Happiness: Ninth Choice, Truthfulness

It is important for you and me to know what we believe and keep integrity with those beliefs while at the same time show grace and generosity of spirit towards others who do not see things the way you or I might. Consider how closely the authorsโ€™ following counsel parallels the apostle Paulโ€™s instruction on unity within the body of Christ.

Happiness: Eighth Choice, Generosity

God gives each person something to share, something uniquely ours to give, a portion that enriches the earth and the world, and if we hold back, others are impoverished by the lack of all the goodness we have to give.

Happiness: Seventh Choice, Appreciation

Unlike so many other things in life, there are no ill side-effects for appreciation, it will always bring us joy and contentment.

Happiness: Sixth Choice, Options

For happy people, every experience offers a new chance for adventure. Rick Foster and Greg Hicks, How We Choose To Be Happy, 132

Happiness: Fifth Choice, Recasting

Recasting is the choice to turn problems into opportunities and challenges, and to recast extreme trauma into something meaningful, important and a source of life-giving energy.ย 

Happiness: Fourth Choice, Centrality

What is your great passion? Everyone has something they love to do, and when pursuing that passion is central to our lives, we are happy.

Happiness, Third Choice: Identification

Who I identify as is a big deal in our culture today. Who am I, inside? When I look at the mirror, who looks back at me? Believers understand this question deeply, it is everywhere in our scriptures.

Happiness, Second Choice: Accountability

Foster and Hicks explain that accountability is the choice to assume full personal responsibility for your actions, thoughts and feelings, and the emphatic refusal to blame others or circumstances for your own unhappiness. ย 

Happiness, First Choice: Intention

There are nine choices Foster and Hicks discovered that consistently happy people make. Each choice leads to the next in a circular helix very like the chambers of a conch. The choice that launches all the rest is intention.

“How We Choose To Be Happy”

Our constitution guarantees the right of every American to the pursuit of happiness, and you and I see the interpretation of that pursuit all around us. But, a lot of people are still not happy, no matter how hard they try. So, what is going on?