becoming that person in reality. Observe yourself  – All top athletes replay their performance to see where they have done well and where they can improve. Similarly after each major interaction you can evaluate what you di
Read more

12 Guidelines to Effective Communication

Image
The number one skill required to succeed in the current job environment is communication. All things being equal communication is what will distinguish you from others. The reason is with the explosion of outsourcing and project teams being in diverse locations the ability to communicate and collaborate are essential skills to have. The key to better collaboration is communication. Here are 12 guidelines to communicate better. Be Clear  - The first step in communication is to make your message short and crisp. Simplify your message. Clarity is an absolute must. Use Simple Words  - Be wary of using bombastic words and use simple words instead which relate with the audience or person. Simplicity connects people. Be other centered  - Make your interactions with people more about them and take the focus off yourself. A key to effective communication is having a genuine interest in other people. Pay attention to where you focus when you communicate. Think about other’s needs. Meet
Read more

The 5 P's of Ethical Power

The book “The Power of Ethical Management” by Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale was published in 1988. The principles laid out in this book are still relevant today. It consists of information which is of timeless value and serves as a worthy reminder on ethics and its importance. I particularly liked the 5 core principles of ethical decision making mentioned in the book. Here are the 5P’s of Ethical Power Purpose  – The authors define purpose as ongoing. It is something an individual lives by. A personal mission statement of an individual can serve as the purpose. It is the vision you have for yourself and what you would like to be known for. The authors mention something called the mirror test where you look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if everything you are doing is aligned to your purpose. If there is anything not aligned to your purpose ignore it. I like this line  “There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.” Pride  – A healthy self-esteem is a c
Read more

Life is like a Test Match in Cricket

Image
I love the game of cricket. I was an avid cricket follower at least till the time Rahul Dravid retired. The five-day test match is the true test of patience. Believe it or not even after 5 days you can have a game with no result which is perplexing to some. To me the 5 days that a cricketer goes through is the same all of us go through during our work. We all get usually five days in a week to perform at our best. The only difference is while cricketers may not play test matches throughout the year or even a life we all will get easily 40 years of playing test matches week after week. With the advent of Twenty Twenty the viewership for test matches are dwindling but the drama of a test match is something that can never be replaced. Imran Khan once said to succeed in 20-20 you need a lot of talent, a little technique and not much temperament. However, for test matches you need all the other T’s in abundance. The epitome of a test match player for me is Rahul Dravid. He had an abu
Read more

10 Qualities of a True Champion

Image
Champions are born but they are also made by relentless practice, clear goals, never say die attitude and a willingness to learn something new every day. I loved the book “The Way of the Champion” by Jerry Lynch. It has a lot of examples from sports but a lot of it can be applicable to us as well. Here are the lessons I gleaned. Self-acceptance : The first step in being a champion is being comfortable with who you are. Accept yourself unconditionally and remember all champions have weaknesses. Understand your strengths focusing on those while complementing your weakness are with the strengths of others. Self-definition : Define what you want to be known for. For example, you may want to be known for your discipline, passion, persistence and ask yourself every day if you are doing these things. Decide what message you want to send to your team or stakeholders. Modesty:   If you know you are a champion you don’t need to show off. You will be totally comfortable with yourself and y
Read more

Mastery by Robert Greene - An Inspirational Book

Image
Biographies can really inspire us. Imagine reading around 15 mini biographies at the same time. This is what Robert Greene has done with Mastery. This is one of the best books I have ever read and goes deep into what it takes to reach mastery in your field. I have read this book multiple times and it is a worthy addition to your library. This summary is only an appetizer and you really need to read this book in its entirety to get the full satisfaction. Yes it is not an easy read but well worth your effort. Here is a very high level review on what the book contains. Don’t separate your work from your personal life it is a sad separation since most of our time is spent at work so we can’t be miserable there. He also says masters felt a sense of destiny. For example Albert Einstein was immediately moved when his father gave him a compass when he was just 5 years old. Discover your calling. Each of us has a purpose to fulfill so discovering that is the first step towards mastery.
Read more

7 Inspiring Lessons from Elon Musk

Image
Elon Musk is one of the greatest business icons of the 21st century. With the passing of Steve Jobs he has rightly taken the pole position in the realm of business leaders who are considered visionaries. I read the book on Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance and it is a wonderful inspiring read. Here are the lessons I gleaned.  Be in it for the long haul – Irrespective of what our aim is unless we have decided to be in it for the long haul it is very difficult for us to scale the heights that we are capable of. Elon Musk in 2008 was in dire straits. Space X and Tesla were both running out of money but the man was in it for the long haul. He didn’t care about short term setbacks. He always looked to the future with hope and was over optimistic in most cases. He set unrealistic deadlines as that’s the way he thinks.  Everything he does is fast and he is always in a hurry. He pays an obsessive attention to detail and for SpaceX he wants to reduce the cost of launches. For years Tesla l
Read more

10 Keys to Personal Growth

What does it take to grow in life. Ultimately your success will be related to how fast you grow as a person. The Success Journey by John Maxwell is a book I enjoyed which talks about the steps needed to grow. Here they are with my take on each. Choose a life of growth  – Any change in your life requires an unequivocal decision. So you have to commit yourself to a life of continuous growth. Read everything you can in your field, identify the experts in your field and get in touch with them. Listen to all the podcasts and read on philosophy. Start Growing Today – Do it now is the mantra of a successful person. Don’t wait for lightening to hit to start this process. Anything worthwhile takes effort and it requires action today. So start today on your growth plan and take action to implement it.   Be teachable – You have to think like a beginner. All successful people never think they have learnt it all. As John Wooden said “It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
Read more

Never ending journey of Success and Goals

The first step to understand about success is that it is not a destination but a wonderful journey that never ends. The best definition of success I have come across is by Earl Nightingale "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal/goal." It is the process that’s actually exciting. Most of the times once we reach goals like getting the promotion or losing the weight we can’t keep up momentum but it is the process that actually keeps us energized. Once we achieve our goals we feel good for that moment but in order to keep that feeling ongoing we need to keep setting new goals. The important thing to remember is that goal setting is a lifelong activity and it does energize our lives. People talk a lot about dreams but there has to be a distinction between outrageous dreams and dreams that ignite. I can have a dream to be the greatest tennis player that ever lived but that dream is surely not going to be realized and it is very much outrageous. I think when we s
Read more

Talent is Never Enough - 13 Factors to Maximise your Talent

Image
Talent is not something that is gifted at birth. Of course there are a few exceptions that make things look so easy and we tend to believe that they are born with a certain gift. However if we go deeper they reached their Everest by harnessing their talent and get the best out of themselves. Talent is never enough by John Maxwell is one of the best books I have read. It is quite motivational and inspirational. He identifies thirteen factors that can help maximise your talent. Here is brief overview of them with my take on each. Belief lifts your talent    – The first step is to believe in yourself. You can’t go far without believing in your talent. We can all agree that we have enormous untapped potential and we have to believe first before we get the most out of ourselves. Have a personal mission statement that is exciting. My mission statement is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. Passion energizes your talent – Obviously if you want to make the mos
Read more