Engineering Happiness

I read a recent blog entry by the creator of Dilbert.  I almost always find his entries thought provoking but this one struck me as both simple and profound.  He describes the items in his life that most heavily impact his level of happiness and encourages his readers to take ownership for their own happiness.  Most of the things that impact are happiness are things that we have either a moderate or high level of control over.  I was so intrigued that I decided to create my own:

Faith – when I am doing well in my walk with God it makes all of the obstacles in life seem more manageable.  It gives me a peacefulness and perspective on life that nothing else in life does.  My favorite is praising through worship music or quiet time out in nature. 

Food – when I eat like crap I generally feel like crap, the temporary comfort of unhealthy food just doesn’t last as long as the effects on my energy level, weight, and mood

Exercise – when I exercise I feel like I can conquer the world except when I’m miserable from being sore but it is absolutely my best form of stress relief.  Kickboxing or Yoga will fix a bad day faster than anything else.

Goals - I am incredibly driven, to my fault at times, and I have to constantly be reaching for something in order to keep from being bored and unhappy.  This is challenging for me because succeeding in one aspect of my life often yields negative results in another so it’s a constant balancing act.

Meaning – This is straight from his blog and I absolutely love it.  “If you have not found your meaning in life yet then you must make yourself a priority.  You can't help others until you first help yourself. Once you reach a more comfortable level, you'll find you need to be useful to others in order to find meaning and feel right in your own skin.”

Positivity – attitude is such an important part of anything you are involved in, it sets the tone for the outcome.  If you are dreading something then there is little possibility for a positive outcome.  If you embrace the things that you are involved in then it is more likely to happen to have a positive result.

A Little Bit of Danger (pushing your own boundaries) - I both love and hate trying to new things but it has been essential in my pursuit for happiness.  We cannot simply settle for what is comfortable and familiar or our lives because it will never get us closer to where we want to be.

Learn – my happiness is dependent on learning new things and I think this aligns well with pushing your own boundaries.  As humans our curiosity should drive us to continue to seek knowledge and skills.  I hope I never feel like I know it all because there is no adventure or path forward if you settle for knowing only the things you know now.

Feel Success - Make it a habit to do things you do well and to embrace and celebrate that. It doesn’t matter what it is that you do well just have something that boosts your confidence.  There are very few people in this world who celebrate you so make sure you are one of them.  There is a fine line but most women have a tendency to under appreciate ourselves rather than over appreciate.  We rock at a whole heck of a lot of things and we should be able to acknowledge and celebrate that fact.

Relationships – whether your life is full of happiness or not the people who you surround yourself with will help you move up and down the mood elevator.  When we have supportive and loving relationships in our life it helps brave the storms and celebrate the victories. 

Another straight quote but it is so relevant that I had to include it:

“That's a starter list for happiness. I don't think it contains any surprises.  But sometimes it's nice to remind yourself that your happiness can be engineered, and that luck is often simply a product of good design.”