Are you happy?

The question was asked first on LinkedIn where other answers can be found. My answer was:

“Dear Kathy,

This is one of the most important questions for each of us to answer, whether on LinkedIn or elsewhere.

I am happy, though not as happy as I hope I will be in the future.

There is a problem, of course, with discussing happiness. Perhaps it is a matter of definition, perhaps not.

For some time I have made similar inquiries in my questions, but never so direct. I've asked:

• "What do you prefer: success or happiness?"
• "What makes people so unhappy with work?"
• "Why the continuing paradox of human greatness and human unhappiness in the global workplace?"

Each of these questions brought many responses and all of us participants grappled with the underlying issue. We know we want to be happy, but we also understand the reasons for our unhappiness at the same time.

I presented a sort of operational definition of happiness to see how I arrive at my sense of happiness: "Happiness comes each day like small sips of coffee as I make my way to decision’s end where I relax and smile again about:

* Where I come from

* Where I want to go

* What I am waiting for

* What my wise ones advise

* What pros and cons I weigh

* What the “Powers That Be” insist upon

* What my own agenda reveals about me

* What facts and reasons I contend with

* What insights answer my prayers

* How I tell my story

* What losses I risk to gain what I still only hope for

* Why the decision I discern is the right one for me.

Thus my sense of happiness is tied into my realization that becoming happy is the result of a decision to be happy. I've referred people to You-Tube for a real-life example of happiness. The happiness found in response to Paul Pott's performance is inspiring.

I've suggested books:

A practical one that shows how important being happy is to us in our work: What Happy Companies Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Company for the Better by Dan Baker;

A philosophical one that deals with all the counterfeit varieties of happiness: Treatise On Happiness by St. Thomas Aquinas;

A spiritual one that addresses the fulfilling happiness of heaven in a very reasonable, but joyous way: A Travel Guide to Heaven by Anthony Destefano;

And even a Wikipedia article.

Bottom line: I am happy because I believe God loves me and all those I love and He has shown me His love in countless ways.

Before you close the question, please clarify your answer by including it. I ask you to do so because that's another feaure of being happy: you want to share it with your friends.

Thanks for asking and Happy New Year! John Darrouzet”

What do you think?

Please include your comment here or contact me to discuss.

Thanks.

John Darrouzet