True Happiness Comes From Within

Authentic Happiness Dwells Within Each of Us 

Where does true happiness come from? Here are two perspectives:

It is not the level of prosperity that makes for happiness but the kinship of heart to heart and the way we look at the world. Both attitudes are within our power. A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy, and no one can stop him. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly, rather than hostile. Bertrand Russell

Dr. Martin Seligman, the best-selling author and University of Pennsylvania psychologist, has greatly advanced the thinking on happiness in recent years. In his book Authentic Happiness he shows how happiness can be cultivated by identifying, understanding and augmenting traits we already possess ── such as kindness, originality, humor, optimism, and generosity. He calls these "signature strengths" that can guide individuals to make positive choices that result in more meaningful, and therefore more authentically happy, lives.

Dr. Seligman makes it clear that there is a difference between authentic happiness and the pop culture kind, which tells you, in the beautiful lyrics of Carole King:

You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face and show the world all the love in your heart.

Then people are going to treat you better.

You're going to find, yes you will, that you're beautiful as you feel.

While there is a ring of truth to what King sings, it does not correlate with true happiness. 

Yes, there is nothing wrong with having a positive and happy attitude and showing the world a smile on your face. In fact, such an approach has numerous benefits. However, this merely results in surface happiness, not the deep spiritual kind that comes from living one's values and achieving one's desires.

Happiness that results from life experiences is like a drug. As soon as the effects of one happy incident wears off, you go in search of the next thing that will bring another temporary feeling of enjoyment or being happy.

This is what leads the Charlie Sheens and Tiger Woods of the world astray. Those who cannot find peace and happiness within are doomed to constantly fill their personal enjoyment quotients with on-going, meaningless experiences that keep their happy tanks full.

Pleasure, of course, is a powerful source of motivation. Unfortunately, pleasure does not produce long-lasting change. Rather, it is a disruptive force that builds upon itself and drives our desires to satisfy current (temporary) needs or to simply want to enjoy creature comfort and relaxation, through more short-term pleasures and experiences.

If you cannot find happiness in watching children play in a park, in a beautiful sunrise or in the peace and quiet of a still day, it is unlikely you will find happiness within. 

How you seek out your own happiness will be, naturally, up to you. There is really no road map anyone can provide you, though living the principles of a Project You Life Journey will be a good start. This journey will help you discover the true happiness that dwells within you. 

This article is excerpted from the top-selling personal development book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in Kindle ($6.88) and paperback ($7.89) formats.