Happiness is a choice. You are positive, or negative, or somewhere in between. Happiness is enhanced by a positive mental attitude – by developing a strong awareness of what’s good about right now, supplemented by an attitude of gratitude.
Assuming that one’s physiological needs are met, as is the usual case in the USA – happiness is then a function of satisfying one’s psychological needs for: growth, achievement, recognition, responsibility, participation, and interesting work.
Everyone has these needs, some more than others. For example, a person with a strong achievement need must accomplish things that he/she considers to be worthwhile. A strong growth-oriented person must feel he is better today than he was, say, a year ago or five years ago. Etc., Etc.
To be happy, a person must clearly identify his/her primary needs, wants, and expectations – and develop compatible goals, objectives, tactics and strategies for achieving them.
Goals may not be achievable – but they must give one a sense of direction in important categories of his/her life. Goals should be supported by achievable objectives, usually within a year or sooner. Tactics should support objectives and are short-term, attainable actions.
Strategies are a series of important goals and decisions that affect the nature and the direction of one’s life – family, career, business, department, etc. in an expensive and/or irreversible manner. A guy/gal become a doctor – that’s strategic. On the other hand, if they take a maintenance position at a hospital, that’s tactical. A company locates a new plant in East Overshoe – that’s strategic. If it paints the manager’s office green – that’s tactical. Strategic decisions should be made or at least approved at the highest level. There should never be a strategic surprise.
Unhappiness is often the result of inconsistent or unrealistic goal setting. A person want to be a philanthropist, but has a low-paying job/career. An individual wants to have a happy family life – but he runs around. A business person want to go to heaven, but he/she steals and exploits fellow humans.
To be happy, one must set goals, objectives and strategies for each category of one’s life: personal development, family, career, security, religion, etc.
Having a strategic understanding of the meaning and purpose of life will greatly enhance one’s opportunity for happiness. The wisdom of the ages tells us that God is love – and he who abides in love abides in God – and God in him. Those who live a life of love, in communion with God, in the personal presence of Jesus as their Divine Friend, tends to be happier than those who live an agnostic or atheist life.
My personal philosophy is: In God we must trust . . . but we must always do our part – to secure and promote the truth and a better way – to protect our freedom and interests – and to defend the Judeo-Christian American-Way.