We're going to begin raising our immediate happiness level (and eventually our actual long term HQ- Happiness Quotient) by first increasing our HE Happiness Education. Just learning the realities of what brings happiness can cause changes in our attitude/mind that raise our HQ.

Be Happy NOW & AS IS! 

Stop waiting for happiness to come in the future and when you have this or that (or more money). You've waited your whole life for happiness to come AND you've already gotten many this or thats! Happiness comes through increasing your HQ (Happiness Quotient) and developing happiness producing habits of thinking and paradigm changes. If getting things & more money really increased happiness levels then why is there no measurable difference in the happiness levels of billionaires compared to millionaires (and in fact, happiness surveys show that there is very little increase in happiness levels beyond about $13,000/year per person-- and NO change of daily felt happiness beyond $75,000/year). However, there are big differences in happiness levels among people depending on their attitudes and thinking patterns. 

         So let's get logical! If you already have a moderate amount of money, why continue working so hard and overly stressing yourself out to make more when there is ample evidence that your efforts will be little rewarded; AND like so many millions of others, you'll probably prematurely ruin your health, and your whole life will pass you by as you busily stress and struggle trying to obtain happiness through making more money. 
      Happiness research is beginning to show that a strong need to make more money (beyond a reasonable amount) often is linked to deficiencies and lack in a person's personal growth and balance). It is also related to a mind set of always comparing upwards rather than "Thankful Comparisons"- more on this later.

          Making a reasonable amount of money to be able to enjoy a reasonable life style filled with activities you enjoy is wise. UNLESS you truly enjoy it (or it's for an altruistic purpose), it is not wise to continue pushing your self to make more than you really need, especially if it is stressing you and ruining your health (as well as your balance, family and friends). Don't be one of the many people who don't know when enough is enough and lose their health, and or family, by succumbing to greed and fear.

More on some basic happiness concepts:
Every living person's core motivation for living is to feel as much HAPPINESS as possible and avoid unhappiness where possible.
      Then why do most people feel less than happy much of the day!? (why do so many "live lives of quiet desperation") 
      Why don't the things we own and good circumstances bring us continued happiness!? The following quote by Hugh Downs can help us to understand this; "A happy person is not a person with a certain set of circumstances but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes". This is also well backed up by the fact that you can find any number of people who are in the same basic circumstances (same type of job, house, friends etc.) but some will be happy and some won't. Throwing more money at it won't help much either; One American survey found that 37% of people making over $10,000,000 a year were less happy than the average person- and even the other 63% were not nearly as happy as most people assumed.
A high IQ doesn't necessarily increase one's happiness level either (read Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman on the importance of self-discipline and emotional control-- what I call "EQ"). 
      After doing my own personal research and analyzations I determined that there was another necessary "quotient" for happiness (HQ- Happiness Quotient which I introduced in my book 13 years ago). A high IQ can help one figure things out better. A high EQ can help one apply that information towards work and other activities because of the discipline of a high EQ person. 
      However, although a high IQ person may make more money, and a high EQ person with a good IQ will make even more money (and avoid some of the worst problems and addictions because of better self-control), IQ and EQ alone do not guarantee a person will feel happiness on any sustainable basis (ie: if you're mindset is always focused on the half empty instead of half full glass or if you're always thinking you need more, you obviously won't feel happy). *I know this from personal experience, as I was highly disciplined and considered intelligent, but always dissatisfied and unhappy up through 27 years old.
      Through a great deal of research, seminars, reading of many happiness related books, my own experience and interviewing over 50 exceptionally happy people during the past almost 30 years, I feel I have largely determined what actually does make people feel happy on a sustained basis. This extra component (beyond IQ and EQ) is what I call HQ. This year I will introduce HQ more in detail as I finish rewriting my book from Japanese into English (and, of course, I am already teaching this in my Happiness seminars and personal Happiness coaching).
 
NOTE: On a scale of 1-10 (with 0 being suicidal and 10 being euphoric, and 5 being so so), I probably averaged about a 3 or 4 through much of my childhood and through most of my 20's. However, through applying what I have learned on increasing HQ, I have been able to raise my AVERAGE level to a 6 or 7 (an over 3 point AVERAGE increase which is far, far more than a billion dollars would have given me). So I know from personal experience that besides easily raising your temporary happiness level, you can also raise your overall average, long term level tremendously! And this is despite hereditary components that I had of extreme shyness, sensitivity, fearfulness, over analyzing tendency and overly serious minded (yes, studies show that about 50% of our happiness is genetically determined).
      *We are working on the calculations of HQ scores, much like IQ scores, that are derived from a person's AVERAGE happiness level over at least a 1 year period. Right now, according to my own calculations, I am a 145 HQ (although I was probably a very low 55 HQ through my twenties).
The good news is, like myself, you can greatly increase your happiness level by working on the 50% that you can change and improve through increasing your HQ and practicing HL Happy Life (Happiness inducing activities). 
There is so much more Happiness information and methods that I'd love to share with you at one of our happiness courses or personal coaching sessions (more info. under "Happiness Group Lessons" tab and "Life Coaching").

**I will throw out one more interesting fact; a number of studies seem to indicate that the "happiness pie" is aprox. 50% genetics and only about 10% affected by our wealth and circumstances (assuming basic survival needs are already met). The other 40% is basically determined by our attitudes and activities. This is what I call HQ and HL- "Happy Life", the 40% we work on in my happiness classes and personal coaching.
So, as with me, this information and training can work for anyone willing to work on the 40% instead of just the 10% through making more money.    
© Copyright 1998−2011 Edward Southwick Jr. & Life Success Institute Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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