Collin County Living Well Magazine March/April 2020 | Page 48

HAPPINESS,
MORE THAN
A FEELING
By James Denny
T
ry counting the number of
songs written about Happiness
or the lack thereof? Scholars
and philosophers have spent
their lives searching for the
Happiness that has eluded mankind
for centuries. There is even a Science
of Happiness, (No lie. Look it up).
Happiness has been described as an
enjoyable or satisfied state. Feelings
of joy, appreciation, contentment, and
feeling fortunate with one’s situation
in life are all indicators of Happiness.
Perfect Happiness has been described
as enlightenment that comes when you
have all your needs satisfied.
Duke University conducted a study
to determine the difference between
Happy and Unhappy People. This
study concluded that if the basic needs
of food, shelter, clothing, and safety
were met for a sustained period, the
state of being Happy or Unhappy was
based on an individual’s thinking hab-
its and patterns. Happiness is an on-
going process, not a destination. Hap-
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Noah Sillman/Unsplash
piness requires us to see life from a
positive perspective, have a purpose-
ful life, and a healthy spiritual life.
Could the way to Sustainable Happi-
ness be in our thoughts? We all have
a million thoughts flying through our
minds at any given moment, but we
choose the thoughts we dwell on.
Grabbing hold of healthy thoughts
and memories changes our emotion-
al and physical state, which leads to
a peace of mind that can experience
joy, appreciation, gratitude, and con-
tentment.
There is no evidence proving wealth
contributes to sustainable Happiness,
although it does make life easier. Be-
ing truly happy is as much about the
attitudes within us as the circumstances
surrounding us. The following is a list
of contributors to a Sustainable Happy
and Healthy, Emotional Life:
• Find a Purpose or a cause and contribute
to making a difference. People who are
focused on their needs or situations score
lower on the Happiness Test. Giving is bet-
COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2020
ter than receiving and being able to elevate
something above yourself generates stron-
ger self-worth.
• Cultivate a strong Spiritual Life that pro-
motes love, compassion, thankfulness,
loyalty, healthy relationships, and old fash-
ion values. Spiritual life will expand your
ability to experience Happiness and Healthy
Emotions.
• Live in the Present. Today has possibilities
for fun and enjoyable activities. You can
easily miss out if you are not in the moment
and forever lose the opportunity. Preoccu-
pation with old mistakes and failures leads
to depression and emotional stress.
• Resolve to be Involved with the Real World.
Although the world of technology is trying
hard to replace interpersonal relationships,
nothing will replace the need for human-to-
human interaction. Family, friends, church,
and social gatherings contribute to a feel-
ing of belonging and purpose.
• Embrace Forgiveness when you are hand-
ed a Raw Deal. Let go of resentment and
self-pity and replace it with the thoughts of
undeserved, unearned forgiveness for oth-
ers and yourself. It is not an over-exagger-
ation to say, when you hold onto a grudge
or unforgiveness, it is like taking poison and
expecting someone else to get sick. Unfor-