The Definition Of Happiness To Live By

A clear definition of happiness is very difficult to find for such a common term.

When I have asked others for a definition of happiness the most general response is a feeling of contentment.

As a result of this, many people, perhaps subconsciously, tend to be a little wary of happiness.

Happiness seems to be a selfish goal. This definition brings to mind an image of happy people lying around all day.

Therefore people sometimes think that they would cease to be productive members of society, that they would stop caring about others.

In truth nothing could be further from the truth.

You cannot help others, you cannot be truly productive and useful unless you are happy.

And you cannot be truly happy, unless you are productive, useful and helping others.

My first attempt to find a definition of happiness was for my thesis. In Psychology a definition of happiness covers three main elements.

Feeling good - Pleasure or a feeling of peace or contentment.

Thoughts - Looking back over your life and being generally satisfied with what has passed and what has yet to pass.

Not feeling bad - Feeling bad obviously detracts from happiness.

Obviously these elements are part of happiness. However I think that these definitions of happiness are missing the point.

Here's why.

Let’s use the ageing of our bodies as an analogy of how we create unhappiness.

Ageing is a little like the rusting of a car. It is a gradual wearing down that leads to cellular degeneration, which we observe as ageing.

Every year 99% of our cells are renewed. Every seven years we have a completely new body.

If the new cells were exactly the same as the previous cells we would never age.

However because the body is under continual attack the cells begin to mutate.

The attacks come from;

Pollutants in the atmosphere.

Lack of nutrients in our food.

Inefficiencies in our bodily systems for example lack of exercise or illness.

Biochemical effects of emotions such as anger and anxiety.
 

As a result of these attacks the blueprint, or design, from which new cells are made becomes slightly distorted. So the new cells develop to be slightly different to the original design for the body.

In effect then the new body is alien to the original DNA blueprint. So ageing occurs when the body begins to live according to a different design to that which is natural for it.

In the short term, we become sick when something alien to us, such as a disease, invades our body. Many of the symptoms of a disease are the side effects of our body working to protect us.

For example, we experience a temperature as our immune system mobilizes to attack the invader. The temperature is not caused by the disease, but by our body’s reaction to the disease.

Happiness is the emotional aspect of health.
 

We become unhappy when we take on something that is alien to us.

When we say something, or act in a way, that is not really true to us we become unhappy. We experience unhappiness in a number of ways. Sometimes it is anger or frustration, other times it is anxiety.

All are the emotional equivalent of a disease or illness.

Our emotions are not caused by events that happen to us, but by our reaction to the events that happen to us.

Our happiness and emotional health comes under attack whenever we think, speak or act something that is not really true to our natural design. Just as with our physical health, we are continually attacked by many ‘invading aliens’. These include;

The pressure to conform to Society’s, groups and organizational rules.

Expectations of ourselves, and others, to live up to certain standards.

Fitting into pre-designed roles, which restrict, confine and limit our expression of our true individuality.
My definition of happiness is a natural outcome of being yourself. It is having complete integrity.

Everything that you think, matches with what you say, which matches with what you do.

Inside every Singer is a song that has to be sung.

Inside every Poet is a poem that must be written.

Inside every Painter is a painting that must be painted.

Inside every Entrepreneur is an enterprise that must be started.

Inside every Social Campaigner is an ill that must be righted.

Inside every Administrator is an inefficiency that must be organized.

Inside every One is something that must be created, fixed or improved.

What is it you must do?