THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

Everyone around me appear to be caught up in the preparations for the closing banquet of our local chapter of “The Happiest People on Earth”. I found myself speculating about the things that make someone happy, as well as who really are the happiest people in the world.  These things, we already know are not Rocket Science or beyond reach, and I am quite happy to share them with you.

What makes people happy isn’t money, class, age, gender or race. Not even social status.

Like I revealed in one of my older posts, “secret to happiness”, happiness is subjective, what makes one individual happy will not necessarily make the next person happy. But I however found some attributes and tendencies pretty consistent with all truly happy people I have ever met. Below are those attributes.

1. Happy people create their own rainbows

Happy people focus on what they have in their lives rather than what they don’t. They recognize that acquiring enough material things to make them feel good is impossible. Fancy cars, big houses, yachts and a walk-in closet are all nice, but do nothing for the soul. The soul needs gratitude, love, connection, community, reverence for life and an outlet to express itself creatively. When those needs are met, happiness follows.

2. Happy people do what feels good

Happy people recognize that passion isn’t something you discover; it is something that already exists in you—you just have to release it. Passion exists in each of us and it is our job to bring it to the surface so it nurtures everything we do. Happy people do things that make them feel alive and connected to the world.

Being happy is largely a product of not living in the past or the future, but being present for the moment, so give your undivided attention to what you are doing, or who you are with

3. Happy people are humble

 Happy people know they are no more important than any other person on the planet.    Happy people just see people, not titles, or statuses. They recognize that we are all products of our environments, and some of us have environments filled with a lot of peace, joy and happiness, while others face one challenge after another. Each set of our circumstances, experiences, thoughts and beliefs has led us where we are.

4. Happy people are masters at letting go

Happy people don’t harbour resentment, grudges or other toxic emotions.  They are not judgemental, but at the same time, they are masters at letting go of people who are not good for them. Because happy people are complete,  in that they don’t need someone else to complete them, they are perfectly fine with being happy alone, rather than miserable with someone else.

5. Happy people take care of themselves

We can’t deny the mind-body-soul connection. Have you ever noticed when you decide to eat better, you are more motivated to exercise, or when you exercise, you are more inclined to think positively? You cannot take care of your mind without eventually wanting to take care of your body and soul, and you cannot take care of your body without eventually wanting to take care of your mind.

As long as a part of you is neglected, you will feel restless, like you should be doing something. The degree of restlessness will be directly related to how neglectful you have been. The only way out of this kind of restlessness is to take care of yourself and your environment.

6. Happy people find and embrace a worthwhile engagement

To every man there openeth a way, And the high soul climbs the highway, And the low soul gropes the low; and in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to every man there openeth a high and a low way, and every man decideth the way his soul shall go.....Charles Haanel

They find a purpose and get busy with it. Surveys continue to show the least happy group to be those who quite often have excess time. Boredom, it seems, is burdensome. People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths on a daily basis became significantly happier for months. Whatever you do, do not make the mistake of staying in a job you hate.

Happiness is an individual thing, and there a thousand and one things that make people happy, but you can be sure that happy people don’t spend their days talking about what is wrong with their lives. Sure, life challenges them, just like it challenges us all; they just don’t complain about it.

They can’t be bothered with harassing themselves with worry, anxiety, guilt, shame, frustration and other feelings that don’t make them feel good.

And when they do experience these emotions, they don’t allow them to take up residence and control their lives. Happy people speak from a point of positivity. They greet the world with wonder, excitement and passion–passion for being alive.

If indeed you truly desire to be truly happy, there are five things I would like you to take home;

YOU have to realize that your happiness is solely dependent on you.

YOU have to nurture your family.

YOU have to create a meaningful circle of friends

YOU have to take care of yourself through a positive outlook, diet and exercise.

YOU have to create your own rainbow

So, go out and do it!  Get out in nature, Exercise, Spend time with friends and family, Express gratitude, Meditate, Get enough sleep, Challenge yourself, Laugh, Be optimistic.