HOW TO ACHIEVE HAPPINESS: –

Happiness goes hand in hand with the capacity to assert one self with extro-version and empathy. Happy people are generally open to the world. They believe that an individual can exert control over oneself and one’s life, while unhappy people tend to believe they are destiny’s playthings. It would seem that the more an individual is capable of controlling one’s environment happier the person is. It is interesting to note that in everyday life, extroverts experience more positive events than introverts, and neurotics have more negative experiences than stable people.

How do we explain that there is ultimately so little correlation – 10 to 15 % – between health, wealth, beauty, and happiness? Because it depends upon the way people perceive the world, which is more important to happiness than objective circumstances. It is also about the goals we set for our own lives. Having a lot of money necessarily plays a role in the happiness of someone who has set personal enrichment as his main objective, but it will have less impact on some one for whom wealth is a secondary importance.

Don’t let your happiness be dependent on any object, person or situation: –

It is the art of living, the purpose of our existence. Happiness is the true index of quality of life. Without happiness, life is dry and meaningless. With happiness, life immediately becomes fulfilling and wonderful. Happiness is an infectious feeling that immediately lifts the sagging spirits of people. Happy people keep themselves happy because they know the little ways to appreciate themselves and to see the humor and magic in each mo- ment.

Happiness and Humanity: –

People are much more inclined to come to the assistance of a friend or of someone with whom they have something in common like ethnicity, nationality, religion and opinion, than to help a stranger to whom they feel no particular connection. The Buddhist approach is to gradually extend that sense of belonging to all beings. When our sense of belonging, extends to all living beings, we are intimately touched by their joys and sufferings. Those who believe themselves to be happiest are also the most humanitarians. When we are happy, the feeling of selfimportance is diminished and we are more open to others. Acute depression is accompanied by difficulty in feeling and expressing love for others. Selfishness is the essential ingredient of true happiness.

True humility is freedom from all consciousness of self, which includes freedom from the consciousness of humility. The true humble man never knows that he is humble. The humble person has nothing to loose and nothing to gain. If one is praised, one feels that it is humility and not oneself that is being praised. If one is criticized, one feels that bringing one’s faults to light is a great favor. Free of hope and fear alike, the humble person remains light hearted. People, who consider themselves superior, judge the faults of others more harshly and consider them to be less forgivable. Humble person makes decisions on the basis of what he believes to be right and sticks by them without concern for his own image or the opinion of others.