The Secret to Happiness is……that there is no secret.
Sorry to disappoint. But wait, there is more.
Recently, on NPR’s TED Radio Hour, the show entitled “Simply Happy”: http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/267185371/simply-happy delved into the matter of happiness. Guy Raz, host of the show, begins with the question what is: “the one thing we can pretty much all agree we want… happiness”.
Ultimately and primordially we want to love and be happy, and just like most answers to age-old questions, the key is simple, we know it to be true, but we don’t do enough of it. How-to experience happiness actually involves simple, deliberate effort.
The show pulls together various TED-talkers on the subject of happiness. Here is, briefly, what they have to say:
- A research project that measured happiness determined an equation for happiness:
More Happiness = Less mind wandering (i.e. being in the moment)*
- Stop racing through life, stop living the fast life instead of the good life, this makes you happier and more productive….was another conclusion
- Simplicity and happiness…simply put, too much stuff is making us less happy…edit your life so you can be aware of what really matters in life…was another deduction
- Also, we synthesize happiness…it’s not something we find… we can choose to experience it…tiny experiences of being really present, accumulated over months, makes us happy
- And last, being grateful makes us happy. How best to do that you ask? The method is simple: Stop, Look & Go…avail yourself of the moment.
They each have a unique perspective on the subject of happiness, but there is one common thread. Mindfulness. Being more mindful makes us happier. Being more mindful makes us more aware of what really matters to us. Doing more of what really matters will make you a happier person. Simple. Do more of it. Do it mindfully.
So, maybe there is a secret to happiness…it’s just not what you thought.
Want to know more about mindfulness? Drop me a line:
