Define: Happiness

After listening to the Arthur Brooks interview on The Tim Ferriss Show, I've been grappling with this question for the past year plus:

Before hearing my version, take a moment to come up with your own simple definition...

"OK, mic please…"

My current operating definition of happiness is an aligned state of Joyful Peace.

This definition is functionally useful for me because when I remember to ask myself:

Then, whenever the answer is “No”, I just bring my awareness to each of these 3 descriptors.

Let’s say I’m not feeling any Joy at the moment.

Well, then I can find something to be grateful for. That tends to do the trick for me.

Maybe I’m taking life too seriously and discover the need to inject a lil more play.

Maybe I need to create the space to dance, sing, run, jump, swim, surf, flow… or just breathe.

Let’s say I’m feeling agitated and I’m absent any Peace in the present.

I can do a quick check to see if I’m rushing around & trying to pack too much in. If I am, then maybe I’ll quiet the mind and, once again, take a breath.

Maybe I just need to reassess what I can control in a situation. Am I convincing myself that I'm in control of more than my own perception & reaction?

Sometimes, a bigger shift might be necessary. Sometimes, I’m feeling out of Alignment, like my life is running down the wrong track entirely.

When that’s the case, I often need to make the True Selfish decision to break the rut of routine & drop back in to alignment.

Once I remember that happiness is always 1 thought — or 1 question — away, then, I can make the active choice to "change it."