High on Happiness

Learning to raise your happiness thermostat is like learning to do anything else.  First, you have to entertain the notion that maybe you really could be happier, that maybe it’s true that there are things you can do to feel happier more often, more deeply, in your life.

Let’s start there.  Is happiness really something we can learn?  Or is it a matter of luck, or chance, or genetics?

Here’s the answer:  Yes.  Yes, the general cheeriness of your disposition is programmed into your genes.  Some of us are just born happier than others.  And yes, all of us can learn to live at the high end of our personal happiness range.  That’s what science says, so far.   (Some scientists, working at the outer edges of knowledge, say we may even be able to teach our genes to turn happy.  But we’ll stick with the more proven, generally accepted kind of science right now.)

So let’s say you buy the idea that you could learn to be happier.  Would you want to?  What if it’s work to get there?  Is the payoff going to be worth the effort?  You’ll have to change things, you know. You’ll have to put some time into it, give up some habits, practice some exercises.

One way to decide is to think back to a time when you felt really, really good.  Go ahead, remember a genuinely happy experience in your life.  Remember how free you felt, how at ease.  What was your energy level like?  How did you feel about other people?  Was it fun?  Satisfying?  Are you smiling, just remembering it?

Now, what if you could feel that way more often than not?  And what if even the effort that you had to put into creating that experience felt like fun?  What if the exercises you had to practice turned out to be easy—and pleasurable?  Would you be willing to invest a little effort?  A little time?

If you answered “yes,” or even if you felt yourself leaning in that direction, keep reading this blog.  It has lots of hints about things you can do and viewpoints you can adopt, that will let you start feeling happier.  It will give you glimpses into the textures of happiness, reminding you how good it feels.  And in a few weeks, I’ll be revealing a whole new website filled with resources you can use to turn up the happiness in your life.  For now, just think about it.  Ask yourself how you would like it if happiness was your normal state of being and start thinking about whether you would like to invest some time into inviting more of it into your life.

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