The Happiness Project By Garrett Davis

I came across something on the internet called The Happiness Project by Alex Shalman, and found it to be of value.  Basically it consists of 5 questions that you, the reader, are to contemplate and answer for yourself.  You can participate in The Happiness Project by clicking here.

I found the idea of The Happiness Project to be interesting because happiness is by it's very nature an individualistic responsibility.  Yet The Happiness Project approaches happiness in a communal way.  Basically, the idea is that by encouraging other people to answer these questions for themselves, you possibly help them to explore and evaluate their own happiness with a critical approach that they may not have otherwise taken.  By thoroughly evaluating your own happiness, you take the first step towards acknowledging responsibility for your own happiness. I’ll first list the questions that The Happiness Project proposes, and then I will offer my own commentary on each one.

1. How do you define happiness?

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Question #1. (How do you define happiness?)

- Happiness is a creation. 

It is something that individuals generate for themselves.  Most people think that they understand what happiness is, yet far too many people experience a scarcity of happiness.  I feel for them.  I really do. I can truly say that I know how they feel because I’ve been there before.

- Happiness is a responsibility.  It's not a responsibility that will be enforced upon you by others, yet the consequences of neglecting it are harsh.  It's an individualistic responsibility, never shared.   You are responsible for your own happiness.  If you lack happiness, you are to blame. 

Think about it this way:  If you are not responsible for your own happiness, then who is?  If you blame him or her or this or that for causing you to be unhappy, then who ultimately decides if you will be happy? I can’t decide that you will be happy anymore than you can decide if I will be happy. 

The problem with attributing your happiness to the behavior or actions of someone else is this: If that person suddenly stops acting in such a way that is to your liking, you’re screwed.

An even worse plan is to let your happiness rely on any kind of possession or position. If you try to find happiness in a thing or a title, you may someday be faced with the reality that things and titles often don’t last forever.

True happiness is independent of circumstance. Happiness itself is the best source of happiness. It is something that is self-replicating.

Think of taking full responsibility for your own happiness as a happiness insurance policy of sorts. By deciding that you are responsible for your own happiness, you declare power over your state of mind. Lost or damaged items, positions, or titles will not deplete your joy, because you’ll have that insurance policy to protect you. It’s only human to experience sadness after loss, but you’ll have the power to pick yourself back up so that you may be joyful again.

Question #2 (On a scale of one to 10, how would you rate your own happiness?)

My answer is a 10.  An absolutely perfect 10.  Think I'm being unreasonable? Maybe I would be unreasonable here if happiness were not so relative, but it is.

Happiness follows a progression.  If you're happy now, as in (10) type happy, you will continue to generate more happiness into your life, assuming that remains your continued life choice.  If you want your happiness to be a ten right now, then do your best to produce a 10. Just be as happy as you can in this very moment, and your happiness will be a 10. If the best you can produce right now is mild to moderate happiness, but you make all the effort to be happy, then your happiness will still be a 10. It's all relative.  

To rate my happiness a 10, or an 8, or a 4, or whatever, I’m really only producing a rating that is stuck in the context of my overall happiness.  As my overall happiness increases, a 10 becomes better than it used to be.  My goal is to be happier each day. Why not? Life is short, and to me, that sounds like a great goal. As I accomplish this, I continuously change the parameters of happiness in my favor. 

Question #3: (What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness?)

Happiness creation can be achieved through the active production of positive thoughts. It's not possible to think good thoughts and feel bad at the same time. The more often you think good thoughts, the more often you’ll feel good.  Simple. 

If you want to take this to the next level and produce truly meaningful happiness, and not just warm cozy feelings, you will need to take action. The more optimized your thoughts, the more optimized your actions.  When you think thoughts that are beneficial to you, you prime yourself for taking the action steps that will improve your life. 

Question #4: (What things take away from your happiness, and what can be done to lesson the impact or remove them from your life?)

People's happiness often becomes compromised when they put themselves in situations in which their happiness relies too much on factors that are outside of themselves. 

Happiness is something that is to be internalized. When you rely on external factors, you put your happiness at risk.  The more you can internalize your happiness, the more secure in it you will be. 

Also, when your happiness is not something that relies on factors that are external to your here and now, you will better able to dwell in the present moment. Living in the present moment entails not dwelling in a fantasy of possible future circumstances, or in the hardships of your past.

Take a moment and try to imagine how you will think about happiness when you are say, 90 years old.  If you are not happy now because of some external factor(s) in your life, is it possible that you will regret your unhappiness when you look back on your situation at age 90?  At age 90, is it possible that you will think that you wasted time by not just being happy in the situation you're in now?  Will the factors in your life that you blame for your unhappiness seem petty to you?  Will your insight be that you should have just been happy for the sake of happiness itself?  

Question #5: (What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you more happiness?)

The great thing about the type of happiness I've explained is that it is timeless. You can start approaching happiness in the manner I’ve described right now, and you can continue doing so for the rest of your life for continued benefit.  Take the timeless approach, and internalize your happiness.  You'll be glad you did.

Related Articles:

- Happiness and Consciousness

- 7 Lessons From Heraclitus

- The Personal Growth Manifesto

- Expanding Thoughts

- How To Build Excellent Self-Control

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