Characteristics of the Happiest Person I Know

He’s never even read a self-help book in his life.

Jeremy turned into the golf course parking lot with his windows down, blasting Bob Marley. He turned the car off just as the song finished, and he swung open his door in one motion, hopping out and giving us all the biggest grin. Jeremy didn’t play golf, but man was he excited to be spending the day with us.

Jeremy is the happiest person I know. It’s difficult not to feel more energized and appreciative about life when you’re around him. Ever since high school, teachers, coaches, friends, and parents gravitated toward his contagiously positive personality.

But Jeremy almost never reads self-help. In fact, when he read one of my books, he started his review with, “I never read self-help, but…” So, as we played golf together, I tried to assess what made Jeremy so happy all the time. Below are my observations.

1. He Knows More About People Than You’d Expect

When we split up into our groups to begin our golf round, our foursome included me, Jeremy, and two other guys. None of us had seen each other in a while, so after basic pleasantries, we spent some time asking about one another’s families.

“How’s your little sister doing in school? Didn’t she have to come home early from studying abroad in Italy? Florence, right?” My friend looked amazed. Jeremey was spot on.

“And how about your dad, Justin? Is he able to work from home or has his law practice taken a hit?” Justin’s eyes widened and he let Jeremy know his dad was doing well.

“What about the book writing, J? I remember you told me about a new project you were working on, how’s that going?” I must have told him about this project five months ago.

Bottom line, Jeremy is more invested in other people than you’d expect. He knows the specifics that make you feel heard. They make you feel appreciated.

2. He Relishes Being in Awe

When we got to the third hole, Jeremy threw his hands to the side and made us all pause for a moment. We thought something was seriously wrong. We should have known better. Jeremy spoke.

“Can we just take a moment to appreciate how clearly we can see the moon right now? I feel like the moon is never that high in the sky and clear at this time of day. Wow, it’s just incredible.”

Jeremy is grateful for some of life’s most puzzling phenomena. He loves to talk about philosophy. He is obsessed with people’s unique talents. He can go on for days about scientific theories and hypotheses about space. Jeremy takes pride in the unknown. He embraces it. It excites him. He allows wonder and awe to drive his life.

3. He Connects to Nature and the World Around Him

On the sixth hole, Jeremy decided to take off his shoes. He’s not much of a golfer (and doesn’t always follow proper golf etiquette), but he loves being outside more than anything in the world. Once barefoot, he decided to let the sand in the bunker press against his feet, and then he dipped his toes in the pond near the hole while watching us hit our shots from afar.

Jeremy highly values simplicity. He adores the pitter-patter of raindrops; he always recommends we make a backyard bonfire; and he loves to go hiking in the mountains.

4. He’s Wonderfully Coachable

A few holes later, I remember Jeremy really wanted to hit a good shot. He asked me what he was doing wrong and how he could improve, and I gave him a few pointers. As I was giving my advice, I noticed he gave me complete attention, looked me right in the eyes, smiled, and then echoed back to me what I had just told him. Then, he approached the ball, kept his head down like I mentioned, and hit a beautiful shot. He turned and gave me a huge air high five.

Jeremy is an active listener. He makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. And when receiving advice, he puts it into action. Then he credits his teacher more so than himself. This beginner’s mindset follows Jeremy into all aspects of his life. He always allows himself to be a student and learn from others.

5. He’s the World’s Greatest Cheerleader

On the 15th hole, my friend Justin hit a shot that landed on the green and rolled toward the hole. It slowly seemed as if Justin was about to achieve eternal golf glory: a hole in one. As the ball rolled, Jeremy began to scream and run around like a wild man. “Get in! Get in! Roll baby! Roll baby!” Even though the shot fell just short of the hole, Jeremy raised his arms in celebration and told Justin that was the greatest golf shot he’d ever seen.

Jeremy is invested in other people’s success. He doesn’t ever compare; he just constantly supports.

6. He’s Not Afraid to be Overly Sentimental

As we finished up the 18th hole, we each took our hats off and thanked one another for a great day on the golf course. While walking back to the parking lot to meet up with the rest of the guys, Jeremy spoke. “That was by far the best day I’ve had in the last few months. Thank you guys so much for inviting me. It really means the world to me!”

Jeremy has no problem being sappy. Especially with a group of 25-year old guys, you may not expect to hear that sort of sincere gratitude and emotional vulnerability, but Jeremy is always like that. He is overly complimentary, and that is a great thing.

7. He Knows Where His Priorities Lie

As we all gathered in the parking lot and chatted about whose house we’d spend the next few hours at, Jeremy politely said his goodbyes. He let us know that he had an incredible day with us all, but he had to say hi to his girlfriend, and then go home to spend some time with his mom.

Jeremy puts family and loved ones first. He is as loyal as they come, and he is able to respectfully assert his priorities whenever necessary.

Final Words

Jeremy got into his car and again began blasting Bob Marley. Another observation about him: he is intensely passionate about his music. He rolled his windows down, flashed us the peace sign, and gave us the biggest smile as he drove away. We all couldn’t help but smile back.

With all that I observed about Jeremy throughout the day, that is the most important thing. He constantly smiles. Jeremy’s positivity is contagious, radiating happiness to everyone lucky to enjoy his unique presence.

We can all learn something from the happiest person I know.

I use my imagitivetation to imagine, interpret, create and implement the life of my dreams. 

Join me to live yours.