The Pursuit of Happiness - A Vital Skill

'Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' is, perhaps, the best known phrase from the United States declaration of independence adopted by Congress on July the 4th 1776. The pursuit of happiness is not simply a desirable state of mind but vital to each and everyone of us.

In Maxwell Maltz's wonderful book 'The New Psycho Cybernetics' he has a chapter entitled 'You Can Acquire the Habit of Happiness' on which I have drawn heavily in this article.

Happiness is a powerful weapon in the battle against physical and psychological ailments. There are endless examples of patients who, because of a positive and happy approach to life, either became well again sooner than expected or recovered from serious diseases that they were not expected to survive. This is not some abstract notion but, as been proven again and again, a process that can lead to dramatic physical changes in all organs of the body.

It is wrong to think that by being happy that you are somehow being selfish and insensitive. Being happy while surrounded by unhappy folk is a virtue. It is rather like the problem of poverty, by making yourself penniless is not going to help the plight of the poor. Your happiness can only be of benefit to those who are unhappy or depressed even though that might not be immediately apparent.

Happiness lives in the present and comes about by your approach to life. Assuming that happiness lies somewhere in the future is a big mistake, if you cannot be happy now it is very unlikely that there will be some miraculous change when some event in your life comes around.

I'm not suggesting that it is possible to be happy every second of every day but it is possible, using some simple techniques, to be cheerful most of the time. Here are some tips...

    Don't get upset by minor annoyances. The car that cuts you up in traffic, the golf shot that goes out of bounds or bad weather. The anger that can be generated is, in fact, unhappiness, in other words self generated.
    Don't get angry or resentful just because you feel you should. It is a habit to react negatively to a given event simply because that's how you have always reacted, you can change.
    Life can, of course, throw things at us all that makes being cheerful very difficult. Don't get facts and opinions confused. For example it is a fact that you have just written you car off but it is your opinion that you are a dreadful driver. Negative opinions of yourself serve no useful purpose.
    Opinions of others are just that and should never stop you achieving your goals. Working towards a clear goal is a great generator of happiness.
    You can do nothing about the past. Never dwell on your bad experiences, instead make a metal, or physical, list of happy, joyful or funny incidents and recall them whenever the blues threaten.
    In short you must accept that happiness and unhappiness are your responsibility. You have created them so why not decide that happiness is the best option and practice smiling and laughing more often as well as helping and praising others.

The pursuit of happiness is a worthy cause. Remember that it is not given to you or somehow just appears it takes real work and dedication on your part. Like many things in life it is a skill and possible the most important of all to acquire.