How would you define Happiness while developing Your Richness Principles?

How would you define Happiness while developing Your Richness Principles?

Can a definition of Happiness help you develop your Richness Principles?

On your journey to building riches, wealth, or sustained income flow, where would you decide what makes you happy?

If you are looking for such answers, your search may end here.

How would you define Happiness?

What does Happiness mean to you?

What Happiness is?

Is it an emotion?

Is it the same as pleasure?

Is it the absence of pain?

The experience of bliss?

Words like pleasure, bliss, ecstasy, and contentment are often used interchangeably with Happiness, but none of them precisely describes what I mean when I think about Happiness. These emotions are fleeting, and while they are enjoyable and significant, they are not the measure—or the pillars—of Happiness. We can experience sadness at times and still enjoy overall Happiness.

The source of the word Happiness is the Icelandic word happ, which means "luck" or "chance,"

While researching this topic years ago, I came across this book by Tal-Ben-Shahar, Happier and found many fascinating insights that I am sharing here.

Do we have to first find out the meaning we give to what we call Happiness?

Should we define the pleasures that we get from such activities that bring us Happiness?

Will it bring some sense of purpose?

Will that lead to an experience of positive emotions?

Tal-Ben-Shahar suggests that Happiness, not money or prestige, should be regarded as the ultimate currency—the currency by which we take the measure of our lives. He considers the relationship between material wealth and Happiness and asks why so many people are in danger of emotional bankruptcy despite unprecedented levels of material wealth.

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz provide a different way of thinking about change: they suggest that instead of focusing on cultivating self-discipline as a means toward change, we need to introduce rituals.

"Building rituals requires defining exact behaviours and performing them at precise times—motivated by deeply held values."

What rituals would make you happier?

What would you like to introduce to your life?

It could be going for a walk five times a week, or it could be meditating for ten minutes every morning. We may have a ritual of going out for a drive every weekend or going for watching a movie once a month. On the other hand, your spouse may find pleasure reading a book every day for just 30 minutes.

Have you thought of introducing one or two rituals at a time? If yes, make sure they become habits before you introduce new ones.

Aristotle's words, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

As Tony Schwartz says, 'Incremental change is better than ambitious failure. …Success feeds on itself.'"

So, think about that: "What rituals would make you happier? What would you like to introduce to your life?

Here is an exercise for you. Pause reading or listening. Grab paper and pen. Write down your thoughts like:

What rituals would make you happier? Just write all the random thoughts.

Now, refine and select What rituals (from amongst the above list) would you like to introduce to your life?

I have observed with my clients that many of my Happy clients live secure in the knowledge that the activities that bring them enjoyment in the present may lead to a fulfilling future. Is that true? Can we make that possible?

I found that this book Happier may help you improve your mental state and level of success by identifying what you get wrong about joy and discovering what is most important to you and how to make those things a more significant part of your life.

While you set a deadline for one of the goals, self-concordant goals can put the spirit in us—it would be more appropriate to speak of lifelines. Similarly, when in pursuit of goals that are both pleasurable and meaningful, that yield both present and future benefit, we are enlivening Time rather than killing Time."

"To experience a sense of purpose, the goals we set for ourselves need to be intrinsically meaningful."

Here is an exercise for you. Pause reading or listening. Grab paper and pen. Write down your thoughts like:

What are your goals that are both pleasurable and meaningful, both present and future benefit?

Now, set a deadline for each one of the above goals.

In an article, Abraham Maslow first presented his hierarchy of needs.

Maslow proposed that motivation results from a person's attempt at fulfilling five basic needs: physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. According to Maslow, these needs can create internal pressures that influence a person's behaviour.

Abraham Maslow wrote that 'the most beautiful fate, the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being, is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do."

Here, I can share my example. I went broke three times in his life, and I Started wondering about going wrong! Which made me learn the best about personal finance. I then Went on to do the highest qualification in the world, in personal finance-CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CM- called CFP. Today, having passionately pursued my love for research and practising financial planning over two decades, I get paid!

Can we conclude that unless you are committed, there is hesitancy; you may believe that there is a chance to drawback! However, on the other hand, you may think that you are always ineffective and are concerned about all initiative and creation acts.

This may lead you to start believing that the ignorance of countless such ideas and splendid plans is killing them for you; So you may start rethinking that the moment you start committing yourself, your instinct and then foresight confirms your beliefs.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe refers to this aspect as 'Whatever you can do or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!' (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is Germany's "Shakespeare." Goethe is quoted in German as much, or more than Shakespeare is in English)

Can we positively conclude that enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety when the challenges are just balanced with the person's capacity to act?"

Is it not true that the most successful people are lifelong learners; they constantly ask questions and never cease to explore the wonder-filled world around them. Regardless of where you are in life—whether you are fifteen or a hundred and fifteen, whether you are going through a rough patch or are thriving—create an education program for yourself."

Here is an exercise for you. Pause reading or listening. Grab paper and pen. Write down your thoughts like:

What is the education program, or are the programs, that you have identified for yourself for this year?

As we learn and live our life full of pleasures defined by us, does Time affluence become a consistent predictor of well-being? While you may believe that material affluence is not. Time affluence is the feeling that one has sufficient Time to pursue personally meaningful activities, reflect, and engage in leisure. Therefore, can Time poverty lead us to a feeling that one is constantly stressed, rushed, overworked, behind? Then, we firmly believe that all we need to do is look around us—and often within ourselves—to realize the pervasiveness of time poverty in our culture."

Here is an exercise for you. Pause reading or listening. Organise a diary or a notebook to write in and a pen. Write down your thoughts like:

Each night before going to sleep, write down at least five things that made or made you happy—things for which you are grateful.

What rituals would make you happier? What would you like to introduce to your life?

Now, I am summarizing the salient commandments of Happiness:

1. Happiness breeds success, and all life goals point toward it.
2. Happiness is the number One Currency.
3. Happiness is the balance between your present and future life. So, Get Balance your outlook on the present and future to get more joy in your life.
4. Nurturing fruitful relationships will make you happier.
5. Attaining lasting Happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable.
6. Whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
7. "A human being, like a business, makes profits and suffers losses. However, for a human being, the ultimate currency is not money, nor is it any external measure, such as fame, fortune, or power. The ultimate currency for a human being is Happiness."
8. "Money—beyond the bare minimum necessary for food and shelter (and I am not talking caviar and castles)—is nothing more than a means to an end. However, so often we confuse means with ends and sacrifice Happiness (end) for money (means)."
9. "Happiness is not just a luxury, something to be pursued once all our personal and societal ills are resolved. Increasing the levels of the ultimate currency improves the quality of individual lives and can make the world a better, safer place."

Summary:

Define what pleases you, what activities you want to indulge in and what meaning you give to them

Find out your passion with these activities.

Find out how you can get Time to spend Time on such activities on an ongoing basis—not postponing to some time later in life.

Find out what increases this pleasure, like spending this Time with someone special like your spouse or best friend.

Now also find out how much money can you spare to spend regularly on such activities.

This may be the definition of your Happiness.

Furthermore, the overall experience may be called your Richness Principles.

Read more in my book titled: The Richness Principles

May you lead a life full of such experiences and be happy and more Happier always all the Time.

Sources and credit to:

Happier?Kindle Edition book Ben-Shahar, Tal;

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/happier-tal-ben-shahar/1100554407

https://suzettewoodward.org/2018/06/26/joy-and-happiness

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rituals_b_2317616

https://uvolution.net/happier-book-summary

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/want-a-fun-job-you-just-have-to-pick-the-right-parents

The Richness Principles by Taressh Bhatia

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