Curious about Happiness: Do You Have a Joie De Vivre? How Happy Are You?

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” - Denis Waitley, American author

“Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer

“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” - Joseph Addison, English writer

Back in January of 2005, I wrote a blog about happiness referring to an article that appeared in Time magazine. Since then I have found more and more news about happiness and what makes some happier than others. Therefore, I decided it was time to revisit happiness.

Are you happy? What are some of the steps you can take to help ensure a satisfying life that will, in turn, lead to happiness? Time listed the following:

1. Count your blessings.
2. Practice acts of kindness.
3. Savor life’s joys.
4. Thank a mentor.
5. Learn to forgive.
6. Invest time and energy in friends and family.
7. Take care of your body.
8. Develop strategies for coping with stress and hardships.

For this current blog, as usual, I checked the experts for quotations. WOW! What a gigantic number! Here are a few to help you decide what makes you and those around you happy:

• “Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing.” - William Butler Yeats, Irish poet“
• Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.” - Bertrand Russell, British philosopher
• “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian leader
• “There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” - Henry Ford, American businessman
• “It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.” - Thomas Jefferson, American President

And then, there are the quotations with a bit of a twist:

• “Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you're being miserable.” - Clare Boothe Luce, American dramatist
• “Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer
• “We must have courage to bet on our ideas, to take the calculated risk, and to act. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.” - Maxwell Maltz, American scientist
• “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather in spite of ourselves.” - Victor Hugo, French author
• “There are people who can do all fine and heroic things but one - keep from telling their happiness to the unhappy.” - Mark Twain, American author

And, here are three to make your upcoming weeks special:

• “Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast.” - Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman
• “Happiness consists in activity. It is running steam, not a stagnant pool.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes, American writer
• “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” - Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist

Be sure to be happy and you will “cause happiness wherever you go.” Have a week filled with happiness and a joie de vivre!