A Framework for Happiness

Our aim is to challenge common misconceptions about happiness and how it is experienced. You can gain a deeper understanding of the true nature of happiness and how to create and maintain it in your life. Do you understand how to approach happiness and achieve the best results possible?

Our framework for cultivating?happiness?includes?mindfulness?as the approach to thinking and?intentional living?as the approach to daily living. The cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model in psychology is an excellent analogy for this framework. CBT is widely recognized as a mainstream, highly effective model within the field of psychology. The CBT model clarifies the?interdependent?relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Our thoughts influence our emotions, our feelings influence our behaviors, and our behaviors affect our thoughts and emotions. For example, if we want to change our emotions, we can work on changing our thoughts, which will change the emotions they elicit. This relationship is frequently represented in a circular or multidirectional diagram like the following:

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Happiness,?mindfulness, and?intentional living?are also highly interrelated. When we practice a mindful way of thinking, it naturally encourages an intentional lifestyle and feeling happy. When we practice an intentional lifestyle, it naturally encourages a mindful way of thinking and feeling happy. Feeling happy daily reinforces and encourages the continued practice of mindfulness and intentional living that generates it. If we think of intentional living as our behavior, mindfulness as our thoughts, and happiness as the emotion we are going for, then our Ask Althea happiness model looks like the following:

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Reviewing how?mindfulness,?intentional living, and?happiness?are interrelated is vital to making each one more accessible and understandable. I'm excited to share with everyone to gain a clear understanding of our model, its nuances, and how to apply these principles for a fulfilling and joyful life!

Let's talk about happiness. While it may seem elusive, we can achieve it with focused attention and dedication. It's fascinating to think about how each of us has a unique understanding of what happiness is, and by exploring this concept further, we can unlock a world of joy. The best part? What?actually?generates happiness is very similar for most of us.

Throughout history, pursuing happiness has been a fundamental aspect of the human experience. In the West in the 4th?century BCE,?Aristotle?wrote extensively about?eudaimonia, which can be translated as?happiness?or?the good life. He believed that?eudaimonia?was the highest human good and involved living a life of virtue and?fulfilling one's potential. Happiness was not primarily an emotion to be felt or a state of?being?but a state of?doing?–?a way of living?– that generates an ongoing feeling of happiness.

During the 5th century BCE in the East, Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as the Buddha and founded Buddhism, taught that true happiness (known as "sukha") comes from letting go of desires and attachments. It's a state of being content with oneself, which doesn't rely on external factors. This state of being is the opposite of "dukkha," which refers to suffering, pain, and dissatisfaction. The emphasis is on a state of being; the?way?to this state of being is the?ongoing practice?of?mindfulness?–?a way of living.

Today, the study of happiness is called?Positive Psychology, a significant psychological research and practice field. Modern happiness studies highlight the importance of living a life with purpose and meaning. Research indicates that having a sense of direction and contributing to something larger than oneself are vital components of well-being. This includes maintaining healthy social relationships and being of service to others. Good health and personal growth are also part of a happy lifestyle.

We can see some interesting patterns here.

1. It’s nothing new—happiness has been well thought out and practiced for over 2,500 years.
2. It's a little more complex—happiness does not come from simple pleasures or achievements.
3. It's about a more profound meaning—those who study and find genuine happiness are contemplative.
4. Happiness is not achieved directly but indirectly – you can't get a runner's high without running.
5. Lifestyle matter—a relationship exists between?how we live?and our?experience of happiness.

In short, creating a happy, meaningful life isn't about good luck, good genes, or big successes – it's about how you live every day. Anyone who wants enduring happiness for themselves can have it – they just have to learn how.

Experience True Happiness

• The highly subjective way we create our objective reality and how to use this to our advantage
• Get to know your authentic self and what genuinely matters to you
• Create a clear and compelling vision of your future self and the future life you aspire to
• Overcome resistance to change and truly transform yourself and your life
• Practicing a mindful, intentional lifestyle will naturally provide profound happiness and deep meaning for you as a way of life.

If you are serious about creating lasting positive change in their life, you will need to invest your time, attention, and energy to transform your life. It is not just about gaining knowledge or making you feel better about yourself; it’s about making a real impact on your life. Get ready to embrace a new way of life by developing positive habits and attitudes that will help you achieve your goals. This work is designed to help you?change?your life! ?

Creating Change

Making and breaking New Year's resolutions is a challenge that many of us face. However, we have developed a program that increases your chances of succeeding in making transformative change. Our program focuses on helping you understand what is achievable –?once you can see a clear path between you and what you want?– this will boost your motivation. Additionally, changing habits is a vital part of the program and is essential for sustaining change. Meaningful relationships are a crucial ingredient in a happy lifestyle. Cultivating new relationships around mindfulness, slow living, and positive change in our lives will likely be meaningful.

You're in the perfect place to enhance your life if you're dedicated to making it happen!

How did you get to this point?

Maybe your life looks successful to others, but you would like to experience greater happiness. It's easy to internalize the values, priorities, and beliefs of others – from your family of origin to popular culture more broadly – and go with them, especially when you are young, without?consciously and intentionally?questioning whether they genuinely align with what?you believe and value. Later in life, when we begin to realize that following the inherited beliefs and values of others may create what looks like success on the outside but doesn't lead to happiness and fulfillment on the inside, we start to experience troubling feelings that something is not right.

Feeling dissatisfied with life can occur when there's a mismatch between?who you are?and?who you aspire to be?or between your ideal lifestyle and your current reality. The more significant the gap between these two, the more likely you will experience discontent. If you're reading this, it's probably because you're aware of this gap and the unhappiness it causes. ?

What are you looking for?

Organizing your thoughts can be challenging, especially when it's difficult to differentiate between your beliefs and those you've adopted from others without thinking. To truly understand what you're looking for, you must first gain clarity on who you are. This requires taking a step back and reflecting on your life with honest self-awareness. Are you living authentically or trying to fit in and be accepted? Knowing the answer to this question is crucial for embarking on a journey toward greater happiness, and it's an essential aspect of this course.

• Are you looking to end all the negative thinking and chatter in your mind?
• Do you want to improve the quality of your most important relationships?
• Do you want a more rewarding and meaningful life?
• Are you looking to understand what your significant purpose in life is?
• Do you want to be "happier"?
• What does "happy" mean to you, exactly?
• Is it some of these or all of these?

These questions, of course, get at the heart of the matter. As they are among life's most important questions, they should be explored at length, consciously, intentionally, and carefully.

One of the valuable things you will come to appreciate is that happiness doesn't come from achieving some milestone or goal as “I will be happy when __________________.” This experience of happiness is usually fleeting and never as fulfilling as you anticipated, especially if the goal isn't deeply meaningful. Happiness comes from how you live your life day to day and experience all the little things in everyday life. In other words,?it's about the journey, not the destination. A goal is a destination in the future that you work and journey toward day to day.

Life is what happens while you are working toward achieving your goals. Yes, the event of achieving a goal can bring happiness, even joy, but like the day you achieve the goal, it doesn't last. Now imagine being happy?every?day while you work towards your goals, not just on the big days when you achieve a goal. Can you see the difference? Can you?feel?the difference? How you live?today?is how you live?your life. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow never comes. Today is all you have. If you are not happy today, you are not happy. Lifestyle – how you live day to day – matters.

Mindfulness and intentional living are the keys to experiencing a happy, meaningful life every day. Living life mindfully naturally encourages an intentional life, and an intentional lifestyle naturally encourages mindfulness. To be clear, you can certainly have one without the other. The magic happens when you combine the two and live a mindful, intentional lifestyle: your life becomes meaningful, purposeful, rewarding, and happy every day as a way of life.

How to Start

It all starts with?mindfulness –?which cultivates the self-awareness and self-discovery required to reclaim your authentic self and create an authentic life in alignment. This will require you to contemplate yourself and your life and reflect on your thoughts through writing about them or journaling – an essential mindfulness practice we will use throughout this course and hopefully the rest of your life.

What will benefit you on your journey:

• Honesty – all progress begins with telling the truth. Be honest with yourself,?especially about?yourself.
• Curiosity – about how your mind works and about what's possible (learn, seek, discover). Get to know yourself, who you authentically are, what you want and value, and your big life purpose.
• Desire – motivation and commitment to make positive change (I WANT to change). Develop a clear and compelling vision of your future self and the future life you want to live.
• Growth Mindset – I CAN change. Believe that you can change and create the life you want.
• Responsibility – take responsibility for your actions (and inactions). The choices you make, and ownership of the life you create.
• Courage – I WILL change. Changing your personality is uncomfortable and scary. It takes courage.
• Patience – it's going to take time. Change can be challenging
• Love – love yourself and do it?because?you love yourself. You deserve nothing less.
• Assimilate and consolidate. Turn ceilings into floors
• Measure backward for daily progress and success
• Practice mindfulness every day

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Mindset Transformation Coaching?is for those seeking to accelerate personal growth. If you want to achieve sustainable positive change to enjoy a happier, more successful life, contact me to explore more. It requires curiosity and a little courage, and?You are so worth it!?

Everything about the?Ask Althea?community revolves around a?mindful, intentional life that will?naturally?bring you the?true happiness?you long for. Check us out at www.askalthea.org

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