This just in: There was a bit on CBS this morning about happiness.  I thought I would look into a few other studies and summarize my takeaways today.

First of all, what stood out the most for me was the absolute absence of Material Wealth in any study.  I could not find anything that said the bigger your house, the happier you are.  The “I got more so my happiness is greater” type of thought is a belief in something that just isn’t true.

We tend to worship the Trumps of the world because they have wealth and thus, power.  I’m not one to get biblical but this, to me, is akin to Worshiping False Idols.

What does cause happiness?  In no particular order…

• Spend time every day being grateful.  A lot of effort is not necessary but more seems to be better.  For example, before you go to bed a night, think of just 3 things you are grateful for.
• Spend time socializing.  This means spending time with other people, in the flesh.  Texting is not the type of socializing the studies refer to.
• Perform random acts of kindness.  Hold open a door.  Give a compliment.  Whatever it is, make it spontaneous.
• Change your perspective.  You have everything you need to be happy, right now.  You are in the right place with the right people, or lack thereof.  To be happy you need to only change how you are looking at things.  I know this can sound impossible.  How can I be happy when I am in mourning from losing a family member or pet?  Maybe the “happiness perspective” is to acknowledge how strong the love was that could result in such grief.

There are several other things but to me, they are all variations of the short list above.

There is one last step…

Don’t expect to be happy by accident.  Sure, it can happen and does happen all the time.  However, if you find you are unhappy, the above steps are “action” steps that can take you from where you are to where you want to be.

Time to save the world…

Up, up and away…

J