THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

One of my "go to reads" is Success Magazine.  There's never an issue that doesn't have something in it to help me grow personally and professionally.  One of my favorites parts of the magazine is in the very front -- a one page editorial from publisher Darren Hardy.  Here are his thoughts on the "Pursuit of Happiness" from the June 2012 issue.  I think this is an important subject for coaches.  We tend to spend a great deal of time worrying -- even when things are going well.  I'm not saying that we need to get complacent in our jobs but we are doing what we love to do -- coach -- and that alone should bring us a great deal of happiness.  I know it does to me.  Here is what Darren had to write on the subject:

Pursuing happiness is like chasing a rainbow.  The faster we go, the hard we try, the farther office becomes.  I have learned that happiness is not a pursuit -- it's a choice.  Happiness is a state of mind, obtainable at any time, in any moment of your choosing.

It's not the pursuit of happiness we should concern ourselves with, but rather the pursuit of fulfillment, purpose and significance.  If I have created a life of meaning in which I have a deep sense of purpose and value, that won't change because someone knocks my ice cream over.  Fulfillment is a state of existence, not a fleeting emotion.

So what about being happy?  There are two ways you can choose to be happy at any moment.  One: Think about all you have to be grateful for.  Some of the happiest people I have ever met are those who have comparatively few accouterments to be happy about.  When you feel gratitude, you cannot feel fear or worry at the same time.  Gratitude washes it all away.  If you are reading this, you're breathing and above ground, so you have many blessings to be grateful for -- just remind yourself at any moment you want to feel happy.  The second way to choose happiness -- the best way, in my opinion -- is to do something to make someone else happy.  The person who bestows happiness always gets much more of it return.